SHELLFISH
SHELLFISH
- Shellfish are distinguished from fin fish by
their hard outer shells and their lack of
backbone or internal skeleton.
2 CLASSIFICATIONS OF
SHELLFISH:
1. Mollusks are soft sea animals that fall into
three main categories:
• Bivalves, which have a pair of hinged shells
(such as clams and oysters).
• Univalves, which have a single shell (such
as abalone and conch).
• Cephalopods (such as octopus, squid, and
cuttlefish).
2. Crustaceans are animals with segmented
shells and jointed legs.
Ex. Lobster, crabs, shrimp
Mollusks
Oysters
CHARACTERIST I CS
1. Oysters have rough, irregular shells. The
bottom shell is slightly bowl-shaped. The top
shell is flat.
2. The flesh of the oyster is extremely soft
and delicate and contains a high percentage
of water.
3. Oysters are available all year, even in
months without an R in their names, but they
are at their best in the fall, winter, and spring.
4. There are four main varieties in the United
States and Canada, depending on their origin.
Note in particular that the dozens of varieties
of Eastern oysters are all the same species;
their flavors differ, however, depending on the
environment in which they grew.
St. James River oysters Pine Island oysters
CHECKING FRESHNESS
1. Oysters in the shell must be alive to be
good to eat. Tightly closed shells, or shells
that close when jostled, indicate live oysters.
Discard dead ones.
2. Live or shucked oysters should have a very
mild, sweet smell. Strong odors indicate
spoilage.
CLAMS
CHARACTERISTICS
Hard-shell clams. These go by different
names, depending on size.
Littlenecks are the smallest. They are the
most tender for eating raw or for steaming.
SOFT-SHELL CLAMS
- These are sometimes called longnecks
because of the long tube that protrudes from
between the shells. They have very thin shells
that do not close completely. They are also
called steamers because the usual way to
serve them is to steam them and serve them
with their own broth and with melted butter
for dipping.
COCKLES
- These are not actually clams. They are from
a different family, even though they look like
tiny clams that are usually no more than 1 in.
(2.5 cm) across. They can be cooked like
clams and are almost always served in the
shell.
Clams
Cockle
s
MUSSELS
The most common mussels resemble small
black or dark-blue clams. Their shells are not
as heavy as clamshells. Their flesh is yellow to
orange in color and firm but tender when
cooked. Mussels are harvested worldwide and
are also extensively farmed.
SCALLOPS
1. Scallops are almost always sold shucked.
The only part we usually eat is the adductor
muscle, which closes the shell. If live scallops
in the shell are available, leave the orange,
crescent-shaped coral attached to the
adductor muscle when shucking.
CEPHALOPODS
Cephalopods are classified as mollusks, even
though they have no external shell. The term
cephalopod means “head-foot,” referring to
the fact that these animals have tentacles, or
“legs,” attached to the head and surrounding
the mouth.
SQUID
Squid are usually referred to on menus by
their Italian name, calamari. They are soft-
bodied animals somewhat resembling
octopus, but they have 10 tentacles, 2 of
them longer than the others.
OCTOPUS
Octopus (the name means “eight feet”)
range in size from less than an ounce to
many pounds.
All sizes are firm-textured, even chewy, but
the larger sizes are usually considered too
tough to eat. Because of its texture,
octopoda requires either mechanical
tenderization
(such as pounding with a mallet) or long, slow
cooking in a court bouillon.
CRUSTACEANS
LOBSTERS
1. The northern lobster is perhaps the most
prized of all shellfish. It has a large, flexible
tail, four pairs of legs, and two large claws. Its
shell is dark green or bluish green but turns
red when cooked.
2. Meat from the tail, claws, and legs is eaten.
It is white and sweet, with a distinctive taste.
Claw meat is considered especially good. The
coral (roe or eggs), which is dark green when
raw and red when cooked, and
the green tomalley (liver) in the thorax or
body portion are also eaten.
SHRIMP
Shrimp are small crustaceans that look
somewhat like tiny, clawless lobsters. Only
the tail is marketed and eaten, as a rule.
The term prawn is sometimes used for large
shrimp,
CRABS
Six kinds of crab are important
in commercial kitchens.
1. Alaskan king crab.
Largest of the crabs, weighing 6 to 20 pounds
(2.7 to 9 kg). The meat can be removed in
large
chunks, making it especially attractive to
serve in restaurants. It is expensive.
2. Alaskan snow crab.
Smaller than the king crab. Often used as a
less expensive substitute.
3. Dungeness crab.
Another West Coast crab, weighing 11⁄2 to 4
lb (0.7 to 1.8 kg). The meat is very sweet.
4. Blue crab.
Small crab from the East Coast, weighing
about 5 oz (150 g). Most frozen crabmeat is
from blue crabs.
5. Soft-shell crab.
Actually a molting blue crab, harvested before
the new shell has hardened. It is
sautéed or fried and eaten shell and all; only
the gills and head are removed.
6. Stone crab.
Popular in the Southeast. Only the claws are
eaten.
Blue crab Dungeness crab
Alaskan king crab legs
Alaskan snow crab legs
CRAYFISH
Crayfish or crawfish (the preferred term in
the southern United States) are freshwater
relatives of the lobster. Not long ago, they
were used almost exclusively in Southern
regional cuisine and in French restaurants.
MISCELLANEOUS SEAFOOD
Snails or escargots are popular hors
d’oeuvres when baked in their shells with a
highly seasoned butter. Fresh snails require
long, slow cooking before being baked with
escargot butter, but canned snails are fully
cooked and ready to prepare.
Frogs’ legs are often compared to chicken in
taste and texture (but then, so are a lot of
things). Only the hind legs are used, and they
are sold in pairs. They may be sautéed, deep
fried, or poached and served with a sauce.
QUIZ
1-2. Give the 2 classification of Shellfish.
3-5. Give the 3 main category of mollusks.
6-7. Give at least 2 example of crustaceans.
8-9. Give the 2 characteristics of clams.
TRUE OR FALSE
10. Mollusks and crustaceans is an example
of invertebrate?
