Seafood We never met a seafood we didn’t like—or weren’t willing to batter-dip, fry, and serve with a gallon of tartar sauce. We also like to serve our seafood in rolls—or “buns,” as they call them in the Midwest, where they think the idea is more than a little wacky. Let them laugh—at least we don’t put our food on sticks.
Welcome to New England, home of culinary creativity … and more than a few oddities.Seafood We never met a seafood we didn’t like—or weren’t willing to batter-dip, fry, and serve with a gallon of tartar sauce. We also like to serve our seafood in rolls—or “buns,” as they call them in the Midwest, where they think the idea is more than a little wacky. Let them laugh—at least we don’t put our food on sticks.
The hallmark of New England cuisine is the baked bean—what does that tell you? At one time, eating beans every Saturday night was practically a religious obligation, despite their tendency to produce “windiness,” as the old-timers called it. There were, of course, denominational differences: kidney beans versus navy beans, ham versus hot dogs, and debates over whether to sweeten with molasses or maple syrup. Needless to say, these aren’t the discussions they’re having at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.
DON’T MISS: Our Favorite Recipes for Baked Beans! Photo Credit : Mark BrewerLobster In times past, New Englanders used lobster as fertilizer or fed it to servants and prisoners because, let’s face it, the average lobster could win a “Least Edible-Looking Food on the Planet” contest. These days, high-brow Boston restaurants serve lobster out of the shell, generally with a reduction of Tasmanian raspberry glaze. But real Yankees expect to work at their lobster, extracting every single morsel down to the last leg. And we prefer to buy our lobster at fine-dining establishments with the word “shack” or “hut” in the name.
DON’T MISS: The Best Lobster Shacks in New England! Photo Credit : Mark BrewerBrown Eggs Our parents were told that “brown eggs are local eggs, and local eggs are fresh.” Some of us still believe that, to the chagrin of California White and Dutch Bantam hens, habitual white-layers. Brown eggs, on the other hand, come from Rhode Island Red, New Hampshire, and Plymouth Rock hens. We rest our case.
DON’T MISS: Are Brown Eggs Local? Photo Credit : Mark BrewerBrown Bread in a Can How to explain bread that comes in a can, gets cooked in a can, has the texture of a sponge soaked in molasses, and is served with beans? We can’t. If you don’t get it, you don’t. And you’re probably not from around here.
DON’T MISS: Brown Bread in a Can! Photo Credit : Mark BrewerMoxie There’s no explaining our passion for Moxie to folks from away. New England’s own soda (or “tonic,” for those just north of Boston), Moxie is Coca-Cola for grownups—less sweet and a little more bitter than its Southern cousin, just like us. (Bear in mind, at one time the most popular drink in New England was “switchel,” a concoction of water, vinegar, ginger, and honey, which tastes about as good as you’d expect.) Photo Credit : Mark BrewerMaple Syrup If you want to give a Yankee apoplexy, smother his or her pancakes with generic “table” syrup, which generally has the consistency of 40-weight motor oil and tastes about the same. We abide only 100% maple syrup and scoff at concoctions that boast a walloping “2% genuine maple syrup.” We’ll put maple syrup in just about anything that calls for sweetening—and a few things that don’t. Photo Credit : Mark BrewerChowder What do you do if you have a lot of dairy and seafood? Make chowder, which comes from the Latin for “here’s what we caught today.” That generally means clams, fish, and assorted seafood, though we might use lobster for fancy, or corn if it’s the end of the month. The one thing you can’t put in chowder is tomatoes. So-called Manhattan clam chowder is an aberration, not really chowder at all. People who think it is also commit other transgressions, such as pronouncing the “r” at the end of the word. Photo Credit : Mark BrewerSpice Avoiders Basically, real Yankees don’t do spices. Our Puritan ancestors had two guiding principles when it came to food: nothing with strong flavors or spices. That explains why our mothers boiled vegetables long enough to remove any harmful nutrients. It also explains why the average spice rack in New England contains herbs so ancient that they’re indistinguishable from dried grass clippings. The strongest spice we use is a little pepper, and ketchup is our primary sauce. Ice Cream Ice cream is at the top of the Yankee food pyramid. We eat ice cream year-round, even in the dead of winter—mostly chocolate and vanilla, although a few fans will venture into more exotic flavors, like strawberry. And we mean ice cream, not some misbegotten substitute made of organic non-GMO verified vegan soy extract that never got close enough to a cow to be stepped on by it. Don’t get us started on frozen yogurt. Photo Credit : Mark BrewerBoiled Dinner Here’s a mystery: The classic New England dinner consists of highly salted meat, cabbage, and root vegetables, prepared in a way that removes any trace of flavor. So why do we love it? Because it’s cheap and easy. And the next day, you can grind it up, fry it, and serve it for breakfast with a couple of eggs. Even the leftovers work hard in New England.
