What Is a Scallop?
When something is “scalloped,” it is shaped with a series of rounded edges. If you’ve ever eaten the seafood known as scallops, you may have wondered how this creature gave its name to a scallop shape, since the food looks nothing like the shape. Scallops are actually mollusks, related to the clam and oyster, and they live insid
Sea Scallops are considered a premium seafood item, primarily because of their sweet flavor and delicate texture. Many consumers aren’t clear on what a scallops is. The scallop is a bivalue mollusk made up of two shells, which may be up to 8 inches across. The pearly white meat is usually 1 to 12 inches across. A single oversized adductor muscle opens and closes these two shells. This adductor muscle is the part of the scallop that consumers in the United States eat. Harvested primarily from eastern waters from Canada to Virginia, sea scallops represent the lion’s share of the fishery market. We prefer to buy our scallops from the colder waters of the North Atlantic, primarily the George’s Bank. Scallops are usually shucked and chilled on board.
