The Cuisine of New England

04_682942_ch01.qxd 12/16/05 11:51 AM Page 1 The Cuisine of New England he New England region is known for the rocky coastlines of Maine, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the rolling green mountains and dairies of Vermont, and the fertile farms and orchards of Connecticut. From New England’s rivers, bays, and oceans comes Tseafood of great variety and high quality. The hills and valleys of New England are home to some of America’s oldest fruit orchards and vegetable farms. Sugar maple trees and fiddlehead ferns are abundant.The swampy bogs found in Cape Cod and Nantucket make this area home to the cranberry. Perhaps more than any other of the area’s natural resources, the Atlantic cod is recognized as a symbol of theCOPYRIGHTED region’s natural heritage.This species MATERIAL is so much a part of the early history of the settlement of the coastal regions, that a model of the “sacred cod” hangs in the Massachusetts statehouse. 04_682942_ch01.qxd 12/16/05 11:51 AM Page 2 2 THE CUISINE OF NEW ENGLAND Connecticut “The Nutmeg State.” The state shellfish is the Eastern oyster, the state animal is the sperm whale, the state bird is the American robin, the state flower is the mountain laurel, and the state song is “Yankee Doodle.” Maine “The Pine Tree State.” The state animal is the moose, the state fish is the land- locked salmon (a freshwater fish available only to sports fishermen), the state insect is the honeybee, and the state flower is the white pine cone and tassel. Massachusetts “The Bay State.” The state fish is the cod, the state tree is the American elm, and the state bird is the chickadee. New Hampshire “The Granite State.” The state saltwater fish is the striped bass, the state freshwater fish is the brook trout, the state tree is the white birch, and the state animal is the white-tailed deer. Rhode Island “The Ocean State.” The state shell is the quahog, a clamshell that Native Americans used as money; the state bird is the Rhode Island red chicken; and the state tree is the red maple. Vermont “The Green Mountain State.” The sugar maple tree is the state tree, and its sap is gathered at the beginning of spring in an activity known as “sug’rin”; the sap is then boiled down to make delicious maple syrup. The state fishes are the brook trout and wall- eye pike, the state flower is the red clover, and the state insect is the honeybee. History THE FIRST COLONISTS Most people who initially came to the New World hoped to find treasure of one kind or another and return home. But in the New England region, religious motives brought the first settlers. A small group of English separatists, the Pilgrims, arrived in 1620 and founded the Plymouth Colony. Unprepared for the hardships of their first winter, their concern was survival. With help from the Native Americans, the Pilgrims lived through the winter. Native American influence on colonial cookery was incalculable—primarily in terms of the kinds of produce used, leading off with maize, which the settlers called “Indian corn.” One tribe of natives, the Wampanoag, shared their seeds of native corn plants and instructed the settlers in how to plant and fertilize their crop by planting a tiny fish along 04_682942_ch01.qxd 12/16/05 11:51 AM Page 3 HISTORY 3 with each seed. The harvested corn could be steamed, roasted, or pounded into cornmeal. Cornmeal “mush” became a staple of the colonists’ diet and was served hot or cold, with milk and butter. The colonists learned to adapt their own traditional recipes, sub- stituting cornmeal for hearth cakes—puddings with a different flavor, but a similar cooking method. Americans now have johnnycakes, boiled and baked Indian puddings, and other English recipes using Indian corn. This use of maize is the most important and original aspect of American cookery, and the nation is known for its many corn recipes. In addition to corn, Native Americans subsisted beans and squash. This “triad” of corn, beans, and squash was referred to as the “three sisters.” Kidney beans, string beans, snap beans, butter beans, lima beans, navy peas, and pole beans were planted. Many varieties of squash, including acorn, zucchini, pumpkins, and gourds, were adopted by the colonists. The squash could be eaten fresh or could be dried and stored. The squash seeds could be dried and used as well. The vegetables combined together were known as “succotash,” a term that today describes a mixture of corn, with any type of beans and squash. The Native Americans taught these newcomers how to hunt and fish, and how to cure and smoke their food to preserve it through the winter. Bean pods could be left on the vine until they were thoroughly dry, and then used through the winter. The colonists learned to cook dried beans and depended on them as a staple food. The Indians of New England flavored their beans with maple sugar and bear fat and slow-cooked them in underground pits inside deer hides. This preparation evolved into today’s baked beans that are very slowly cooked in a bean pot with salt pork and molasses. The Puritans’ observance of the Sabbath led to the widespread practice of making beans on Saturday to be eaten on Sunday. NEW IMMIGRANTS In the 1880s, when immigrants, particularly those from Ireland, Italy, and Portugal, began to arrive en masse in New England, the culinary customs they brought from their home- lands were incorporated into the regional cuisine and cooking style. Single-pot dishes such as meat and seafood stews, which were commonly eaten in Europe, were adapted to the local ingredients. Braised and pickled beef, a mainstay of Britain and Ireland, became the popular dish called New England Boiled Dinner. 04_682942_ch01.qxd 12/16/05 11:51 AM Page 4 4 THE CUISINE OF NEW ENGLAND The New England Pantry EARLY FARMERS Native New England ingredients formed the basis of the developing cuisine. Root vegetables such as beets, celeriac, carrots, parsnips, rutabagas, turnips, onions, and white and sweet potatoes saw them through the winters. Apples were brought over by the English colonists, and over 150 varieties were planted. They established apricot, plum, and pear orchards and cultivated strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. The early settlers of New England also brought many animals with them to their new Lobsters Maine lobster, also known as the American lobster, is found in the North Atlantic from Laborador to North Carolina, with Maine contributing to more than half of all lobsters caught in the United States. Maine lobster is distinguished from the “spiny” lobster,or rock lobster, caught along the southern Atlantic coast and the coast of California, by its large heavy claws. Live Maine lobster is available year-round, with the bulk of the catch harvested in the summer in fall. June and July is the peak molting season. Lobsters grow by molting, or shedding their shells. Just after they molt, they are soft and fragile until their new shell has hardened. It takes about 25 molts over 5 to 7 years for a lobster to grow to a minimum legal size, 1 pound. Newly molted lobsters are called “soft-shell” lobsters. It is important to be aware of the quality and price of these lobsters, as soft-shell lobsters have less meat in proportion to total body weight than hard-shell lobsters. Hard-shell meat is firmer, while soft-shell meat is softer and tends to have more water. The New England states have very strict laws governing lobstering. In Maine, it is ille- gal to sell lobsters under and over a certain size. Lobstermen use a special gauge to accu- rately measure the length of the lobster’s carapace (body).The legal minimum length of the 1 carapace is 3 / 4 inches. Lobsters under this length are called “shorts” or “snappers” and must be thrown back into the ocean. Minimum sizes are enforced to make sure that lob- 04_682942_ch01.qxd 12/16/05 11:51 AM Page 5 THE NEW ENGLAND PANTRY 5 homeland. As livestock were useful and easy to feed and care for, they could be found on nearly every New England farm. Farmers raised cattle for milk and beef, sheep for mut- ton and wool, chicken for eggs and meat, and oxen and horses for pulling carts and plows. Pigs were widely owned because they could fend almost entirely for themselves by foraging in the woods for food. Wheat and rye could be planted once the livestock was available to plow the rocky land. The colonists brought their techniques of stone-ground milling for their grains. Cider and ale were the main beverages of the early settlers. Hard fermented cider, the standard drink for both adults and children, was generally made from apples, although pears were also used. Wines from mulberries, cherries, and grapes were also produced. sters are mature enough to breed at least once before they are harvested.The maximum legal length of the carapace is 5 inches; these lobsters are called “jumbo.” The maximum size limit is regulated to protect the breeding stock. A minimum-size lobster will weigh around 1 pound, while a maximum-size lobster will weigh between 2 and 4 pounds. Lobster is referred to in the industry by different names depending on its weight. Market 1 1 sizes range from “chickens” (1 to 1 /8 pound) to jumbos (over 3 /2 pounds).The most plen- 1 1 tiful and most popular size of Maine lobster is between 1 /4 and 1 /2 pounds each.

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