February 25 is National Clam Chowder Day in the USA, and Sea Watch International plans to commemorate the occasion by providing 50,000 bowls of the nutritious pre-meal delicacy to homeless shelters and food pantries across the country. The Easton, Maryland-headquartered company, the nation’s largest harvester, processor and marketer of offshore clams, supplies a wide variety of value-added products including frozen, heat-and-eat clam chowder in traditional New England, Manhattan, West Coast and clear broth styles.
The origin of clam chowder in the United States can be traced back to the Native Americans of the Northeast. Based on evidence of piles of clam and oyster shells stacked as high as 10 feet tall found in and around their villages, archeologists believe that they had a veracious appetite for shellfish. Today the most well known clam chowder in the country is the New England recipe, which is cream based and features potatoes and onions as well as clams.
American Indians made what was described as a fish or clam stew, but it was not recognized as chowder until Europeans settlers arrived and attached the word chowder to it, which was derived from the French Cauldron, meaning pot or a warming vessel. Early immigrants to America took quickly to fish chowder traditionally made with cod, because the New England states enjoyed a robust fishery during the colonial period. Clam chowder gained in popularity and is now one of the most popular soup starters served before main courses in seafood restaurants and other eateries in the United States.
Sea Watch International, founded in 1978 in Milford, Delaware, is ranked as the biggest vertically integrated harvester and processor of clam products in the world. The company operates 30 US-flagged vessels to harvest the largest offshore clam allocation in the industry. The shellfish is processed at four state-of-the-art plants in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and Massachusetts. Finished products, which in addition to chowder include clam nuggets and strips, stuffed clams, chopped clams, crab cakes and other items, are distributed to foodservice, retail and institutional customers.
