Scallops

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Scallops swim by rapidly opening and closing their shells.

They are hermaphroditic.  The colour of their roe is determined by the gender of the parent (at the time).  Red = female.  White = male.

Scallops have eyes!  In fact, over 60 of them.  They’re blue.  We don’t eat them though.  We just eat the muscle that holds the shells together, which is sometimes, confusingly, called ‘the eye’.

Try to buy ‘dry packed’ scallops as they are additive-free.  ‘Wet-packed’ ones contain a chemical to make them absorb water before being frozen.

The scallop shell is the emblem of St James, hence the dish coquilles St Jacques.  In Dutch scallops are Jakobsschelp.  Rumour has it that St James fell into a river and came out covered in scallops, which seems unlikely.

A delicious way to eat scallops is with orange-tarragon beurre blanc.