Facts for Kids

Chowder is a thick, warm soup or dish that people often make with milk or cream and a little flour or butter to make it smooth. It can be made with seafood like clams or fish, or with vegetables such as corn or potatoes. Because it is thick, chowder feels a bit heartier than plain soup—more like a cozy bowl of food you eat with a spoon.

Many people enjoy chowder with small crackers called oyster crackers or with saltine crackers. Some cooks crumble the crackers on top, which adds a crunchy bit that tastes nice against the creamy chowder.

Chowder grew out of the life of sailors and coastal towns. Long ago, people on ships made a thick dish using fish or other seafood and pieces of hard biscuit called hardtack to thicken it. This made a warm, filling meal that kept well on a trip.

As seafarers and settlers moved to North America, chowder came with them. By the 1700s, writers described chowder as a good, hearty soup made with fish, pork, and biscuit. Over time it became a favorite in New England and at many community gatherings like picnics and dances.

Bermuda fish chowder is a special soup that people in Bermuda often call their national dish. It starts with fish, tomatoes, and onions, and cooks until the flavors mix together. What makes it taste unique is the seasoning: cooks add a little black rum and a hot sauce called sherry pepper sauce. These give the chowder a warm, spicy kick and a tiny touch of sweetness from the rum.

The recipe came from British colonists long ago, so it mixes island ingredients with old cooking ideas. Today families and restaurants serve it as a proud Bermuda favorite.

Clam chowder is a popular kind of chowder made with clams, diced potatoes, and onions. Sometimes cooks add celery. The two big styles people talk about are cream-style and broth-style. Cream-style, often called New England clam chowder, is thick and milky. Broth-style, called Manhattan clam chowder, uses tomato broth instead of milk and is thinner.

There are more local versions too. Rhode Island clam chowder usually has no dairy and can be clear or tomato-based. Connecticut cooks often use milk instead of cream. Other coastal places such as New Jersey, Delaware, and the Carolinas have their own special twists.

The exact start of the word is a little unclear, so people offer a few ideas. One idea links the word to the French word chaudron, which means a big cooking pot. That makes sense because chowder was often cooked in pots on ships or by the shore.

Other similar words from places like Portugal (caldeirada) and French coastal regions (chaudière, chaudrée) also point to pots and stews. In Canada, the Quebec word chaudière means “bucket.” Long ago, words that meant cooking pots or stews probably changed into the name we use today.

Southern Illinois chowder is very different from the coastal kinds. Instead of being a fish soup, it is a thick, stew-like dish—sometimes called 'downtown chowder'—that includes beef, chicken, tomatoes, cabbage, lima beans, and green beans. It cooks slowly until everything is soft and the flavors are rich, so it feels more like a hearty meal than a light soup.

Long ago, cooks sometimes added wild game when it was available, which shows how recipes change with the land and what people can hunt or raise. This chowder is close in style to burgoo or Brunswick stew and is often made for big gatherings.

Corn chowder is a creamy, thick soup that uses sweet corn instead of clams. It often includes potatoes, celery, and onion to make it hearty. Some versions add bits of bacon or cooked chicken for extra flavor and protein.

Cooks can make corn chowder with fresh, frozen, or canned corn, so it works any time of year. There are many tasty variants, like roasted corn and potato chowder or corn chowder with crab. Changing one ingredient—like using roasted corn—gives each bowl a different flavor while keeping the same cozy, creamy feel.

Many regions make chowders using different fish and seafood. A basic fish chowder might use cod or salmon and include potatoes, onion, celery, carrot, corn, and a bit of bacon for flavor. In the Pacific Northwest, cooks make a popular smoked salmon chowder that uses Alaskan smoked salmon and a little tomato paste, which gives the soup a warm red color.

Seafood chowders can be creamy or more like a broth, and they sometimes mix several kinds of seafood. In places like New Zealand, ready-made mixes of seafood are sometimes called 'seafood marinara' for convenience.

Many people call packaged, restaurant, or factory-made chowders commercial varieties because they are made to sell in stores or serve in restaurants. These chowders often come in cans or jars, and they are designed to be safe to keep on a shelf and easy to heat at home. When fresh clams were hard to find, makers used canned or bottled clams so more people could enjoy clam chowder far from the sea.

Commercial chowders also show local tastes. In places with lots of salmon, you might find salmon chowder. In farm regions, chowders with corn or chicken are common. These changes keep the idea of chowder alive while using foods people can get nearby.