VolNExile
Easily amused
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- May 12, 2011
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Oh sorry, I didn’t realize that it was behind a firewall. Yes, it was talking about farmed scallops. I didn’t realize that they could be farmed.
“There are only a handful of sea scallop farms in the United States, and most are in Maine, run by fishing families who, like the Brewers, are looking for ways to diversify beyond lobster while still keeping their boats in the water. But their number is growing.
“Bivalve farming (along with kelp farming) is one of the most environmentally beneficial types of aquaculture, considered a zero-input food source because it doesn’t require any arable land, fresh water or fertilizers to grow protein. You don’t even need to feed bivalves; phytoplankton already present in the sea will sustain them.
“Bivalve farming also doesn’t compromise its habitat: In fact, the presence of shellfish like scallops, mussels and oysters actively improves it by filtering the water and increasing biodiversity.
“Scallops may even go one step further, reinforcing the local wild scallop population, something that’s been shown to occur with oyster populations…
“In terms of flavor, the farmed and wild sea scallops in Maine are identical: almost candy sweet, with a distinct briny, umami complexity. The cold, deep waters of the Gulf of Maine are particularly well suited to scallops and other shellfish, giving them an incomparably rich, saline flavor. You can have them raw, slurped right out of the shell with the roe still attached, their adductor muscles a little twitchy and as bouncy as jelly. But they’re also compelling lightly cooked, which firms them up and makes them meaty and dense…”
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