August 10, 2010

Information on Scallop

In my last post I shared the recipe of Spicy Baby Scallop. After that I realised that I should have mention few information about scallop. As many of us are hearing about scallop for the first time. I never knew what a scallop was, until I found many recipes on scallop in the restaurants and in the blogosphere, searched about it what exactly it was and then tried and tasted it in my kitchen. Here in USA, I am lucky enough to get the shelled and cleaned scallops in the seafood section. That is a blessing in other sense. If anyone browses the internet, he/she will get a bunch of information regarding Scallop. Here I tried to accumulate the illuminating parts of scallop in hope to help my readers a little bit to save their energy.  Mostly the information is taken from the net and the sources are attached below. All the photographs are taken from Googleimages.com.

History of Scallop:- 
“The great scallop gained great prestige during the medieval era. Pilgrims visiting the shrine of St. James in Spain began to use empty scallop shells for both eating and begging. The scallop and its shell quickly became a symbol of this magnificent shrine with people using them to decorate their doorways as well as their coats of arms. In honour of the shrine, they were called the shell of St. James, now best known by their translated French name of Coquille St. Jacques.”


What is a Scallop?

Ans: A scallop is a mollusk (Invertebrate having a soft unsegmented body usually enclosed in a shell), same as clams and oysters. They are found both in bay waters and in the sea. They do not attach themselves to a permanent anchorage, but move themselves through the water by opening and closing their shells. As a result, the muscle that controls the 'hinge' of the shell is much larger than that of oysters or clams.

Many scallops are highly prized as a food source. The brightly colored, fan-shaped shells of some scallops with their radiating fluted pattern are valued by shell collectors. The name ‘scallop’ is derived from the Old French escalope, which means ‘shell’.

“Like the true oysters (family Ostreidae), scallops have a central adductor muscle, and thus the inside of their shells has a characteristic central scar, marking the point of attachment for this muscle. The adductor muscle of scallops is larger and more developed than that of oysters, because they are active swimmers; scallops are in fact the only migratory bivalve. Their shell shape tends to be highly regular, recalling one archetypal form of a seashell, and because of this pleasing geometric shape, the scallop shell is a common decorative motif. They also possess eyes with a lens and retina, which are more complex compared to other bivalves. Scallops cannot resolve shapes, but can detect light and motion.”
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scallop)

What are the food values?

Ans: “ Scallops are actually a very good source of a very important nutrient for cardiovascular health, vitamin B12. In addition to their B12, scallops are a very good source of omega-3 fatty acids and a good source of magnesium and potassium, three other nutrients that provide significant benefits for the cardiovascular system. Omega-3 fats keep your blood flowing smoothly by preventing the formation of blood clots. Magnesium helps out by causing blood vessels to relax, thus helping to lower blood pressure while improving blood flow. Potassium helps to maintain normal blood pressure levels.”

The other benefits of in taking scallops are:-

i) A Nutrient Team for Better Cardiovascular Health.
ii) Increases Heart Rate Variability-A Measure of Heart Muscle Function.
iii) Protection against Fatal Heart Arrhythmia.
iv) Help Prevent and Control High Blood Pressure.
v) Protection against Stroke.
vi) Eating Fish Daily Provides Substantially More Protection against Heart Attack.
vi) Choose Broiled or Baked, but Not Fried Scallops to Reduce Risk of Atrial Fibrillation (Heart Arrhythmia).
vii) Protection Against Cancer and Protective against Colorectal Cancer.
viii) Highly Protective against Childhood Asthma.
ix) Protection against Alzheimer's and Age-related Cognitive Decline.

How to clean a scallop?

1.Open up the shell. Begin the shucking process by inserting a knife into the side of the shell to pry it open. Set one side of the shell aside.
2. Release the scallop from the shell. Carefully slide the knife under the meat of the scallop to remove it from the shell. The meat should slide out easily.
3. Transfer the scallop meat to the plate. Carefully move the scallop meat from the shell and set it on the plate.
4. Remove the dark meat. Discard the dark meat from the scallop, leaving the white flesh intact.
 5. Remove the muscle from the scallop. This small piece of flesh can be found near the edge of the scallop; carefully remove it from the main section before preparing your recipe.
6. Rinse the scallop. Gently rinse the scallop under cold water and set on small plate. Now the scallop is clean and ready for cooking .




How it can be prepared?

Scallops are a popular type of shellfish in both Eastern and Western cooking. They are characterized by having two types of meat in one shell: the adductor muscle, called "scallop" which is white and meaty, and the roe, called "coral", which is red or white and soft. Scallops are edible bivalves similar to oysters and clams. Thousands of recipes on scallops can be found in the net.


Tips for Preparing Scallops:

1. Wash thoroughly the scallops under cold water .
2. Scallops have a strong wild smell. To avoid it marinate and cook with flavoured spices.
 3. Scallops should only be cooked for a few minutes since exposure to too much heat will cause them to become tough and fibrous.


All pictures are taken from Googleimages.com.
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28 comments:

Jayanthy Kumaran said...

Great Job dear..very elaborate and informative post...! Loved the clicks too...!

MaryMoh said...

Oh wow...that's such an interesting and informative post. Love it. I better learn to eat scallops more :D

Sushma Mallya said...

Nice info abt scallops, thanks for sharing kamalika...

aipi said...

very informative post..thanx 4 sharing

TREAT AND TRICK said...

Thanks for the great post dear, very useful indeed...

Together We Save said...

Thanks for the info... I have never cooked sea food. I love it but I am always scared it will go bad.

Swathi said...

Nice info dear. I love the way you put it.

Torviewtoronto said...

lots of lovely information

Hamaree Rasoi said...

Thanks Kamalika for sharing this interesting information. Very comprehensive.

Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi

Unknown said...

THanks a lot to all of you for your comments...

Urmi said...

Very nice, interesting and informative post. Got good knowledge about scallops.

Sarah Naveen said...

very informative post..thanx for sharing

Rach said...

Thanks for stopping by and your lovely comments. You have a nice space here. Very informative article

Unknown said...

THanks a lot to all of you for your comments...
@Rach, thanks alot for visiting my blog and for the nice comment...

Sarah Naveen said...

Thanks a million times dear!!! i am still a zero in all the Html editings and had no clue what to do..wanted to ask N for a long time , though i was sure he will make me find it out all by myslef ..hehhe
I have to do it ....
I really appreciate you taking the time to notice it and letting me know...Thanks again...

Sarah Naveen said...

hey dearie..i just tried doing it..
gave both left and right initially, but didnt work out..finally i just gave padding and a pix and i guess it worked out ...I have no idea we could give just like that....Do lemme know if anything is there that i need to know and do..
Thanks again...

Biren said...

Very informative, Kamalika. Thanks for doing the research for us.

Namitha said...

That's quite informative...I have never cooked scallops myself..

Nithu said...

Interesting and Informative post.

Sarah Naveen said...

Hey sweetheart!!!
y are you guilty???? you are really helping me big time girl...Cheer up...
i was so busy today that i dint get time to reply back...I gave those as you said the right padding...It is working...Did you see it? oh yeah my pxl is 1400 ..i will change it as soon as i gets some time..
i really have some issues with my entire layout..i was ignoring that all these time.....
Will write you in detail okie.......
Do you have some mail id that i can you send you to??
or mine is vazhayila.com@gmail.com..send me urs...

Mary Bergfeld said...

Thanks for sharing such helpful information. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary

PJ said...

wow, a very nice compilation of scallop info.

Urmi said...

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Nivedita Thadani said...

Hi,
I am sharing an award with you. Please Collect it from my blog

Unknown said...

This is a very informative and useful post..Thanks for sharing..

Juliana said...

Kamalika, love your post...so informative...I love scallops, but do not cook often since my husband does not eat them :-(

Unknown said...

Thank you all for your lovely comments...
@ NIvedita, Thanks a lot for sharing the award...
@JUliana, thanks dear for visiting my blog and for the comment...

Suman Singh said...

very informative post..I have never cooked scallops myself at home..

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