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I perused the ingredients list of a bag of oyster crackers and to my surprise they don't contain any oyster ingredients at all.

Since then I have looked at a multitude of different variety of oyster characters and they all share the same characteristic: the lack of oysters.

Why don't oyster crackers contain oysters? Why even use the word oyster?

yuritsuki
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    As with many things, 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 merely that they look like an oyster in its shell. – Didgeridrew Dec 07 '14 at 04:01
  • Did you read the wikipedia article? It sounds like the origin of the name is unclear, so I'm not sure if you're just looking for speculation? – Cascabel Dec 08 '14 at 22:17

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Given that oyster crackers as we know them were first created in the northeastern United States, I think the most likely hypothesis is that they were intended to be served with oyster stews and clam chowder, which are traditional regional cuisines that would have been quite popular around the same time. Their size and shape make them easy to add to soups, and that's how they're often served today.

logophobe
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