New England Regional Foods: Chowder, Maple and More

New England regional foods grew from a hard climate and a short list of ingredients: corn, beans, shellfish, salt pork, molasses and maple. The cooks who settled the region, along with the Native peoples already there, turned those staples into clam chowder, Boston baked beans, johnnycakes and Indian pudding, which still appear on menus.

What are the main New England regional foods?

The classics are clam chowder, baked beans, johnnycakes, Indian pudding, lobster in its many forms and anything made with maple. Others include fried clams, cranberry dishes and apple pie with cheddar.

You can sample most of them in a weekend. The trick is knowing what each is meant to be.

What is New England clam chowder?

New England clam chowder is thick and creamy, with a milk or cream base, potatoes, onions and clams. It grew out of older shellfish stews and became the best known of the region's soups. Rhode Island makes its own clear-broth style, and elsewhere in the region you may meet a red version, though purists object.

A good bowl is rich but not pasty. You should taste clams first, then cream, then pepper. The potatoes should hold their shape. Skip the oyster crackers until you have tasted it plain.

What are Boston baked beans?

Boston baked beans are small white navy beans, or pea beans, with thin skins, slow cooked with molasses and salt pork. The dish is traced back to Native American cooks who baked dry beans with maple and bear fat in pits in the ground, and English settlers swapped in molasses and pork. Maine has its own style, made with local bean varieties that have thicker skins.

A good pot is dark, sweet and savory. The beans should be tender but intact. Traditionally they were served on Saturday night with brown bread.

What are Rhode Island johnnycakes?

Johnnycakes are cornmeal flatbreads, and Rhode Island is their stronghold. They are made from a stone-ground flint corn, mixed with water or milk and fried on a griddle. Depending on the recipe, they come out thin and crisp or softer and more bread-like. They are eaten with butter, syrup or alongside a savory dish.

Judge a johnnycake by its edges, which should be crisp, and by its corn flavor, which should be clear. A thick, cakey version is a pancake in disguise.

What is Indian pudding?

Indian pudding is one of the oldest desserts in New England. It is a baked custard of cornmeal, milk and molasses, spiced with ginger and cinnamon and served warm, often with vanilla ice cream. One writer who asked for recipes received hundreds for it, more than for any other dish, which says how loved it once was.

A good Indian pudding is dark and creamy, not stiff. It should taste of molasses and spice without being cloying.

How does maple fit in?

Maple syrup is a New England crop, and Vermont leads in production. It appears in glazes, baked goods, ice cream and candy. Grades run from light golden to dark, with the darker ones best for cooking. On a menu, maple is often a clue to a place with local pride.

For more, see the sugar shack guide below. A maple-glazed doughnut is a fine start.

Where can you try these dishes?

Old-fashioned restaurants, taverns and diners are the best places. Look for a menu that has chowder, baked beans or Indian pudding as regular items instead of seasonal novelties. In Boston, many seafood houses serve chowder and lobster. In Vermont, farm stands and sugarhouses sell maple. In Maine, roadside shacks serve fried clams and pie.

Ask your server what the kitchen makes from scratch. A pot of beans that was on the stove all day tastes different from one heated from a can.

Season matters for most of these. Chowder is a cold-weather comfort, though shacks serve it all year. Baked beans traditionally came out of the oven on Saturday, when cooking on Sunday was frowned upon, and many New Englanders still eat them that way. Johnnycakes appear at breakfast and with dinner. Indian pudding turns up in autumn and winter menus more than in summer. If you visit in late September, you will meet apples, cider and cranberries too, and the whole table starts to make sense.

How to taste like a local

Order a small bowl of chowder before your main course. Try a spoon of beans if a restaurant offers a side. Ask whether the johnnycakes are made with stone-ground cornmeal. Finish with Indian pudding if it is on the menu.

Eat slowly, and notice the textures: the creaminess of the chowder, the tenderness of the beans, the crunch of the johnnycake and the warmth of the pudding.

What else should you read around New England?

The Vermont sugar shacks, farm stands and cheese guide covers maple in detail, the Maine food worth a drive page covers the coast and the Boston farmers markets and winter markets guide covers local produce. The US guides page lists more cities.

Regional dishes are easy to eat and hard to compare from memory. Get the Mosey app, rate each bowl of chowder, plate of beans and slice of pudding you try, and build a New England list that records what you tasted and where.