New England cuisine is an
American cuisine which originated in the
northeastern region of the United States known as
New England. It is characterized by extensive use of
seafood and
dairy products, which results from its historical reliance on its seaports and
fishing industry, as well as extensive dairy farming in inland regions. Many of New England's earliest Puritan settlers were from
eastern England, where
baking foods such as
pies,
beans, and
turkey were more common than frying as was the tradition elsewhere. Two prominent characteristic foodstuffs native to New England are
maple syrup and
cranberries. The traditional standard starch is
potato, though rice has a somewhat increased popularity in modern cooking. Although known for limited spices aside from ground black pepper,
parsley and
sage are common, with a few Caribbean additions like
nutmeg. Due to the reliance on dairy, creams are standard. The favored cooking techniques are stewing, steaming, and baking.