[Sca-cooks] For the Chowderheads

[marilyn traber 011221]

Mistress Brighid wrote:

> I was bored, so I went chowder-hunting.  This is what I caught:
> 
>

 < Much goodness snipped >

> Tomato may not be a quintessential ingredient of a New England 
> chowder, but neither is it a latter-day foreign interloper.  
> Likewise, potatoes and milk are common ingredients, but are not 
> required in a traditional chowder.
> 
> Brighid ni Chiarain
> Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom

OK, well, let's take it back a few years. Apparently the term "chowder" for a 
fish stew is fairly recent (anybody want to see what the OED says?), but it 
seems to have elements in common which could have been combined in period- 
Salt pork (or bacon) as the fat, fresh fish, crackers, and onions seem to be 
pretty common throughout. What period soup/stews might have been the 
forecaster of what we call chowder today? I'm thinking we ought to look most 
at the Brits, particularly coastal/seafaring types, with perhaps some small 
influence from the Dutch and French, those being the groups which were most 
influential in colonizing the northeast, shortly after our period.

I notice similarities with the original gazpacho, for example, but the 
Spanish didn't have a lot of influence in New England. I also notice that 
many of the ingredients are what might readily be found on ship board- Brandu-
 do you have any thoughts?

Any thoughts?

Phlip