When are clams at their fattest? How to choose clams

Clams are a food that many families cook. When buying them, of course, people hope to buy clams with fat meat. As the saying goes, "cold water oysters, hot water clams." That is to say, oysters are fattest when the weather is cool, and clams are fattest when the weather is hot. How to choose clams is also a prerequisite for deliciousness!

Contents of this article

1. When are clams the fattest?

2. How to choose flower clams

3. Can clams be frozen in the refrigerator?

When are clams at their fattest?

Clams are a food that many families cook. When buying clams, of course, people hope to buy clams with plump meat. Clams don't have much meat to begin with. If you are unlucky and eat clams with less meat, it will be even more unsatisfying to eat. So when are clams the fattest? Next, I will introduce to you when clams are the fattest, hoping to help you choose the fattest and most delicious clams.

As the saying goes, "Oysters grow in cold water, clams grow in hot water." This means that oysters grow the fattest when the weather is cool, while clams grow the fattest when the weather is hot. Under normal circumstances, the most suitable seawater temperature for the growth of clams is about 15-30℃. In spring, when the water temperature reaches above 11℃, clams begin to grow; in winter, when the water temperature drops below 10℃, clams stop growing under this temperature environment. Clams grow the fastest in the two time periods of April-June and September-November, while they grow very slowly from December to February of the following year, and almost do not grow. Since the weather in the north is colder, most of the cultivation of clams is in the south.

When eating clams, you can choose a season with relatively hot weather. The meat of clams in July and August in summer is the fattest and most plump. Clams can also be eaten in spring and autumn. Clams are warm-loving animals. In winter, their growth rate is extremely slow, or even stops growing, so don't eat clams in winter.

How to choose flower clams

Generally, clams are placed in the seafood section of the supermarket, in pots and pans, and you can see the shape of the clams through the water. First, look at the color, and choose the ones with shiny shells. Different species have different colors, white clams are whiter, and flower clams are darker.

Don’t think that the clams that are open are alive. On the contrary, the more open the clams are in the water, the longer they have been dead.

Are the closed boxes always alive? Not necessarily. If you are not afraid of the fishy smell, you can pick up two and knock them against each other, and you can easily tell the empty one from the others.

Choose the ones with their tongue half sticking out. The ones that retract when touched are alive, fresh, and have delicious meat.

When choosing clams, you can secretly poke a small hole in the bottom of the plastic bag you are buying. As you choose, water will leak out. This way, when you want to weigh the clams, you can put on a new bag and there will be less water when weighing, which is more cost-effective.

When you get home, the clams need to be placed in salt water for a while, and add more salt. Clams are marine and will easily die without a seawater environment.

Can clams be frozen in the refrigerator?

Generally, it is best not to do so. Because clams are alive, refrigerating them will kill them. The correct way is to keep them in water so that they will not die. However, if seafood is stored in large quantities, it is usually frozen, but if it is alive, do not freeze it directly, because it is impossible to tell whether it is alive or dead before freezing. As long as it is alive before freezing, it does not matter if it is frozen, and it can still be eaten after thawing within a certain period of time.

Of course, it is best to buy clams when you eat them, and buy as much as you need. Otherwise, the gelatin will be lost and the meat quality will deteriorate, which will affect the taste. Clams stored in the refrigerator will definitely not taste as good as fresh ones.