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To Boil Soft Shell Clams

Boiled soft shell clams cooked in boiling water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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To Boil Soft Shell Clams

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Wash the shells clean.

  2. Place the clams in a kettle with the edges downwards.

Cook

  1. Pour boiling water over the clams.

  2. Cover the pot and set it over a brisk fire for 45 minutes.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Soft shell clams
The main ingredient; cooking in covered steam opens the shells and firms the meat.
Boiling water
Heat source that cooks the clams quickly and opens their shells.

The step that matters

Covering the pot and timing the cook over a brisk fire. Clam meat turns tough and rubbery when overcooked, so the pot should be watched once the shells open and the heat kept steady while covered.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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