"In Italy, no cookbook or cook will ever advise you to discard any clams that don't open while cooking. Clams stay clamped shut because they are alive. The most reluctant ones to loosen their hold and unclench their shells are the most vigorously alive of all. When eating them raw on the half shell, how does anyone know which ones would not have opened in the pot? The clams you should discard are those that stay open when you handle them before cooking, because they are dead."
--- "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking", Marcella Hazan
There you have it.
Posted by Mia at
4:06 PM to
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fish and shellfish
Comments (3) »
if marcella says it, it must be true.
i had some amazing prince edward island mussels this weekend in a thai coconut broth with lemon grass, fabulous!
Posted by jane at July 25, 2006 4:24 PM
How did you know I was wondering about this, Mia? How spooky! I was in the middle of a plate of Linguine allo Scoglio on Saturday night and came across a closed mussel and heard my cooking instructor (aka Dad) in my head saying "when in doubt, throw it out". Thanks for clearing that up!
I probably could not have opened the darn thing anyway but it's good to know these things!
Posted by Donna at July 25, 2006 4:29 PM
hmm. The mussel grower's website I recently purchased from said not to if they didn't open. Although, perhaps that's because if they don't open on their own, it might be tough to pry them apart!
Posted by L at July 25, 2006 8:31 PM
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