Scallops are characterized by offering two flavors and textures in one shell: the meat, called “scallop”, which is firm and white, and the roe, called “coral”, which is soft and often brightly coloured reddish-orange. Sometimes, markets sell scallops already prepared in the shell, with only the meat remaining. Outside the U.S., the scallop is often sold whole. They are available both with and without coral in the UK and Australia.
Scallops without any additives are called “dry-packed”, while scallops that are treated with sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) are called “wet-packed”. STPP causes the scallops to absorb moisture prior to the freezing process, thereby increasing their weight. The freezing process takes about two days.
In French cuisine, scallops are often quickly cooked in a hot buttered pan, sometimes with calvados and served with creamed leeks, or prepared in a white wine sauce. In Galician cuisine, scallops are baked with breadcrumbs, ham, and onions.
Scallops are sometimes breaded, deep-fried, and served with coleslaw and french fries in the northeastern United States (either on their own or as part of a fisherman’s platter). In New England, some seafood restaurants offer scallop rolls, consisting of breaded scallops on a grilled, split-top hot dog bun.
In Japanese cuisine, scallops may be served in soup or prepared as sashimi or sushi. In a sushi bar, hotategai is the traditional scallop on rice and, while kaibashira is more loosely used to include other shellfish species with round-shaped flesh (the adductor muscle), such as Atrina pectinata.
Scallops have lent their name to the culinary term “scalloped”, which originally referred to seafood creamed and served hot in the shell. Today, it means a creamed casserole dish such as scalloped potatoes, which contains no seafood at all.
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