25th February: National Clam Chowder Day

Each year on February 25th people across the nation have a bowl and spoon ready to be filled with clam chowder as they prepare to participate in National Clam Chowder Day. Clam chowder in its simplest form is a soup or stew containing clams or fish. The most common type of chowder includes milk or cream as well as potatoes, though the Manhattan clam chowder has tomatoes. Originally considered a poor man’s food, the first chowders were fish stews made from vegetable and fish stewed in a large pot or cauldron. The origin of the word “chowder” is up for a little bit of debate.  The French word for cauldron is “chaudiere.”  The English word “jowter” means fish peddler.  Both are on the hook for possible origins. Clams are thought to have been introduced to the mix by the Native Americans and by the mid-1800s were considered the main ingredient in what came to be known as clam chowder.