The cuisine of New England is an American cuisine which originated in the New England region of the United States, and traces its roots to traditional English cuisine and Native American cuisine of the Abenaki, Narragansett, Niantic, Wabanaki, Wampanoag, and other native peoples. It also includes influences from Irish, French-Canadian, Italian, and Portuguese cuisine, among others. It is characterized by extensive use of potatoes, beans, dairy products, and seafood, resulting from its historical reliance on its seaports and fishing industry. Corn, the major crop historically grown by Native American tribes in New England, continues to be grown in all New England states, primarily as sweet corn although flint corn is grown as well. It is traditionally used in hasty puddings, cornbreads and corn chowders.
Many of New England's earliest Puritan settlers were from eastern England, where baking foods (for instance, pies, beans, and turkey) was more common than frying, as was the tradition elsewhere.
Three prominent characteristic foodstuffs native to New England are maple syrup, cranberries and blueberries. The traditional standard starch is potato. Traditional New England cuisine is known for a lack of strong spices, largely due to local 19th-century health reformers, most prominently Sylvester Graham, who advocated eating bland food. Ground black pepper, parsley, garlic, and sage are common, with a few Caribbean additions, such as nutmeg, plus several Italian spices.
The use of cream is common because it relies on dairy. The favored cooking techniques are stewing, steaming, and baking. Many local ingredients, such as squash, corn and local beans, sunflowers, wild turkey, maple syrup, cranberries and dishes such as cornbread, Johnnycakes and Indian pudding were adopted from Native American cuisine.
History
Early history The traditional diet of the Wampanoag Indians included chestnuts, beechnuts, walnuts, beans, multi-colored corn (called "flint corn"), and varieties of squash and pumpkins. Not strictly vegetarian, the traditional diet of the Wabanaki people is plant-centric and based on corn, beans, squash, sunflower seeds, sunchokes and groundcherries. The Wabanaki tribal nations did make plant milk and infant formula from nuts.
American colonies In 1620, the newly arrived Pilgrims faced the prospect of surviving their first winter in Plymouth Colony. The climate was harsh, and the growing season was shorter than they were accustomed to because of the long, frosty winters. The newly arrived colonists brought vital techniques of food preservation, like smoking, curing and drying, that helped them survive the harsh New England winter. They also received help from the Wampanoag, who taught the newly arrived Pilgrims how to grow the staple crops of squash, beans and corn. It is not known for certain what crops were grown in early colonial gardens, but later sources mention turnips, onions, carrots, garlic, and pumpkins.
The Pilgrims used corn to make hasty pudding and Wampanoag recipes like popcorn, sagamite and nasaump. The Wampanoag Indians also taught the Pilgrims to bake in hot ashes, and ash cakes (also called johnny cakes or breakfast bannocks) became a staple breakfast bread. Beans were used to make stews or combined with corn to make succotash.
Many of Massachusetts Bay's earliest Puritan settlers were from eastern England and brought the traditions of English cuisine with them. Puritans typically avoided much of the food native to New England (such as oysters, lobsters, salmon, and plants like glasswort and fiddleheads) unless driven to starvation. Roast duck, goose, lamb, and hams were brought as farmyard stock as soon as the colonies began to prosper. One typical dish of the Puritans was boiled dinner: a meal where the meat and vegetables were boiled simultaneously in the same pot (a unique method inherited from Eastern England). Another dish was pease porridge, a meal of "boiled or baked" split peas cooked with herbs and bacon that was eaten both warm or cold. Dark beer and fermented apple cider were often drunk alongside the settlers' meals.
An important element of the Puritan settlers' cooking style was baking. Brick ovens were used to bake a type of crusty brown bread out of cornmeal and rye, which became known as "rye n' injun". Another example of the use of the oven is the typical Puritan Thanksgiving meal, which featured baked turkey. Desserts enjoyed by Puritans included baked goods such as cakes and fruit pies.
Even today, traditional English cuisine remains a strong part of New England's identity. Some of its plates are now enjoyed by the entire United States, including baked beans, apple pies, pease porridge, and steamed puddings.
19th century
Since the 1800s, New England's culinary traditions have been influenced by the arrival of Irish Americans, Portuguese Americans, and Italian Americans.
"Country stores" sold homemade jams, fruit preserves, and penny candy. Common crackers are still made with the original recipe dating to 1828.
Vegetarianism was practiced during the 18th and 19th century by individuals and families in Maine before the start of the modern vegetarian movement in 1817 in Philadelphia.
20th century In the post-World War II era, July 4 celebrations frequently featured steak, hot dogs, hamburgers and grilled chicken. In the more distant past, lamb was more traditional inland, and coastal communities in New England typically served salmon with dill mayo, peas, new potatoes, and corn on the cob. Dessert often includes seasonal fruit, for example, strawberry shortcake and blueberry pie.
21st century In the 21st century, more people in New England were eating vegan and vegetarian meals, and more restaurants were serving them. In a Boston Globe article in 2022, it was reported how that four of the most traditional foods of New England cuisine (lobsters, corn, blueberries, and coffee) are among crops affected most by climate change and temperature and humidity changes.
Traditional foods and drinks
Beer and alcohol
Drinks in the Colonial era were made with local ingredients like honey, molasses, apples, hops, and wild berries. These drinks included apple brandy (applejack), fruit wines, rum and mead. Some of the finest rum distilleries were located in New England before Prohibition.
The hot ale flip is a traditional drink, historically made by mixing a pitcher of beer with rum, frothy eggs, and a sweetener such as dried pumpkin, maple syrup, or molasses. The beverage was warmed by plunging a hot poker into it, caramelizing the sugars and creating its characteristic hot froth.
Like the flip, the Rattle-Skull was a mix of beer (in this case, a dark beer like porter) and hard liquor—usually rum and brandy. The beverage is flavored with lime and garnished with nutmeg.
The Stone Fence was a mix of hard cider and rum. Reportedly, Ethan Allen and his men drank it before they raided Fort Ticonderoga in 1775. Egg cider was made by cracking eggs into heated cider and adding a sweetener like molasses.
The cider-based beverage syllabub was made with rum, cream, and a sweetener. Mulled cider could be made with sweetener, spices, rum, and egg yolks.
Birch beer, made with sap from the betula lenta tree, was made by both the English and early American colonists. The betula lenta is known for producing a fragrant sap with a unique minty flavor. John Mortimer wrote that birch beer was usually made by people experiencing poverty by boiling birch sap with sugar and fermenting it with yeast.
Many local breweries produce lagers and ales. Notable examples include Samuel Adams of the Boston Beer Company in Boston (even though the recipe for the beer does not come from New England); Sea Dog Brewing Company of Bangor; Shipyard Brewing Company of Portland; Smuttynose Brewing Company of Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and Narragansett Brewing Company of Providence. Vermont-based Woodchuck Draft Cider is a popular alcoholic cider.
New England has also played a major role in the craft beer revolution, with Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont having notable breweries such as Harpoon Brewery, Allagash Brewing Company, Treehouse Brewing Company, Trillium Brewing Company, The Alchemist Brewery, Jack's Abby Brewing Company, Long Trail Brewing Company, Kent Falls Brewing Company and Two Roads Brewing Company.
Baked beans Colonists learned to make baked beans from Native Americans. Baked beans are slow-cooked in an oven at a low temperature. They are sweetened, traditionally with maple syrup or molasses. The molasses is what sets them apart as New England baked beans. The Pilgrims and other early colonists were forbidden to cook on Sundays, when these Christian communities observed the Sabbath, which made baked beans a common meal for Saturday night dinner and all day Sunday. Two regional styles are Boston Baked Beans and Maine Baked Beans. The difference between the two styles is that Boston beans are made with small white, navy, or pea beans with thin skins, while Maine beans are made with native bean varieties with thicker skins. These varieties are Marifax, soldier beans, and the most popular baked bean variety in Maine is the yellow-eye bean.
Casseroles, soups, and stews The custom of bringing one-dish casseroles (also called hot dishes) to barn raisings and church suppers was not exclusive to New England, but also included traditional variations such as baked beans and succotash. Modern recipes can be made with any ingredients available at markets. Seafood casseroles are made with cream sauce and bread crumb topping.
American chop suey is a casserole dish made with ground beef, macaroni, and a seasoned tomato sauce. Though unrelated to Hungarian goulash, in other regions of the United States it may be called American goulash amongst other names.
Fruits
Blueberries are made into jams and jellies and feature in breads and regional desserts like pies, cobblers, and cakes.
Wild beach plums are foraged and used to make fruit preserves like jams and jellies. Beach plums were cultivated and used for the commercial manufacture of beach plum jelly in the 1930s, but beach plum products are no longer widely available in commercial markets.
The local purple concord grapes are a cross between native and European grapes. The large grapes are prized for their juiciness and used in the production of commercial grape juice, wine, and grape jelly. It is a common ingredient in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Until the pilgrims planted apple seeds from Europe, the only regional apples were crab apples. Cross-pollination altered the results of these first attempts, but over the years, thousands of new varieties were bred by the pilgrims. Massachusetts native John Chapman, known as Johnny Appleseed, was a nurseryman who spread apple trees across the Midwest.
William Blaxton planted the first apple orchard in 1625. The earliest apple varieties produced in New England included Lady (1628), Roxbury Russet (1630), Pomme Grise (1650), Baldwin (1740), Porter (1800), Mother (1844) and Wright (1875). In modern times apples are grown commercially throughout Massachusetts.
The first attempts at commercial cranberry growing were pioneered by Captain Henry Hall, who developed the technique of covering the vines with sand to accelerate the plant's growth.
Hot dogs New England–style hot dog buns are split on top instead of on the side, and have a more rectangular shape. While smaller than common hot dog rolls, New England hot dog rolls have a larger soft surface area, allowing for buttering and toasting, which are also commonly used for the convenient serving of seafood like lobster or fried clams. Hot dog stands in Maine have long sold vegetarian hot dogs, but the region's most famous hot dog variation is the "Red Snapper"– a natural-casing hotdog with a signature bright red coloration and snappy bite.
Maple syrup