Massachusetts food is quite famous for its seafood and daily products, where the cuisine depicts the reflection of cuisine of New England, which is the home to Massachusetts State. The cuisine of New England is American in nature as this region is situated in North eastern part of United States. Hence the cuisine of Massachusetts is also primarily American in nature, which is illustrated by its widespread use of dairy products and seafood.
History of Massachusetts Cuisine
The food of Massachusetts basically consists of dairy products and seafood, which is primarily because of the state’s prime reliance on fishing and agricultural industries. Further, wide spread dairy farming within the inland regions is the reason for extensive consumption of dairy products in Massachusetts food preparation. Also, the process of preparing food through baking process became much popular in the state, which was the trend set up by the Puritan settlers in New England, many years ago. Frying method of preparing food was seldom followed during the earlier times. It is still not followed largely at present.
Commonly Used Ingredients and Cooking Methods of Massachusetts Cuisine
Ingredients
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Potato is used as the basic ingredient in the form of starch.
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Sage and parsley are used in almost all recipes.
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Nutmeg is also added at times in preparation of Massachusetts food.
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Heavy dependence on dairy products, results in extensive use of cream in food preparation in Massachusetts.
Cooking methods
The two most commonly favored methods of cooking include baking and stewing, with frying method of preparing food being used rarely.
Popular Foods of Massachusetts Cuisine
The state of Massachusetts is popularly known for a few food specialties which consist of the following:
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Clams - Clam based dishes are highly popular in Massachusetts, where clams basically refer to freshwater mussels, freshwater bivalves, and marine bivalves. Clam chowder is a widely consumed Massachusetts food which refers to shellfish soup prepared with the help of hard clam.
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Haddock- also known as offshore hake, haddock is a kind of marine fish which is widely distributed on North Atlantic’s both sides and can be smoked, frozen, canned or dried.
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Cod – use of cod in the cuisine of Massachusetts was quite popular in the earlier times, which refers to popular seafood item, which is mildly flavored and has low fat content.
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Beans- beans are also widely used food items in the Massachusetts state, where they are popularly used in preparing baked beans, which is a dish where beans are cooked in tomato based sauce.
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Pierogi - Pierogi refers to baked, fried or boiled dumplings of dough (unleavened dough), which are stuffed with ground meat, mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, and cheese.
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Kielbasa – its is a popular Massachusetts food item which refers to a sausage prepared of ground meat, herbs, salt and various other spices.