You have probably been to the Wiki site by now, but a quahog (pronounced as if it rhymes with paw-hog) is a clam. They are chewy. If you don’t grow up eating them, of course, they are, “I am so NOT going to eat THAT!” Having said that, eating them raw is something people in NY and NJ do, Not that it’s wrong.

So, good luck getting invited to a traditional holiday meal of salmon in New England. No seriously, Miss Cellania! Doesn’t happen.

Have a great Independence Day, all!

Maybe in Maine. Upper Maine. Dunno. Some place where rivers are cold even in summer? Near Canada?

I could much more easily imagine the Marketing Dept. of the Salmon Producers coming up with the idea:

“Hey, I know, let’s say eating salmon on the Fourth of July is an old New England Tradition!”

“Hmmm…I like it, I mean who’s gonna know the difference?”

In point of fact in the old days most Rhode Islanders would have a family picnic, with the usual picnic fare- chicken or cold meat, salads, etc., or a family clambake. We used to go to my Aunt’s farm outside of town for our family clambake. There would be well over 100 people there. The men would have gone quahogging (littlenecks, too,) and fishing. They would have dug a huge pit and lined it with rocks. The night before, they would make an enormous fire in the pit, let it burn down, then they would put in a layer of wet seaweed, and then layers of potatoes, quahogs and littlenecks, small brown paper bags containing a piece of whitefish and a small sausage, and finally corn in the husk. They would cover it with tarps and let it steam for several hours. We would eat and talk all afternoon, seated at several long rough-hewn tables. Then, at dusk, we would take our coolers and folding chairs and drive back into town to my Great-Uncle’s house, and all the family and neighbors would sit in the side yard to watch a grand fireworks display set up in the back of the property. It was professionally overseen by family members and neighbors who were also policemen and firemen in our town. We children were not allowed to leave the spectator area, nor have sparklers or any sort of fireworks. That was just common sense. It was a wonderful celebration!

Our Massachusetts traditions were:

Parade
Flea Market
Pool party
Hot dogs/Hamburgers
Firecrackers