November 7, 2014 Steamed Clams and salad
Sometimes simple is wonderful.
Today I attended an all-day seminar and when I
arrived home at 6:00 I was compelled to go to Albertsons for their clam special
for $1.99/lb. Suzette was kind enough to
go with me and we drove up Central to the Albertson’s at Central and
Coors. We discussed meals and when we
saw beef short ribs on sale ($4.99 less $2.00), we decided to buy a packet and
then we decided to buy a parsnip to go with our beef ribs and carrots and turnips
from our garden. So that takes care of Sunday’s
meal. We proceeded to the Butcher’s
Block area and saw a mountain of Mahogany clams laid on a big pile of ice. We were not familiar with Mahogany clams but
Suzette picked 4 ½ lb. of them, while I went to get a package of tofu for a mapo
dofu dinner sometime this week. I also
picked up a cluster of tomatoes on a stem ($2.99/lb.).
We took our clams home and decided to make a simple
salad of organic greens and tomato to go with the clams. I went to the garden to fetch some parsley
and thyme and garlic greens and chives, which
I chopped and added to the broth
that Suzette had made to cook the clams in.
I made the salad while Suzette heated butter and
white wine and water in a large Le Cruset enameled casserole. I had chilled a bottle of Italian Grillo last
night so pretty soon we had a dinner ready.
The clams were delicious. We
heated small ramekins of butter and I squeezed fresh lemon juice into the
butter and poured the wine. I actually drank
the broth that had been infused with the flavor of the clams instead along with
sips of wine. Suzette did not drink any
clam juice, but this is my favorite way to eat clams, a clam with a sip of broth
to get the full flavor of the clam. The clams were good sized, about 1 ½ inches
across and made a good sized bite. They
were a bit chewy but pleasantly so.
Suzette loves clams and her mom really loves clams. I have memories of her going clam raking
whenever we went to the beach with the family.
Here is some information on Mahogany Clams. They are fascinating creatures and one of the
longest living life forms in the animal kingdom.
Arctica islandica
From Wikipedia,
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Ocean quahog
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A. islandica
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Arctica islandica
Linnaeus, 1767 |
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The ocean
quahog (Arctica islandica) is a species of edible clam,
a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Arcticidae. This species is native to the North Atlantic Ocean, and it is harvested
commercially as a food source. This species is also known by a number of
different common names, including Icelandic cyprine,[1] mahogany clam, mahogany quahog, black
quahog, and black clam.[2]
The typical Arctica
islandica resembles the quahog, but the shell of
the ocean quahog is rounder, the periostracum is usually black, and on the
interior of the shell, the pallial line has no
indentation, or sinus. Unlike the
quahog, which lives intertidally and
can be collected by clam digging, this
species lives subtidally, and can
only be collected by dredging. They grow to sizes
exceeding 50 mm shell height.[3]
Contents
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Longevity[edit]
These animals
show exceptional longevity with a highest reported age, for Ming the clam, of 507 years. This makes it the
longest living non-colonial metazoan species with an authenticated lifespan.[4] [5] [6] It is unknown how long it could have
lived if it had not been collected alive by an expedition in 2006. In 1868 one
specimen, collected alive near Iceland, was 374 years old.
The study of its growth rate and the oxygen isotope data showed that it had a
highly variable growth at the peak of the Little Ice Age around 1550–1620 and mild climate
near its end around 1765–1780 and had recorded the volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815.[7] One study found that in animals aged
4–192 years, antioxidant enzymes declined rapidly in the first 25 years, which
includes the growth and sexual maturity stages, but afterwards remained stable
for over 150 years. Though more detailed studies are warranted, it appears this
species is a case of negligible senescence.[8]
Thinking
back on this dinner experience, it seems weird that we were eating 100 year old
clams and even weirder to think these ancient mariners who had inhabited the
North Atlantic for over 100 years were being sold for a mere $1.99/lb. I wonder what the fishermen who netted them
were paid and why they are not more expensive.
I am also thinking about going back for more.
Bon Appétit
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