On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 445

It’s big enough to make a generous morsel, has a full, complex flavor and suggestively slippery moistness; and its delicacy is a striking contrast to the encrusted, rocky shell.. Clam an

cut from the shell and eaten raw It’s big enough to make a generous morsel, has a full, complex flavor and suggestively slippery moistness; and its delicacy is a striking contrast to the encrusted, rocky shell

Clam and mussel anatomy The bulk of the clam body (left) is the muscular foot, while the mussel body (right) is mainly a nonmuscular mantle and the digestive and reproductive organs it encloses The shell-closing adductor muscles are relatively minor parts The mussel’s “beard” is a thatch of tough protein fibers that anchor it to a rock or other support.

Oyster Types Oysters became scarce as early

as the 17th century, and are now largely

farmed A handful of the two dozen oyster

have different shapes and subtly different

flavors European flat oysters (Ostrea edulis)

are relatively mild with a metallic taste; Asian

cupped oysters (Crassostrea gigas) have

melon and cucumber aromas; and Virginia

cupped oysters (Crassostrea virginica) smell

like green leaves Though there are

exceptions, most oysters produced in Europe are the native flat, “Portuguese,” and Asian;

on the east and Gulf coasts of North America, the Virginia; and on the west coast, the Asian

and the Pacific (Ostrea lurida) The

“Portuguese” oyster is almost certainly a race

of the Asian oyster that hitched a ride from China or Taiwan to the Iberian peninsula in the ships of early explorers, four or five

centuries ago

Oyster Waters The flavor of an oyster also

depends on its home waters, which is why it makes sense to give geographical designations