Homemade Clam Dip

Clam dip was once quite popular, and there was even a commercial brand or two, and maybe that is still the case, but I haven't seen it for quite a number of years, and it tasted "commercial," in my opinion. It is very easy to make, so don't worry about a store brand. I've made this super easy by using onion and garlic powder, but you could use fresh onion and garlic, but be aware, clams are relatively mild tasting, and strong flavors, including too much Worcestershire sauce, can cover up their flavor, which is the whole reason for the dip. 

Ingredients:

1 6 1/2 ounce can chopped clams, drained, but add back one tablespoon of liquid, reserve rest of  liquid
1  8 ounce package cream cheese, softened (reduced fat type is fine) 
1/2 cup mayonnaise (reduced fat is fine)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

 Mix all ingredients together. If too thick, add some of the reserved clam liquid, a teaspoon at a time, stirring well, until desired thickness is reached. Best if chilled for an hour or two before serving. "If" you have any dip left over, cover and refrigerate, and you can add a little of the juice to thin it slightly when ready to use, so keep the juice refrigerated too.

I used my clam dip with potato chips and pretzel thins. 

WORD HISTORY:
Clam-The ultimate origin of this word, closely related to "clamp," is uncertain, but the meaning of its Old Germanic ancestor, "klamm," was "press/clamp together." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) the noun "clamm," meaning, "a grasp, a bond, a band (a band that ties or secures something), a fetter." This then became "clam," and the idea of "holding, grasping, binding" continued, with the meanings, "clamp, pincers, clasp." Later the word was paired with "shell," as "clam shell," in Scotland, but then was shortened to just "clam" for the "hard-shelled creature that lives in water, whose shells clamp shut." This meaning spread into English, in general, during the early 1500s. The verb, meaning "to dig for clams in the sand," seems to have developed in the North American colonies about a hundred years later. The American usage for "dollars" (the term is almost always used in the plural), "may" have come from "clams" being used for barter, with the term then extending to money. The verbal usage "clam up," meaning, "to keep quiet," is obviously from the notion, "close the lips tightly like clam shells, so as not to be able to speak." Containers in modern times, often used for food, are also called "clamshells," because they can open and close on a hinge. Forms of "clam" in the other Germanic languages did not develop the modern sense of their English cousin, but rather many still have the meaning, "clasp, clamp," in the noun form, and "to clamp, to clamp shut," in verb forms. I will do the history of "clamp" soon, and I will then put the related Germanic language words. Just a little note also: "clam" MAY be related to "climb," and also to, "clay."