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Fried clams

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Fried clams
Fried clams from Woodman's of Essex in Essex, Massachusetts
Fried clams from Woodman's of Essex in Essex, Massachusetts.
Place of originUnited States United States
Region or stateNew England New England
Massachusetts Massachusetts
New Brunswick New Brunswick
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia
Created byLawrence "Chubby" Woodman
Main ingredientsIpswich clam

Fried clams are clams dipped in milk, floured, 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 New England–style hot dog bun.[2][3][full citation needed] They are usually served with Tartar sauce.[2][4]

Preparation

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The clams are dipped in evaporated milk, then coated with some combination of regular, corn, and pastry flour.[1][5] The coated clams are fried in canola oil, soybean oil, or lard.[1][5]

The usual variant in New England is made from whole soft-shell clams, known as "whole-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 Atlantic surf clams, are more common.[7]

History

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1865 menu with fried clams and oysters

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]

Nineteenth-century 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 "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 clams 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

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Clams in themselves are low in cholesterol and fat, but fried clams absorb cooking fat.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Leite, David (2007-08-29). "In a '64 T-Bird, Chasing a Date With a Clam". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  2. ^ a b "Sandwich Pride". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 2007-12-21. Retrieved 2007-12-19. For the fried clam roll, sweet, full-bellied clams are dipped in batter and thrown into the deep fryer. A few minutes later they're laid into a top-loaded hot dog bun with some tartar sauce and a slice of lemon on the side.
  3. ^ "An Ode to the Clam". National Public Radio.
  4. ^ "Battered and Fried". Battered and Fried. Archived from the original on 2007-12-07. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
  5. ^ a b c Parrish, Marlene (October 21, 2007). "A mission to find glorious fried clams". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
  6. ^ Moskin, Julia (2005-06-13). "Dark Days for the Fried Clam, a Summer Staple". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
  7. ^ "The great clam debate". Cape Cod Times. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ see the Parker House menu from 1865 with fried clams and oysters to the right
  10. ^ a b c Hannah Mary Bouvier Peterson, Martha Read, The National Cookbook, 1856 (preface dated 1850), p. 33
  11. ^ a b Charles Fellows, The Culinary Handbook, Chicago, 1904, p. 58
  12. ^ Jenkins, Nancy (August 21, 2002). "The Deep-Fried Truth About Ipswich Clams". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 17, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
  13. ^ Roberts, Steven V. (1983-06-05). "Fare of the Country; Yankee Staple: Clam Fry". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
  14. ^ "Thomas Soffron, 96, Creator of Clam Strips". The New York Times. 2004-02-28. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
  15. ^ Sovich, Nina (2004-05-01). "Clam King". CNN. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
  16. ^ Roberts, Steven V. "Shellfish and Fat and Cholesterol". Dr. Gourmet Website. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
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