Regional cuisines are experiencing an unprecedented moment. Thanks to restaurants like Copenhagen's Noma, which elevated Nordic ingredients and Charleston's Husk which popularized Lowcountry dishes, regional chefs are elevating traditional New England dishes into culinary masterpieces.
This results in an elegant blend of tradition and innovation, brought to you by each delectable dish served.
Modern Twists on Classic Dishes
Maine offers some of the highest-grade raw ingredients for rustic cuisine, making it a favorite destination among chefs and fishermen. Plus, its independent spirit and quiet humor draw them here! No wonder chefs and fishermen flock to Maine.
Like its maritime history, seafood has long been an integral component of New England cuisine. Traditional dishes such as clam chowder, lobster stew, and lobster rolls remain staples on menus throughout New England; however, chefs continue to reinvent these classics by adding innovative ingredients or employing cutting-edge techniques.
New England cuisine typically favors stewing and steaming as its preferred cooking methods, reflecting its cold winter climate. Corn (the staple crop for Native Americans) and beans remain staple ingredients of its cuisine; many dishes incorporate both sweet and flint corn varieties. Wild turkey, maple syrup, and cranberries - native ingredients - also form part of its cuisine.
New England cuisine has long been known for its lack of strong spices - due to health reformers like Sylvester Graham - yet herbs such as sage, parsley, and rosemary remain prevalent here. Other staples like ground black pepper, nutmeg, and cloves may also be used regularly.
Salt cod has long been a mainstay of frugal Yankee kitchens, but in recent years has experienced something of a culinary revival thanks to a new wave of chefs who are taking new approaches when it comes to preparation - rather than simply boiling, they now roast or using as an ingredient in soups and curries.
An annual tradition in New England, this 4th of July salad provides the ideal way to utilize summer's abundant pea harvest while also giving diners a chance to savor its partner dish: American lobster.
This version of the classic dessert features raspberries between two layers of sponge cake with whipped almond filling and finished off with raspberry Chantilly cream. While I typically dislike when chefs tamper with beloved classics, these dark berries add an exciting, fruity edge that elevates it to dinner-party-worthy status.
Clambakes
New Englanders love their summer clam bakes! Packed full of succulent lobster meat, sweet corn kernels and local clams, this meal can easily be recreated at home in your own kitchen without needing to hit the beach! Simply combine water, wine, salt, Old Bay seasoning and garlic together before adding onion, potatoes and seaweed for flavoring before topping with your chosen seafood such as lobster or clams for easy dining accompanied by butter for dipping purposes!
Traditional New England dishes like fish chowders, succotash, boiled hominy, cracked wheat and baked beans remain on many restaurant menus; however, an increasing number of chefs and restaurateurs are adding contemporary twists to these regional classics that reflect its rich immigrant cultures--from Italian, Irish and Puerto Rican to Asian, African and Caribbean.
One of the most noteworthy changes has been a return to bolder spices that had been discouraged by 19th century health reformers who promoted blander food. The resultant cuisine features parsley, rosemary, sage and thyme along with Caribbean spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon for flavoring dishes.
Instead of solely being used for cooking purposes, these seasonings are increasingly being employed as garnishes to adorn dishes and drinks alike. A few dashes of paprika add a uniquely New England taste to the popular Bloody Mary cocktail, while adding seaweed as garnish on seafood dishes pays homage to traditional practices of packing seafood in crates with seaweed as a means to maintaining its freshness.
More and more chefs are embracing the traditions and taking inspiration from other cuisines when creating New England cuisine, making this region one of the premier culinary destinations. When visiting Boston or planning your trip to New England, make sure to sample these dishes from chefs who are redefining its regional cuisine!
Boston Baked Beans
New England food culture provides ample opportunity for exploration. Chefs and restaurants alike are adding contemporary flair to classic regional dishes - like hearty beans and Indian pudding served at Yankee restaurants or chowders that draw from native American ingredients - while reflecting European immigrant groups that have settled there.
Beans have long been an integral part of New England diets. Iroquois, Narragansett and Penobscot tribes would use earthenware pots to prepare slow-cooked navy beans with venison meat and bacon fat in this manner; Puritans who settled colonial New England popularized a dish known as "beans and ham," similar to stew-like potages made by indigenous populations of the region.
These baked beans were traditionally sweetened with molasses and seasoned with salt pork, becoming a classic New England dinner table dish and still enjoyed today.
Chefs in New England are making strides toward recreating traditional dishes through fresh ingredients and modern cooking techniques, revitalizing them by drawing upon indigenous ingredients of the region, dairy farming traditions brought by European colonists, as well as immigration influences from Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Boston Baked Beans candy is a hearty snack covered in red, crunchy candy coating. It boasts peanut crunch with vanilla flavors. First manufactured in 1930s by Ferrara Pan Candy Company as one of their flagship products alongside Red Hots.
Beans are an excellent source of protein, potassium and fiber; naturally gluten-free and contain limited sodium levels. Their preparation requires only minutes of active cooking time in either an Instant Pot or stove top - cooked using a mixture of molasses, ketchup, brown sugar and dry mustard; they're then served alongside cornbread or biscuits!
Cranberry-Based Dishes
Although cranberry sauce is the star of Thanksgiving side dishes, tart fresh and canned berries—in their various forms—are versatile year-round ingredients. Spoon a little homemade or store-bought cranberry relish on a pork chop, swirl a bit of canned cranberry chutney in a snack cake, or use it as the base for a refreshing cocktail.
Chefs and restaurants are putting a contemporary spin on traditional New England dishes. The trickle-down effect of global food-icon chefs like Rene Redzepi, who put New Nordic cuisine on a culinary pedestal, and Sean Brock, who put Lowcountry flavors on the national stage at Charleston's Husk, has been felt here. But rather than caviar on Rhode Island-style johnnycakes or Drambuie-flamed lobster, Boston chefs have embraced the region's culinary heritage with an emphasis on local produce and meats.
This focus has resurrected forgotten New England recipes from obscurity. For example, American Chop Suey (a combination of noodles, seasoned beef, and tomato-y goodness) was once the backbone of many family dinners in New England; now, it's an appetizer on the menu at Loyal Nine in East Cambridge.
A resurgence of interest in regional New England cuisine has also inspired cookbook authors to look back at classic dishes from the region's earliest days as a colony. In fact, when the editors of the first edition of a cookbook from the New England Historical Society published their book on Colonial Cooking in 1823, they included 75 recipes that were "old-fashioned and familiar to many of the early colonists."
Traditional New England foods tend to be flavorful and uncomplicated. Many of the recipes feature whole foods, such as corn, root vegetables, and fruits such as apples, blueberries, and cranberries, that were easily available to settlers. They also feature simple preparation techniques, such as baking whole fish and simmering chicken in stock.
These hearty New England recipes are still popular today because they reflect a desire to eat well, even during tough times. In addition, these dishes have a reputation for being healthy because they are usually low in fat and cholesterol. Another characteristic of New England cuisine is the lack of strong spices, which reflects 19th-century health reformers' push for bland foods.
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