Welcome to clam central dedicated to rosie-o

So today here at Joelysblog it is educational night. What does that mean?, it means that you will be learning lots of interesting and mind boggling information about the one and only sea crustacean known as the Clam.

Clams

1. 1. Any of various usually burrowing marine and freshwater bivalve mollusks of the class Pelecypoda, including members of the genera Venus and Mya, many of which are edible.
   2. The soft edible body of such a mollusk.
2. Informal. A close-mouthed person, especially one who can keep a secret.
3. Slang. A dollar: set me back 75 clams.

intr.v., clammed, clam·ming, clams.

Definiton courtesy of Answers.com

The above picture is a real-life clam after 2 years of development. Clams come in many different shapes and sizes. The clam above is from the furryenza family of clams which equates to roughly 80% of all clams harvested today. There are two other families of freshwater bivalves called clams. The small freshwater clams (family Sphaeriidae) are hermaphroditic; they retain the fertilized eggs in a brood pouch and bear young with shells. The large freshwater clams (family Unionidae) are also called freshwater mussels; the nacreous inner layer of their shells is a source of mother-of-pearl. The larvae of these clams are parasitic on the gills of fish.
In many countries clams are a favourite in many meals and reciepes.
There are over 100 different types of clam dishes and one of my favourites is Clam potato pie. It is made as follows;


Ingredients
2 dozen clams (cherrystone, littleneck or topneck)
6 tbsp butter or margarine
4 eggs
2 cups milk
Salt and pepper
3 potatoes, diced
1 small onion chopped
1 cup biscuit mix
Dash of nutmeg
4 tbsp grated Cheddar cheese

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Shuck clams, drain and coarsely chop meats.

Dice potatoes, boil until tender and drain.

Melt butter or margarine in a skillet. Add onion and saute until transparent.

In a blender, mix eggs, biscuit mix, milk, dash of nutmeg, salt, pepper and grated cheese. Blend until smooth (15 seconds on high speed, or 1 minute with a hand beater).

Grease a 10-inch pie plate. Mix potatoes, onions and clams in pie plate. Pour biscuit mixture over potatoes and clams. Bake until golden brown, approximately 35-40 minutes.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

All i can think is YUM!

You can find many other reciepes here.

There are many public initiatives in place to help harvest and protect the clam species. Regulations and rules must be set in order to maintain the species and allow for safe harvesting. National Shellfisheries Association (NSA) is one such organisation in place so our kids and kids kids will be able to experience and appreciate this little crustacean.

On a more local note, in a research project conducted by J W Copland & J S Lucas in association with the ACIAR (Australia Center for International Agriculture Research), it was concluded that many giant clams and have been exploited and in some areas around Australia and Asia are now exstinct. The paper can be purchased through the following link and i recommend it to any person interested in keeping an australian icon alive.

This concludes our lesson today on clams, i hope you enjoyed it and much more information can be found on the follow links. Thankyou.

http://www.gamefishin.com/wa/features/clammin.htm
http://www.chesapeakebay.net/info/hard_clam.cfm
http://homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/blclams.htm

Please also check searching Google for 'Clams' too.

All information is copyrighted the original owner and has been used for educational purposes only. If you have any problems / concerns / comments on the accuracy of the information please email me or post a comment.