Clam

In culinary use, within the eastern coast of the United States and large swathes of the Maritimes of Canada, the term "clam" most often refers to the hard clam Mercenaria mercenaria. It may also refer to a few other common edible species, such as the soft-shell clam, Mya arenaria and the ocean quahog, Arctica islandica. Another species commercially exploited on the Atlantic Coast of the United States is the surf clam Spisula solidissima. Scallops are also used for food nationwide, but not cockles: they are more difficult to get than in Europe because of their habit of being farther out in the tide than European species on the West Coast, and on the East Coast they are often found in salt marshes and mudflats where mosquitoes are abundant.[14][15] That being said, for the brave and for the heavily drenched in DEET based bug repellant, there are several edible species in the East: Americardia media, also known as the strawberry cockle, is found from Cape Hatteras down into the Caribbean Sea and all of Florida. Trachycardium muricatum has a similar range to the strawberry cockle. And Dinocardium robustum by far grows to be many times the size of the European cockle; it is large enough to be the size of a woman's hand.[16] Historically and on a small scale, the barrier islands of North Carolina known as the Outer Banks would catch these species and put them in soups or steam them; other recipes from the past recommend pickling.[17]

Up and down the coast of the Eastern U.S., the bamboo clam, ensis directus, is prized by Americans for making clam strips although because of its nature of burrowing into the sand very close to the beach, it cannot be harvested by mechanical means without damaging the beaches.[18] The bamboo clam is also notorious for having a very sharp edge of its shell, and when harvested by hand must be handled with great care.

On the U.S. West Coast, there are several species that have been consumed for thousands of years, evidenced by middens full of clamshells near the shore and their consumption by nations including the Chumash of California, the Nisqually of Washington state and the Tsawwassen of British Columbia.[19][20][21][22] The butter clam, Saxidomus gigantea,[23] the Pacific razor clam, Siliqua patula,[24] gaper clams Tresus capax,[25] the geoduck clam, Panopea generosa[26] and the Pismo clam, Tivela stultorum[27] are all eaten as delicacies.

Clams can be eaten raw, steamed, boiled, baked or fried. They can also be made into clam chowder, clams casino, Clam cakes, stuffies, or they can be cooked using hot rocks and seaweed in a New England clam bake. On the West Coast, they are an ingredient in making cioppino and local variants of ceviche[28]

Clams are eaten more in the coastal regions of India, especially in the Konkan, Kerala, Bengal and coastal regions of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu regions.

In Kerala clams are used to make curries and fried with coconut. In Malabar region it is known as "elambakka" and in middle kerala it is known as "kakka". Clam curry made with coconut is a dish from Malabar especially in the Thalassery region. On the south western coast of India, also known as the Konkan region of Maharashtra, clams are used in curries and side dishes, like Tisaryachi Ekshipi, which is clams with one shell on. Beary Muslim households in the Mangalore region prepare a main dish with clams called Kowldo Pinde. In Udupi and Mangalore regions it is famously called as "marvai" in local tulu language. It is used to prepare many delicious dishes like marvai sukka, marvai gassi, and marvai pundi.

In Japan, clams are often an ingredient of mixed seafood dishes. They can also be made into hot pot, miso soup or Tsukudani. The more commonly used varieties of clams in Japanese cooking are the Shijimi (Corbicula japonica), the Asari (Venerupis philippinarum) and the Hamaguri (Meretrix lusoria).

The rocky terrain and pebbly shores of the seacoast that surrounds the entire island provides ample habitat for shellfish, and clams are most definitely included in that description. The oddity here is that for a nation whose fortunes have been tied to the sea for hundreds of years, 70% of the seafood cultivated for aquaculture or commercial harvesting is exported to the Continent.[29] Historically, Britain has been an island most famous of all for its passion for beef and dairy products, although there is evidence going back to before most recorded history of coastal shell middens near Weymouth and present day York.[30] (There is also evidence of more thriving local trade in sea products in general by noting the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers was founded in 1272 in London.) Present day younger populations are eating more of the catch than a generation ago, and there is a prevalence of YouTube videos of locavore scavenging, however the numbers have a long way to go before they match the numbers consumed in Mesolithic, as evidenced by the strikingly large number of shells found in said middens.

Staple favourites of the British public and local scavengers would include the razorfish, Ensis siliqua, a slightly smaller cousin of the bamboo clam of Eastern North America.[31] These can be found for sale in open air markets like Billingsgate Market in London; they have a similar taste to their North American cousin.[32] Cockles, specifically the common cockle, are a staple find on beaches in western Wales and farther north in the Dee Estuary. The accidentally introduced hard shell mercenaria mercenaria is also found in British waters, mainly those near England, and does see some use in British cookpots. The Palourde clam by far is the most common native clam and it is both commercially harvested as well as locally collected and Spisula solida, the relative of the Atlantic surf clam on the other side of the Atlantic, is seeing increased interest as a food source and aquaculture candidate; it is mainly found in the British Isles in Europe.[33]

In Italy, clams are often an ingredient of mixed seafood dishes or are eaten together with pasta. The more commonly used varieties of clams in Italian cooking are the Vongola (Venerupis decussata), the Cozza (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and the Tellina (Donax trunculus). Though Dattero di mare (Lithophaga lithophaga) was once eaten, overfishing drove it to the verge of extinction (it takes 15 to 35 years to reach adult size and could only be harvested by smashing the calcarean rocks that form its habitat) and the Italian government has declared it an endangered species since 1998 and its harvest and sale are forbidden.