Ford On Food

Scallops are named after the fanned, fluted appearance of their shell.They are categorised as a bivalve mollusc.There is hundreds of species found throughout the waters of the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pacific Oceans.The closer you live to the ocean, the better your chances of purchasing scallops still alive – but in most cases they are sold already shucked (removed from the shell) and frozen.The reason for this is that scallops deteriorate quickly when removed from the sea and after they have been shucked.If not frozen they should be eaten within a day.Scallops should be light pink in colour, moist, shiny and with a fresh seawater smell.I have purchase scallops with and without the bright orange roe – this depends on what you prefer.Some people don’t like the strong taste of the roe, or the reality that it’s the reproductive organ of the scallop. Personally it doesn’t bother me, and the orange row looks spectacular on the plate. In fact I’ve worked in some restaurants where we only served the roe.Scallops