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Hey and welcome to Green Fish Blue Oceans. I’m your host, Maureen Berry.
On today’s program, I’ll tackle clams and climate change. Two incredibly topics which as you can imagine have a lot to do with each other.
C is for Clams
Did you know that farmed clams make up to 90 percent of the world’s clam consumption?
This is terrific news. Clams are easy on the environment, improve the water quality since they are filter feeders and are managed most efficiently.
Farmed clams are raised on beaches (then raked, shoveled or hand selected), grown in suspended nets in the open ocean or bays, raceways, or raised in cages in the ocean. As a result, farmed clams get the high five from sustainable seafood recommendations like Seafood Watch and Environmental Defense Fund.
You’ll find clams at the market in a variety of ways.
Canned, frozen clam meat, frozen in the shell, live clams, either fresh-shucked meat or in the shell.
So how do you know what to buy?
It depends on what’s available in your market and what you can afford.
Hard shell clams (littlenecks, cherrystones, middle neck and chowder clams) are the most popular consumed clams eaten in the US and will be the clams you see at the market and in restaurants.
Clams are low in fat. High in Vitamin B-12, C, Iron, Omega-3s, and protein.
Clams take very little time to cook. In fact, overcooking will make them chewy and rubbery.
Canned meat is already cooked. If you buy frozen clam meat, there is no need to thaw before cooking. All clams should be cooked gently.
Now if you buy live clams at the market, look for tight-lipped, unbroken clams. They should have a briny smell. Let your nose guide you. And remember, don’t cinch the plastic bag or the clams will suffocate. Live clams need to breathe!
And FYI, all live clams in the shell are required by law to have a tag with information about the product and the processor. They will be a harvest date on the tag too. Ask the person behind the fish counter if you don’t see a tag.
When you get your clams home, store them in a colander in the coldest part of your refrigerator, which generally means in the back of the fridge. Set the colander in a bowl to catch the drip. Place a wet paper cloth the top so they don’t dry out. Cook the clams the same day or the next.
You will need to clean your live clams before you cook them. Check out the Martha Stewart video in the show notes for some tips.
Now, what recipes can you cook with clams?
Oh man, the opportunities are endless. Clams Casino, Clam Crostini, Steamed Clams, Grilled clams. My favorite go to clam recipe is New England Clam Chowder. It’s a classic seafood recipe that every seafood lover should have in their cooking repertoire.
Follow this link to my food blog for the New England Clam Chowder recipe.
Now since 90 percent of the clams on the market are farmed, what about the other 10 percent?
According to Seafood Watch, the status of wild clam population is unknown in all locations, but there is no evidence of overfishing occurring. So if you live near the coast, enjoy!
All this talk of clams makes me hungry. I’d love it of you share one of your fave clam recipes with me and my listeners. Send me an email at maureencberry at gmail dot com.