A History of Chowder:: Four Centuries of a New England Meal (American Palate)

New England's culinary history is marked by a varying array of chowders. Early forms were thick and layered, but the adaptability of this beloved recipe has allowed for a multitude of tasty preparations to emerge. Thick or thin, brimming with fish or clams or corn, chowder springs up throughout the region in as many distinctive varieties as there are ports of call. It remains the quintessential expression of New England cuisine. Food writers and chowder connoisseurs Robert S. Cox and Jacob Walker dish out the history, flavors and significance of every New Englander's favorite comfort food.

Jacob Walker spends most of his time along the coast of Massachusetts. He is the creator of the New England Chowder Compendium, a nationally recognized project at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst devoted to examining all things chowder.

Rob Cox spends far too little time along the coast of Massachusetts. A former paleontologist and molecular biologist, he has a doctorate in history from the University of Michigan and works at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is author of Body and Soul: A Sympathetic History of American Spiritualism (Charlottesville, 2003) and editor of and contributor to The Shortest and Most Convenient Route: Lewis and Clark in Context (Philadelphia, 2004).