Seafood 101: Clams

LATIN NAME: Meretrix Lusoria

Clams are farm raised; farmers spread the baby clams (seeds) hatched in offshore hatcheries into seabeds where the clams grow naturally by themselves. There are no artificial feeds needed during the whole growing period length, usually one and half years.

Harvesting can be done any time, but for best meat fill and overall quality, the best time is from November through next spring. Clams are hand picked using small hand operated dredges and carefully inspected.

The gathered clams are transported to plants and placed into purging pond for 12-18 hours where seawater runs through and the temperature is well controlled. After purging, the live clams are selected and graded by hand. During this operation all dead, mud/sand clams and off grades are picked out by visualization and knocking. They are washed cleaned, inserted into the vacuum bag, vacuumed and sealed.

Sealed product is stacked on specially designed racks and rolled into pressure broiler. Product is steamed in 209°F for 5 minutes, placed in ice totes to cool down for 5-10 minutes and moved into the freezer.