Ingredient: Scallops
Category: Seafood
Season: All
A scallop is a marine bivalve mollusk of the family Pectinidae. Scallops constitute a cosmopolitan family, found in all of the world's oceans.
The quality of scallops from UK waters is frequently excellent:
Mild, sweet flavoured morsels with a satisfyingly firm, yet fine, texture are widely sold by quality fishmongers.
In fact some of the best scallops in the world come from British waters, off the Isle of Man, and the Cornish and Irish coasts
Buying scallops
Scallops are usually sold removed from their shells, as unlike mussels or oysters, only part of the scallop is eaten.
Look for plump, firm, moist scallops with a sweet aroma.
Some scallops are soaked in water; this increases their weight but impairs flavour and texture, soaking also tends to produce overtly white scallops.
Unsoaked scallops should be creamy or slightly off-white.
The fishmonger will open and clean them ready for you.
Some shops sell scallops already prepared, in which case you'd do well to make sure they look plump, firm and upright.
If scallops look at all sad and soggy, then they've probably been prepared rather too long ago.
An acceptable alternative to fresh scallops are the frozen ones, not so good, of course, but better than none.
Preparing scallops
Cooking scallops to perfection takes some skill (or luck), as over-cooking can quickly result in tough scallops.
Scallops are cooked when the flesh is opaque and just firm.
Slicing scallops into two thinner discs can help by aiding uniform cooking and is recommended for particularly big scallops. |