Editing Oyster cracker

{{short description|American salted hexagonal cracker}}
{{Infobox prepared food
| name             = Oyster crackers
| image            = Oyster Crackers.jpg
| caption          = A bowl of oyster crackers
| alternate_name   = water cracker
| country          = [[United States]]
| region           = Northeast
| creator          = [[Westminster Cracker Company]]
| course           = 
| type             = [[Cracker (food)|Cracker]]
| served           = 
| main_ingredient  = Flour, shortening, leavening (baking powder), yeast, sugar, salt 
| variations       = 
| calories         = 
| other            = 
}}
'''Oyster crackers''' are small, salted [[cracker (food)|cracker]]s, typically rounds about {{convert|15|mm|in|frac=8|abbr=off}} in diameter, although a slightly smaller hexagonal variety is also common. Oyster crackers are often served with [[oyster stew]] and [[clam chowder]] and have a flavor similar to [[saltine crackers]].

== In cuisine==
Oyster crackers are popular in the northeastern [[United States]], where they are served as an accompaniment to soup, and in the [[Cincinnati, Ohio|Cincinnati]] area, where they are frequently served with [[Cincinnati chili|that city's distinctive chili]]. In New England, oyster crackers are served with oyster stew and chowders. Plain oyster crackers are sometimes seasoned with various spices or [[pepper sauce]] and served as an [[appetizer]] or snack. Oyster crackers have a taste similar to [[saltine crackers]], but usually are less salty. In other areas of the United States, they are among the choices for crackers with soup or salads and are often available in restaurants in single serving packages.

Many different companies produce oyster crackers with different combinations of [[shortening]]s and other ingredients, but retaining the same general shape and size.

== Etymology ==
The origin of the term "oyster cracker" is unclear, but it may be that they were originally served with [[oyster stew]] or [[clam chowder]] or possibly  that they look somewhat like an oyster in its shell.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-an-oyster-cracker-ingredient-intelligence-214858 |title=What Are Oyster Crackers (And How Did They Get Their Name)? |publisher=Kitchn |date=2015-01-13 |accessdate=2017-10-06}}</ref> Other names include "water cracker," "Philadelphia cracker," and "Trenton cracker".<ref>{{cite book|author=[[Cornelius Weygandt]]|title=General Magazine and Historical Chronicle Vol XLI Numb 2 January 1939 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6N8XAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA346|accessdate=7 May 2013|year=1939|publisher=University of Pennsylvania|pages=346–}} Quote: "I have had letters from Denver and from Pasadena about oyster crackers those oyster crackers some of us called water crackers some of us Philadelphia crackers some of us Trenton crackers Both of these men said they had oyster stew once a week the Denver man on Saturday night the Pasadena man on an unspecified day The one sent to Philadelphia for the crackers the other insisted on Exton crackers"</ref>

== Origins ==

The [[Westminster Cracker Company]], currently of [[Rutland (city), Vermont|Rutland, Vermont]], claims to have been making oyster crackers since 1828.<ref>{{cite web|author=&mdash;&nbsp;Haleigh (Shelton, CT) |url=http://www.westminstercrackers.com/about-wbc |title=Best Oyster Crackers - Westminster All Natural Crackers |publisher=Westminster Crackers |date= |accessdate=2017-10-06}}</ref> However, a counterclaim credits Adam Exton with inventing the oyster cracker nearly 18 years later.

Adam Exton, a baker in [[Trenton, New Jersey]], immigrated to America from [[Lancashire]], [[England]], in 1842. 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 (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 history of the oyster cracker was related by Exton's nephew, also named Adam Exton, in the ''Trenton Evening Times'' newspaper on May 31, 1917:

{{blockquote|Even a cracker has a history. The past, present and future of the little disc of baked dough with "Exton" stamped across the face of it was discussed by Rotarian Adam Exton, of the Exton Cracker Company, at the weekly meeting of Trenton Rotary Club held this afternoon at Hildebrecht's... Manufacture of the Exton oyster cracker was started in Trenton, in the same location now occupied by the company's factory of Center Street, in 1847. Adam Exton, uncle of the speaker, was the originator of the oyster cracker. At the outset the factory had an output of 100 pounds of crackers a day, 36 of them to a pound, making a daily capacity of 3,600 crackers. (For the record, oyster crackers of today are much smaller and a pound of oyster crackers runs between 350 and 400 crackers, depending on manufacturer.)}}

== See also ==
{{portal|Food}}
* [[Cuisine of Philadelphia]]
* [[List of crackers]]
* [[Saltine cracker]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oyster Cracker}}
[[Category:Crackers (food)]]
[[Category:Vermont cuisine]]
[[Category:Massachusetts cuisine]] 
[[Category:1828 introductions]]