It’s possible you’ll be shocked to be taught that (drum roll), oyster crackers obtained their title due to their affiliation with oysters and different seafood, however not as a result of they really comprise any oysters. As you might suspect from the style, oyster crackers haven’t any oysters in them in any respect, simply wheat flour, salt, and butter, in accordance with Costas Inn.
Based on The Kitchn, the origins of oyster crackers are literally some extent of competition, with Adam Exton claiming to have first made them in his New Jersey Cracker Bakery in 1847. Nevertheless, in accordance with Westminster Crackers in Massachusetts, their bakery created oyster crackers not lengthy after the American Revolution, they usually even have digital excursions showcasing their dough mixing and cracker-cutting processes.
No matter their origins, oyster crackers are suspected to have gotten their title as a consequence of their affiliation with oyster stew, which was once an affordable meal accessible in taverns alongside the East Coast (by way of Portable Press). Others have mused that their title comes from their spherical, white, oyster-like look (by way of Food Timeline). It is potential that each are true. If the title “oyster crackers” makes you uneasy, you’ll be able to all the time name them by their different names; in accordance with The Kitchn, they’ve additionally been dubbed “water crackers” and “Philadelphia crackers.” Who knew such a tiny meals might spark a lot debate?
