Fried clams
Fried clams are clam dipped in milk and then flour and deep-fried.
Fried clams are an iconic food, "to New England what barbecue is to the South".[1] They tend to be served at seaside clam shacks (roadside restaurants).[1] Clam rolls are fried clams served in a hot dog bun.[2][3] Tartar sauce is the usual condiment.[2][4]
Preparation
The clams are dipped in evaporated milk, and coated with a combination of regular, corn, and/or pastry flour.[1][5] Then the coated clams are fried in canola oil or soybean oil, or lard.[1][5]
The usual variant in New England is made from whole soft-shell clams, known as "clams with bellies"; these include the clam's gastrointestinal tract and have a fuller flavor.[1][6] Some restaurants remove the clam's chewy siphon, called the neck.[5]
Outside New England, "clam strips", made of sliced parts of Atlantic surf clams, are more common.[7]
History
Fried clams are mentioned as early as 1840,[8] and are listed on an 1865 menu from the Parker House hotel. How exactly they were prepared is unclear; the 1865 menu offers both "oysters—fried" and "oysters—fried in batter", but only "fried clams".[9]
American cookbooks describe several different dishes of fried clams:
- Seasoned clams sautéed in butter. (1850)[10]
- Clams breaded (with egg binding) and sautéed in butter or fat. (1850)[10] (1904)[11]
- Clams in a beaten egg batter, fried in butter, called "clam fritters". (1850)[10] (1904)[11]
The modern deep-fried, breaded version is generally credited to Lawrence Henry "Chubby" Woodman from Essex, Massachusetts. He is said to have created the first batch on July 3, 1916,[12] in his small roadside restaurant, now Woodman's of Essex. One of his specialties was potato chips, so he had large vats for deep-frying. He used the clams, which he had collected himself from the mud flats of the Essex River located close to his home.[13]
Later, Thomas Soffron, of Soffron Brothers Clam Co., based in Ipswich, Massachusetts, created clam strips, which are made from the "foot" of hard-shelled sea clams. He sold these to Howard Johnson's in an exclusive deal, and as the chain expanded, they became popular throughout the country.[14][15]
Health and dietary considerations
Clams in themselves are low in cholesterol and fat, but fried clams absorb cooking fat.[16]
See also
References
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- ↑ William E. Burton, "Thaumaturgia", in William E. Burton and Edgar A. Poe, eds., Burton's Gentleman's Magazine, and Monthly American Review, January 1840, p. 70
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Hannah Mary Bouvier Peterson, Martha Read, The National Cookbook, 1856 (preface dated 1850), p. 33
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Charles Fellows, The Culinary Handbook, Chicago, 1904, p. 58
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