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.”

(Source:http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=105)

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.

(Source:http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=105)

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 .

(Source: http://www.ehow.com/how_2287427_clean-scallops.html)
Read more: HERE & HERE

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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Spicy Baby Scallops

Being totally fagged out cooking of Catfish, Salmon, Prawns, Tilapia and Chicken I thought of trying out a new taste. Bought scallops for the first time and cooked in stir fried-Chinese style along with all the veggies and sauces. But it didn’t turn up that much tasty as the wild smell of the scallops somehow prevailed in to the whole dish and made us chuck down the food. Both my hubby and I decided not to try scallops for the second time. But again I bought scallops to take a last chance to give it a re-entry in my kitchen. I rendered it an indianised version and as I thought when I cooked the Spicy Baby Scallops, the plate was emptied in no time. It came out so tasty that now scallops are always welcome whenever we visit the fish market. Here is the recipe as follows:

Spicy Baby Scallops Ingredients:- Baby Scallops - 1 cup Potato - 1 medium size Onion - 1 medium size Garlic cloves- 2 - 3 Ginger – ½ inch long Tomato -1 medium size Green Chilli -1 Cumin seeds - ½ tea spoon Turmeric Powder - ½ tea spoon Coriander Powder - ½ tea spoon Cumin Powder - ½ tea spoon Chilli Powder- ¼ tea spoon Salt - As per your taste Sugar - As per your taste Oil - 3-4 table spoon Water - ½ cup Method:- Cut the Potato in to small cubes. Reserve. Paste the onion, tomato, ginger, garlic and the green chilli all together. Heat the oil and temper with the cumin seeds. Add the onion paste when the seeds start to splatter. Keep on frying till the oil starts to separate and the whole paste turns deep brown. Add all the other ingredients except the scallops and the potato. Add water sauté all together nicely in to a smooth, colourful paste. Add the potatoes and cook with a lid on till the potatoes get half tender. Add the scallops then and cook till the potatoes get fully cooked and the juice evaporates. (NB: if you feel more water is needed while cooking you can add as per your measurement.) Serve hot with Rice or Roti or bread.

Find out more information on Scallop- HERE ....