Crown Pilot Crackers facts for kids

Crown Pilot crackers were a special kind of cracker. They were very popular in New England, a region in the United States. The company Nabisco made them for a long time. They stopped making them in 2008.

These crackers were plain, without salt. They were a bit like hardtack, a very hard biscuit often eaten by sailors. People in New England loved using them in recipes, especially for clam chowder. They were a common food in many homes there.

The Story of Crown Pilot Crackers

The recipe for Crown Pilot crackers was very old. Nabisco got it when they bought a bakery in Newburyport, Massachusetts. A man named John Pearson first made these crackers in 1792. He designed them as seagoing biscuits for sailors. These biscuits could last a long time on long sea trips.

Why They Almost Disappeared

Nabisco stopped making Crown Pilot crackers once before, in 1996. People were very upset! A woman named Donna Damon and a humorist named Tim Sample even protested. Their story was even on TV. Because so many people complained, Nabisco started making the crackers again in 1997.

But then, Kraft (the company that owned Nabisco) stopped making them again in 2008. They said not enough people were buying them anymore. A spokesperson from Kraft said that sales had dropped a lot.

How People Used Them

Crown Pilot crackers were an important part of cooking in New England. People used them in many recipes. They were great for seafood stuffings, chowders, and soups. They were also popular in parts of Canada, like The Maritimes and Newfoundland and Labrador. There, people used them in a dish called fish and brewis.