Corn chowder is a

chowder Chowder is a thick soup prepared with milk or cream, a roux, and seafood or vegetables. Oyster crackers or saltines may accompany chowders as a side item, and cracker pieces may be dropped atop the dish. New England clam chowder is typically ...

soup prepared using

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

as a primary ingredient. Basic corn chowder is commonly made of corn, onion, celery, milk or cream, and butter. Additional ingredients sometimes used include potatoes or squash, salt pork, fish, seafood and chicken. In the United States, recipes for corn chowder date to at least as early as 1884. Corn chowder is

mass-produced Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and ba ...

as a canned food in the U.S.

Overview

Corn chowder is a thick cream-based

soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling soli ...

. It is similar to New England clam chowder, with

used in place of or substituted for

clam Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two shel ...

s in the recipe. Basic ingredients in corn chowder include corn, chopped onion and celery, milk or cream, butter, flour, salt and pepper. Fresh shucked corn with the corn kernels sliced off, canned corn and frozen corn can be used to prepare the dish. In addition to corn, it often contains potatoes, and additional vegetables can also be used. The potatoes can aid in thickening the soup. Chicken stock can also be used as an ingredient, as can

salt pork Salt pork is salt-cured pork. It is usually prepared from pork belly, or, more rarely, fatback. Salt pork typically resembles uncut side bacon, but is fattier, being made from the lowest part of the belly, and saltier, as the cure is stronger ...

, bacon, crackers and

corn starch Corn starch, maize starch, or cornflour (British English) is the starch derived from corn (maize) grain. The starch is obtained from the endosperm of the kernel. Corn starch is a common food ingredient, often used to thicken sauces or sou ...

, the latter as a thickener.

Corn cobs Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

can be used as an ingredient when preparing fresh

stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a compan ...

for the dish, and cooking them down can also serve to thicken the soup. Various fish and seafoods are sometimes used as ingredients in corn chowder, and chicken is also sometimes used. Some people serve basic corn chowder as a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

alternative to clam chowder.

History

In the United States, recipes for corn chowder date back to at least 1884, at which time a corn chowder recipe was published in the '' Boston Cook Book'', authored by Mary Lincoln of the

Boston Cooking School The Boston Cooking School was founded in 1879 by the Women’s Education Association of BostonNot to be confused with the Women's Educational and Industrial Union. "to offer instruction in cooking to those who wished to earn their livelihood as coo ...

. Another corn chowder recipe was published in the ''

Boston Cooking-School Cook Book The ''Boston Cooking-School Cook Book'' (1896) by Fannie Farmer is a 19th-century general reference cookbook which is still available both in reprint and in updated form. It was particularly notable for a more rigorous approach to recipe writing ...

'' in 1896, which was authored by

Fannie Farmer Fannie Merritt Farmer (23 March 1857 – 16 January 1915) was an American culinary expert whose ''Boston Cooking-School Cook Book'' became a widely used culinary text. Education Fannie Farmer was born on 23 March 1857 in Boston, Massachusetts, ...

, Lincoln's successor at the Boston Cooking School. Farmer's recipe utilized canned corn, a product that emerged around the mid-1800s in the U.S. The 1896 recipe also included salt pork, potatoes and crackers as ingredients. After Lincoln's published recipe in 1884, myriad recipes for corn chowder began circulating in various

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cour ...

s in the United States, with many types of recipe variations. For example, some recipes utilized cream, milk or condensed milk, and thickeners included the use of flour or eggs. Around the early 1900s, the

Shakers The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers, are a millenarian restorationist Christian sect founded in England and then organized in the United States in the 1780s. They were initially ...

were well known for their

soups and general culinary skills. A simple Shakers recipe from this time period for corn chowder used just three ingredients: cream, butter and fresh corn.

Mass production

Corn chowder is a

canned food product in the United States. The

Campbell Soup Company Campbell Soup Company, trade name, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has gro ...

manufactures and markets prepared canned soup products named "Sweet Potato Corn Chowder", "Campbell's Healthy Request Chunky Corn Chowder", "Campbell's Chunky Chicken Corn Chowder" and "Clam and Corn Chowder with Bacon." Progresso, a

General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company or ...

brand, manufactures and markets corn chowders, such as "Rich & Hearty Chicken Corn Chowder" and "Light Chicken Corn Chowder."

Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation ( doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costc ...

markets a corn chowder under its

Kirkland Signature Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...

brand name, named "Kirkland Roasted Corn Chowder." Safeway Inc. markets a corn chowder under their "Signature Cafe"

store brand A private label, also called a private brand or private-label brand, is a brand owned by a company, offered by that company alongside and competing with brands from other businesses. A private-label brand is almost always offered exclusively by th ...

Gallery

File:Vegan corn chowder with cornbread.jpg,

Vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

corn chowder with cornbread File:Cups of corn chowder with bacon, potato, olive oil and chives.jpg, Cups of corn chowder with bacon, potato, olive oil and

chives Chives, scientific name ''Allium schoenoprasum'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae that produces edible leaves and flowers. Their close relatives include the common onions, garlic, shallot, leek, scallion, and ...

File:Mexican chicken corn chowder.jpg, Mexican

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...

corn chowder File:Shrimp and corn chowder.jpg, Corn chowder with shrimp File:Corn chowder with crab 1.jpg, Corn chowder with crab meat File:Scallops corn chowder.jpg, Corn chowder with scallops File:Corn chowder close-up.jpg, Close-up view of a corn chowder

References

External links

* *
Roasted Corn Chowder with Cheddar Cheese
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Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...