Conch, abalone, razor clams, clams, shellfish, eat them wisely

Seafood is a large category of food, and among seafood, shellfish is a rather large group.

Compared with other seafood, the overall price of shellfish is relatively affordable, but low price does not mean low value. No matter what nutrients you want to take, you can basically get them from shellfish. However, there are many kinds of shellfish. What are the differences between them and how to choose when eating? In terms of taste, although each shellfish is different, the core is the same, that is, "fresh and sweet". This is because shellfish are rich in a large number of free amino acids, nucleotides and alkaloids. For example, glutamic acid is the source of umami, while glycine will show sweetness.

Of course, the sweet taste of shellfish would not be so obvious if it only relied on glutamate and glycine. The key is that shellfish also contains a large amount of betaine, which can greatly stimulate the sweet taste.

Although the taste of various shellfish is quite similar, there are great differences in the taste. Some have a chewy texture, while others have a smooth and soft texture. What causes this difference? We can divide all shellfish into two categories, one is univalve and the other is bivalve. As the name suggests, univalve has only one shell, such as abalone, conch, etc.

In contrast, univalve clams have a wider range of living areas and can survive in mud and sand and between corals.

Because this kind of shellfish is constantly active, its meat is more compact and chewier when eaten. If you taste it carefully, you will find that these chewy shellfish are also sweeter in taste. Similarly, bivalves are shellfish with two shells. Common clams, flower clams, scallops, oysters, etc. are all bivalves. Bivalve shellfish are generally very active. They either hide at the bottom of the mud or live on reefs. Therefore, in comparison, their meat is relatively smooth and soft. Different shellfish have obvious differences in taste, so are there also differences in nutritional value?

In terms of nutritional value, shellfish share some common characteristics.

That is, it is rich in taurine, protein and various minerals. In addition, shellfish also contains "docosahexaenoic acid", a nutrient that is very beneficial to the development of infants and young children and cardiovascular health. We usually refer to it as "DHA". In addition, shellfish has another significant feature that is very popular among young people, that is, the low fat content. Generally speaking, the fat content of shellfish does not exceed 2%. The reason for this low content is that shellfish do not store energy through fat.

In terms of nutritional value, shellfish and seafood have commonalities, but also have their own characteristics.

For example, the razor clams we often eat are good at supplementing calcium and iron. The calcium content of every 100 grams of razor clams can reach 134 mg. Among shellfish seafood, only abalone can surpass it. When it comes to iron supplementation, razor clams are even better. The blood-enriching foods we often eat, such as pork liver and duck blood, do not have as much iron content as razor clams. More importantly, the iron in razor clams is heme iron, which is easily absorbed by the human body and is especially suitable for women. Razor clams have a close relative, the larger bamboo clams. Although they are close relatives, their nutritional values ​​are not the same. Bamboo clams are most suitable for supplementing potassium.

The potassium content in every 100 grams of bamboo clams is as high as 256 mg, which is difficult to match by many potassium-supplementing green leafy vegetables.

If you want to supplement zinc, then of course you should eat oysters first. Just one oyster can meet a person's daily needs, but zinc supplementation is just zinc supplementation, and there is no other specific effect. Indeed, zinc plays a positive role in maintaining male reproductive health, but it only maintains health. Among all shellfish, the cheapest is clams, but this shellfish is very cost-effective because it is a selenium-rich food, and the clams that are often placed together with it are a good magnesium supplement.