This resource is much more than a dictionary or encyclopedia. If you wish to know more about cuisines and associated recipes from individual countries, this would be an excellent resource.
| FOOD RESOURCE COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SCIENCES, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY |
Clams are separated into two categories - soft-shell and hard-shell. The name "soft-shell" is a bit of a misnomer, since the shells aren't truly soft, but they are thin and brittle. These clams have a dark, hose-like protuberance that keeps the elongated shells from closing tightly. This neck (or food, as it's sometimes called) is used to siphon and release ocean water and earns these clams the nicknames longneck clams or pisser clams. Because soft-shell clams gape open, they're highly perishable and should be cooked within a day of purchase. Soft-shell clams also tend to collect more sand and grit than other clams, and many recipes will instruct you to first soak them in a bowl of cold salted water for a few hours to purge the sand.
Soft-shell clams are never eaten raw, and the most common way to prepare them is by steaming or frying, hence their other nicknames, steamers and fryers. When steaming, most cooks skip the soaking step and simply serve the steamed clams with a bowl of clam broth (the liquid they were cooked in) for dipping to rinse off any grit.
Hard-shell clams come in many shapes and sizes. On the Atlantic coast where clams reign, the most common variety of hard-shell clam is the quahog (pronounced KWAH-HAHG) with its thick, tough pale-colored shell. Quahogs are sold according to size, and their size determines how they're best eaten. The largest of these are sold as chowder clams, and are best used for just that - chopping up to add to chowders and stews. Chowder clams can be as big as your fist and weigh anywhere from 5 ounces and up (a single chowder clam often weighs over 1/2 pound). Because of their size, they tend to be tough and not as sweet as smaller varieties.
Cherrystone clams are the next size down of quahogs, less than 3 inches across and in the 2 to 4-ounce range. These are sweeter and more tender than larger clams and are excellent for stuffing and broiling. They are sometimes eaten raw, although some people consider cherry stones just a bit too large to be eaten on the half shell.
Littleneck Clams, named for Littleneck Bay on Long Island are the smallest, most delectable, and most expensive of the quahog clams. Measuring 1.5 to just over 2 inches across and weighing a mere 1 to 2 ounces each, these tender little clams are the best for eating raw, steaming whole, or adding whole (steamed in their shells) to dishes such as pasta sauce or seafood stew.
Maghogany clams are another variety of hard-shell clams, easily recognizable by the reddish-brown color of their shells. Commercially known as ocean quahogs, they can grow quite large, but most are harvested in the 1.5 to 3-inch range and can be used anywhere you'd use cherrystones or little necks.
Surf clams or hen clams are a large variety of hard-shell clam with very pale, triangular shells, but they're rarely sold retail in their whole form. Because of their size and subsequent toughness, surf clams are most often processed and sold in cans as frozen as chopped clams.
When buying live clams, tap the shells to detect some movement - a retraction of the neck for soft-shell clams or the snapping closed of the shells for hard-shells. If the clams don't respond, they're dead, or dying, and should not be eaten. Store clams in an open bag in the refrigerator.
FROM: Stouder, Scott. 1998June4. Happy as Clams. Corvallis Gazette-Times. B1.
FLORENCE-As the Siuslaw River tidewater raced for the sea, leaving the tell-tale pock marks in the mud flats in its wake, the clam-diggers perused their equipment one last time.
|
Shovels and buckets? Check Chest waders? Check Rain slicker and hat? Check. Clam-digging permit? |
The very mention of the idea elicited knowing smiles.
In an increasingly regulated outdoor world-the result of growing human populations and decreasing animal populations - there remains one form of meat gathering that doesn't require the government's stamp of approval.
To dig Oregon's plentiful Eastern softshell clams, all you need is a shovel, bucket, warm clothing and a willingness to get down and dirty in the state's coastal waters and bays.
The reward is some of the tastiest eating anywhere.
"In my opinion softshells are right next to razor clams when it comes to eating," said Jim Johnston, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife shellfish biologist from Newport.
But half the fun of Eastern softshells is retrieving them. It's a little like mud wrestling, but they're easy to find because the pencil-sized indentations in the mud give them away, and they're easy to catch because they don't move like razor clams.
"Technically they're one of the easiest clams to dig - once you are out on the mud flats," said Johnston said, who describes the prolific softshell as one of the most under-utilized clam resources on the coast. "They don't move like a razor clam, so if you can dig a hole and you're willing to get muddy, you can find them.
"But make no mistake, it's rugged digging."
Softshells are a tasty little imported clam that hitch-hiked to the Oregon coastal bays late in the 19th century. They came with oysters that were shipped from the eastern seaboard and released in the western bays to start commercial beds.
The best way to find softshells is to consult the tidebooks for the lowest tides. There are two sets this month and two in July.
When the tide is out, dig with a shovel about elbow deep into the mud, being careful not to hit the delicate shells. If they break, sand will get into the meat and create a gritty chew.
Once elbow deep, dig carefully with your hands - the shells are sharp- until you find a hole. Follow the hole until you find the clam, then remove carefully. Though no permit is required, the government does have a say on how many you can keep: 36 per day, per person. On a typical low tide, it isn't difficult to limit out in less than two hours.
|
If you go Before you head for the coast with a shovel and a bucket to satisfy your taste for clams, check this list: TIDES: Most clam digging must take place during minus tides. These tide come in sets. During the spring and early summer there are usually two sets of minus tides a month, and typically the lower the tide, the better the clam digging. This year there are two sets of minus tides June 8-15, the second is June 21 to 28. In July the sets are between July 7-14 and July 20-26. Check a tide book for specific water height and time. OCEAN SURF: If the surf is high and pounding it will counteract the affects of a low tide. CLOSURES: Clams are subject to concentrations of both natural and man-made toxins. Public warnings are issued if danger is present, but it's a good idea to call the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in Newport at (541)867-4741 for information. DAILY BAG LIMITS: The daily limits are 36 for Eastern softshells, 20 for bay, butter, littleneck, cockles and gapers combined (only 12 can be gapers), 72 mussels and 24 razors. Once a clam is dug, you must keep it; many clams are damaged during digging and seldom survive. CLOTHING: Warm, waterproof clothes are the normal dress code. Wear rubberized rain gear and chest waders. You can get by with less, but be prepared to get wet and cold. Wear a stout pair of gloves to twist mussels from the rocks. Some people wear gloves when digging bay clams, but most find them a hindrance and use their bare hands. Whatever you do or wear, keep a complete dry set of clothes in your vehicle to change into after a morning digging clams. |
Razor Clams: The prime prize on the Pacific Coast is the razor.
Named because their shells are razor sharp, these tasty clams are found on sandy ocean beaches and usually dug in the shallow surf. by concensus razors are the easiest to clean and best eating of all clams, but they're the hardest to locate because only isolated pockets are found along the Oregon coast.
In addition to being hard to find they are difficult to dig. A razor clam can dig up to two feet per minute and actually outdistance an eager clammer who must struggle in heavy surf, bulky waders and heavy clothing. In addition to low minus tides during the daylight hours, a calm surf is essential for digging razors.
Gaper Clam: The gaper, or horseneck, is the largest of Oregon's clams.
The Gaper has an extraoriginarily long neck. The resulting depression left in the sand after the neck is retracted is used to locate them during very low tides.
The clam itself is embedded as deep as three feet in the mud and large holes must be dug to retrieve the clam. Veteran gaper diggers often use buckets with both ends cut out. The are placed in the hole to keep the sides from caving in.
Gapers are the largest of the Oregon clams and they are excellent eating, but a low minus tide is necessary to dig them.
Cockle Clam: When someone mentions "raking" for cockles, that's exactly what they mean.,<p> Cockle clams aren't dug; they're scraped from their shallow nests in the rocks and sand with long-handled rakes. Unless the tide is very low-chest waders are essential. Cockles are usually raked while standing in waste deep water.
Littleneck and Butter Clams: Although both the littleneck and the butter clam are found about six inches below the surface of the gravely mud in Oregon's bays, and they are most often taken incidentally when raking for cockles, both are distinct species of bag clams.
These clams can be cleaned and eaten like any clam, but they are excellent as steamers. In additions to bays, there are isolated places along the coast where these clams can be found in tide pools during extremely low tides.
Eastern Softshell Clam: The softshell or mud clam is the most prolific clam in Oregon's estuaries. It's also the most fresh-water tolerant and is found further inland than any of the other bay clams.
Softshells are dug about 12 to 20 inches below the surface of exposed
mud flats. They are intertidal (about low tide line), so a minus tide
is not new.
Mussels: Mussels are one of the
most commonly overlooked seafoods on the Oregon coast.
The coastal mollusks live in clusters connected to rocks and most low tides with a calm ocean will reveal mussles on the rocks along oregon's beaches and bays. Mussels were an important food source to Native Americans along the Oregon coast and are considered a delicacy in France, but are mostly ignored in oregon in favor of more popular clams.
Oregon has two species of mussels. the blue or bay mussel is found, as its name suggests, in oregon's bays. it's a little over two inches long and has a smooth blue-black shell. The surf mussel reaches a length of eleven inches and is found in large clusters attached to rocks along the coastline.
No digging is necessary to collect mussels they are simply twisted from their beds on the coastal rocks during a low tide and a calm surf.
Clamming
|
IMAGES |
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS |