One of the earliest and quintessential American dishes, New England-style clam chowder is a creamy stew made with briny clams, chunks of salt pork, sweet onions, potatoes, and milk. The dish was invented by the Pilgrims who had landed near Plymouth Rock in 1620.

Hungry and with nothing to eat, they turned to delicious clams that are commonly found on New England's shores and cooked them in pots filled with water over an open flame. As for the word chowder, some claim it stems from the French chaudiére, denoting an iron cooking pot, while others claim it stems from chaudeau, meaning hot water.

The creamy version we all know and love today started to become popular at the beginning of the 19th century, and by the end of it, there were also some regional versions of the dish. Some of them added crushed crackers, butter, or chopped fish to the already flavourful broth.

Aromatic and sea-flavored, it is almost a sacred dish in New England, regularly celebrated with various competitions, festivals, chowder lovers societies, and boat races. Today, there are many versions of clam chowder in Manhattan, Rhode Island, Long Island, Minorcan, Hatteras, Delaware, and New Jersey.