Difference between: New England and Manhattan clam chowder

One’s white, one’s red.

Let’s delve into the other differences between New England clam chowder and Manhattan clam chowder.

Being from Upstate New York and having gone to college in Rhode Island – an hour from Boston – I have felt the New York/New England rivalry to its fullest. Usually, it has to do with the Yankees and the Red Sox. 

(The Yankees have won 27 world series and the Red Sox, oh, 8, so I don’t know why there is a question of who is the better team in the first place, but I digress…)

This time, the rivalry is food-related, and this time, I think New England wins.

New England clam chowder:

• Is milk- or cream-based.
• Usually includes potatoes.
• Can include onions.
• Can include salt pork or bacon.
• Is thick and creamy.

Manhattan clam chowder:

• Is tomato-based.
• Usually includes onion and celery.
• Usually includes parsley.
• Can include other vegetables, such as carrots.
• Is thinner and more stew-like.

There are other clam chowders, such as the Rhode Island clam chowder, which has a clearer broth and is made specifically with Rhode Island quahog clams. Some believe this is in fact the best clam chowder, because it allows the natural clam flavor to stand out.

But, New England and Manhattan chowders are undoubtedly more popular. 

From the beginning, chowders reflected a time or a place, as with these clam chowders. Fish chowders were around before clams. The first chowder recipe called for bass and was published in Amelia Simmon’s American Cookery in 1800.

New England clam chowder became known in Boston around the mid 1830s and significantly gained popularity during the latter half of the century.

Amusingly, in 1939, a bill was passed in Maine forbidding the addition of tomatoes to chowder, thus solidifying New England’s reign as the proud owners of the creamy white variety.

Manhattan clam chowder may have descended from chowders made on Coney Island. Although, certain areas in Massachusetts and Maine were said to experiment with tomato-based chowders as well.

By the mid 1800s in New York, tomato-based clam chowder had staked its claim in the big city. In 1894, Chef Jasper White of New York’s Delmonico’s Steakhouse published the first recipe for tomato-based clam chowder, which is likely how it got associated with Manhattan specifically.

Again, I have to go with New England clam chowder for this one. The definition of a chowder indicates its thickness, and Manhattan chowder is indeed just too much like a regular soup or stew.

Looking at the photo above – which is lovely – we can see that we wouldn’t even know this was a clam chowder if they hadn’t left the shells in there.

It’s a vegetable stew. With clams.