Curatives | Chowder | Sweet Potato Pie | Angel Cake

A Chowder

Four pounds of fish are enough to make a chowder for four or five people; half a dozen slices of salt pork in the bottom of the pot; hang it high [from a crane above the fire], so that the pork may not burn; take it out when done very brown; put in a layer of crackers, small or sliced onions, and potatoes sliced as thin as a four-pence, mixed with pieces of pork you have fried; then a layer of fish again, and so on. Six crackers are enough. Strew a little salt and pepper over each layer; over the whole pour a bowl-full of flour and water, enough to come up even with the surface of what you have in the pot. A sliced lemon adds to the flavor. A cup of tomato catsup is very excellent. Some people put in a cup of beer. A few clams are a pleasant addition. It should be covered so as not to let a particle of steam escape, if possible. Do not open it, except when nearly done, to taste if it be well seasoned. -- LYDIA MARIA CHILD, Frugal American Housewife, 1832 edition

This recipe is interesting to make and taste because . . . well, it belonged to Lydia Maria Child, a great American culinary woman who embraced the high hopes of the new American republic. Lydia was the first American to "write for the poor, not the rich" and advocate for women's education in her cookbooks. A true woman of letters, she wrote history, memoir, domestic manuals, children's literature, and roused literary sensation with her first novel. Despite these early successes, life wasn't easy for Lydia. When she took a strong stand against slavery, the Boston literary establishment blacklisted her, and she couldn't find work. Her husband--a well- meaning but financially inept lawyer--was often broke. Here was a woman who knew the importance of frugality in the kitchen.

And so, this is Lydia's chowder. It has an intriguing mix of beer, tomato, and lemon. It tastes of the past--that is to say, heavy on pork flavor and the wet dough of crackers. It works well with bacon if you can't get your hands on salt pork. I think you need about half the fish she calls for. I also advise layering with fish first, unless you want all those crackers stuck to the bottom of your pot. (I personally prefer to sprinkle my crackers on top at the end. That's up to you.) For a more familiar New England chowder, you're perfectly within your rights and historical authenticity to substitute milk for the catsup, beer, and lemons.