Comments on
How to Purge Molluscs
mommacindy @cook_3648497
When i was a kid we would go claming and we used corn meal. The clams spit out the sand and took the corn meal in. Love clams!
fenway @Fenway
I grew up in New England and we had clams often, we also soak just a short time in salted water with corn starch!
Ryan Goodwin @cook_3814251
I have heard both corn starch and corn meal will aid purging, also heard baking soda. But I've found a few sources that suggest they aren't necessary. Still, there are so many varieties of clam and harvesting method, that I wouldn't be surprised.
fenway @Fenway
You make a good point Where I grew up the clams most popular are soft shelled steamers, they dont ever close tight like the hard shells so can be very sandy if not cleaned well. This may differ with
Ryan Goodwin @cook_3814251
In SF I've worked with these little manilla guys a lot. Sometimes they were fine, but every once in awhile you'd get a sandy batch and those could seem almost impossible to purge thoroughly. The ones I've gathered from the shore here though have been quite clean. We have 2 local varieties that I've seen. Not sure of the species, but one is smaller, and the other ones are the size of your fist. They're hard to get to because they can dig to 4-5 feet deep sometimes. Clam digging is a lot of fun, and not too common around here, so there isn't much competition.
Ryan Goodwin @cook_3814251
Ohh, stumbled on this today when doing a little more research on purging clams. Everything you ever wanted to know about the, "depurification of bivalves". ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/011/i0201e/i0201e01.pdf
fenway @Fenway
Hey Ryan, I tryed this site a few times, and keep getting a extraction of lipids patent.. haha not sure if its my mistake?
Ryan Goodwin @cook_3814251
Sorry Fenway, could just be the way they handle the files on that site or something. The overview of the article is that commercially, bivalves are held suspended in circulating salt water to remove impurities before they are sent to market. Interestingly, the practice is motivated more by public health concerns than removing the crunchy stuff.
fenway @Fenway
Ok well it sounded interesting. At our lical wegmans grocery they make a big deal about how they triple wash there clams in circulating salt water, maybe the same process. They are very white compared
fenway @Fenway
We need a way to correct spelling for idiots like me who press send before proof reading!!!
Ryan Goodwin @cook_3814251
Interesting, yes, I think that's the same process. Maybe the triple wash is unnecessary, hehe, but circulating salt water seems a proven way to get them to expel that grit. Seems that the water needs to be circulating so that the clams can breathe, and it should contain salt within 20% of the natural habitat as well.
fenway @Fenway
I had been told a long time ago that you should never soak clams in fresh water or they would die, that it needed to be close to sea water so that makes sense
