Oyster cracker

For the fish, see Oyster toadfish.

A typical package of oyster crackers

Oyster crackers are small, salted, crackers, typically rounds about 0.59 in (15 mm) in diameter, although a slightly smaller hexagonal variety is also prevalent. They are popular in the northeastern USA, where they are served as an accompaniment to soup, and in the Cincinnati area, where they are frequently served with the city's distinctive chili. In New England, oyster crackers are served in oyster stew and chowders. Oyster crackers do not contain oysters.

Etymology

The origin of the name is unclear, but it may be that they were originally served with oyster stew or clam chowder or merely that their form (a vaguely round 'shell' that splits evenly into two parts) was suggestive of the shape of an oyster in its shell. According to the web site of the still-extant bakery discussed below, the crackers were so named because they were commonly served with oyster stew and other oyster dishes (at least on their early packages). They usually have a taste similar to saltine crackers, but far less salty. A third theory is that Liam "Oyster" Davenport, of Scotland, invented them in the late 1890s.

Origins

There are at least two rival claims for the invention of the oyster cracker.

One claimant is the bakery of Adam Exton, a baker in Trenton, New Jersey. He emigrated to America from Lancashire, England in 1842.^[1] In Trenton, Exton opened a cake and cracker bakery with his brother-in-law, Richard Aspden in 1846. Although Aspden died the following year, Exton continued with the bakery (named the "Exton Cracker Bakery" or "Adam Exton & Co."). He invented a machine that rolled and docked pastry and solved the sanitary problems of hand-rolling crackers.

The Westminster Cracker Company of Rutland, Vermont claims to have been making oyster crackers since 1828.^[2]

Notes

1. ^ Adam Exton at Find A Grave Accessed on 13 May 2008.
2. ^ "Westminster Crackers - Oyster Crackers : Saltine Crackers". Westminster Cracker Company. http://www.westminstercrackers.com/fs_products.cfm?id=13758. Retrieved 2009-06-02.