Catching a Rainbow

Give me my scallop-shell of quiet,
My staff of faith to walk upon,
My scrip of joy, immortal diet,
My bottle of salvation,
My gown of glory, hope's true gage;
And thus I'll take my pilgrimage...
The Passionate Man's Pilgrimage

Sir Walter Raleigh

With that poem begins one of the most awaited seasons of the year, not climatic but gastronomic, the Scallops or perhaps the better known, Coquilles St Jacques!
It is not unusual in France for their arrival to attract banner like announcements in the papers such as,
“They have arrived!”
People stop in the street and discuss what the coming season is going to be like: will there be enough, are they going to be more expensive than last year, but most of all, ‘when will they arrive.’
In the region of Brittany in which I live, nothing is anticipated quite like the first Coquilles St Jacques of the year, fairs being organised to celebrate this wonderful harvest from the sea.
Coquille St Jacques, as with other shellfish are not generally popular in England, we seem to find mussels, oysters and other shellfish somewhat daunting and yet, they are what the British want to eat when they come to Brittany on holiday.
France not only produces, but also imported 7840 metric tons of scallops in 2007 alone, including 60% of the UK catch . In the UK during 2007 nearly 18,500 tons of scallops were landed grossing £32,000,000 for the fishing industry, but so few are eaten by the inhabitants.
It is a sad fact that very few children in Britain will taste the wonderful sweet flavour of fresh Coquilles St Jacques and although the sale of frozen scallops has increased two fold in the past ten years, the availability of good fresh scallops, away from the coasts is still abysmal for a country surrounded by the sea. As a nation, unlike the French, we have not grown up with shellfish as part of our diet and our lives are poorer for it.


HISTORY:

The name Coquilles St Jacques is so recognisable; it transcends language barriers, being known as Coquille St Jacque in other tongues apart from French. Even in Britain the name Coquille St Jacque is more recognisable to most than the mundane scallop. The shell is the archetypal shape for a seashell, and the one most easily recognisable by adults and children alike.
The scallop shell is the traditional emblem of Saint James the Great, better known as James an apostle of Jesus or St Jacques in French. The shell is worn by pilgrims following the route to the shrine of St James in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain.
More commonly known as Santiago, which is Spanish for St James, was named after the apostle who some believe spent time in Galicia, spreading Christianity. His connection to scallop shells comes from myth and legend and is derived from two similar stories.
In 40AD, James returned to Judea to continue his ministry, which was not long lived; he was put to death by King Herod Agrippa four years later. Following James’s execution, the king refused to give permission for the body to be buried and during the night friends removed the corpse and sailed for Spain, his final resting place.
The first story tells of James wading out into the sea and rescuing a fallen knight who had become unseated from his horse. When the knight emerged from the water he was covered in scallop shells. The other story, along similar lines, attests that whilst St. James's remains were being transported to Spain for burial, the horse of a knight fell into the water, and emerged covered in the shells.
Centuries later a hermit called Pelayo was sitting in a wood, when he saw a strange light shining over the place where James was supposedly buried. Pelayo named the place, "Campus Stellae", or ‘the field of the star.’ That name later evolved into Compostela and hence to Santiago de Compostella or St James- field of the star.


BUYING:

Scallops should, whenever possible be bought in shell, making it easier to tell if they are really fresh. Scallops are heavy. They have a large shell, full of dense flesh and sea water and a Kg of fresh shells will only render five or six scallops. €2-3 (£1.50-2) a Kilo is a good price but in times of poor weather they can increase to €6 (£4.50) a Kg. (French prices)
Shells can be closed or open as most scallop shells will open when brought into the warm but is not a sign that the scallop is dead. They should however close when tapped.
Scallops should never be stored in water and avoid tubs of shelled scallops sitting in their own juice, they are probably defrosted frozen. Frozen scallops are a good second choice and are ideal used in recipes using longer more involved cooking methods, but they should not be stored in water.
Unlike other shellfish such as oysters, mussels and clams, not all the scallop is eaten. In the case of scallops only the adductor muscle or the large off-white meat and sometimes the red or orange roe are eaten. The roe is not always present dependant on the time of year. Although scallops are often sold removed or shucked from their shells, freshness can easily be verified. They should be firm, moist without cracks of fissures and have a sweet pleasant aroma. The meat should be slightly off white. Brilliant white scallops have probably been stored in water, to increase their weight and cost, and should be avoided.
Hand-dived scallops are larger, and more expensive, but taste the same as the smaller dredged variety.


STORING:


Scallops are highly perishable and should be used as soon as possible after purchase and certainly within two days. They can be stored in the bottom of the fridge but as they exude a certain amount of water they need to be kept in a suitable container.
They freeze well.


PREPARING:

How to open and clean a scallop
1. To open a scallop, Hold the curved side up and hinge away from you
2. Insert an oyster knife between the two shells and rock the knife from side to side to break the muscle that forms the hinge. You can tell the scallop is alive for as you cut the hinge the two half’s of the shell try to close and this is an indication of freshness. Scallops should always be bought live.
3. Insert the knife or a spoon between the top and bottom shells from the right side, just in front of the hinge, and cut the muscle away from the inside of the top shell (the curved one) this release the top shell.
4. Open the scallop and discard the top shell.
5. Then scrape off and discard all of the innards except the sweet, white muscle.
6. Do this by gently scraping off the dark innards, starting from the hinge side of the muscle and scraping over the muscle towards the front. You can always pull any bits free with your fingers
7. Properly done, this will peel the innards from the muscle, leaving it attached to the bottom shell.

Cleaning Scallops Part 1



Cleaning Scallops Part 2




COOKING:


Scallops have a delicate sweet flavour which can easily be overpowered by strong spices and seasoning. As with much seafood the simplest methods of cooking are often the best and scallops are no exception.
A favourite method of cooking and one, which only takes a few minutes, is to heat a dry pan until hot, then add some oil,
• Warm the serving plates.
• Open and clean the scallops.
• Carefully dry each with a cloth, so that when they go into the pan the oil will not cool resulting in the scallops boiling in their own juice rather than searing and sealing in their liquid
• Add the scallops and cook for about a minute on one side, without shaking the pan.
• Turn the scallops over and cook for a further ten seconds.
• When cooked place the scallops on the warmed serving plate.
• Add a good sized lump of butter to the pan and when melted and begun to foam and a splash of Noilly-PratTM, give the pan a quick shake and pour the butter over the scallops.
• Grind on some black pepper and a sprinkle of fine Guérande sea salt.
• Serve with a green salad, and fresh bread.
• Sublime with a fruity Muscadet, but not one that is too dry.


Searing scallop video.





OTHER


What are Coquilles St Jacques?



They are bi-valve molluscs, related to the oyster, although scallops have a larger adductor muscle, which is the edible part of the shellfish.
They have the distinction in being the only bi-valve molluscs, which are capable of self-propelled independent movement; which they achieve by rapidly opening and closing their shell thus expelling water at force, and enabling the scallop to move; a natural form of jet propulsion. Scallops use this method to migrate around the seabed their position depending on the season, the tides and the climatic conditions.
Scallops are hermaphroditic, which means they can change sex and it is their sex, which determines if the shell will contain the additional delicacy of the roe or not. A red roe indicates a female scallop; white for male, and it is usually only the bright red or orange roe of the female scallop, which is eaten.
The flesh of a scallop is firm with a delicate sweet flavour. The row has a much softer texture and is less popular owing to its softness.
The Swedish name for a scallop translates as The Pilgrim Mussel and in Dutch Jakobsschelp, which means ‘James shell.’ The French means Shell of St James.


Swimming scallop video.




Fishing for Scallops.


Scallops are traditionally caught by dragging the seabed with a specially designed metal drag net, or dredger. There is however, a market for dived scallops, which are hand selected and usually larger than the fished varieties.
There are two main areas of scallop fishing in Northern France, The bay of the Seine, in Normandy, and the Bay of St-Brieuc in Brittany. In Britain the Irish Sea and the west coast of Scotland are the main areas of scallop farming and more recently large reserves have been found around the Isle of Mann.
In France, which has a far larger scallop rearing industry the rights to the fishing grounds are fiercely protected and fishing for scallops is restricted by a great many statutes. The size and number of dredgers permitted per boat is also controlled. They must not be wider than two metres and have a metal net of interlocking rings fitted whose diameter must be greater than ten centimetres, thus allowing smaller specimens to fall through the net and be returned to the sea bed unharmed. Large boats can drag up to thirty dredgers at a time, but in the Bay of St Brieuc the maximum number permitted is two per boat.
The time permitted for fishing is also strictly controlled and any breach of the regulations results in the fisherman’s licence being revoked and hence his livelihood. The boats are limited to no more than 13metres in length with engines no bigger than 250 hp. They are only allowed to fish twice a week and for no more than 45 minutes at each session. They are only allowed to catch 250 Kg of scallops per fisherman on board regardless of how long it takes to catch them.
The opening of scallops on board is forbidden as is the taking of undersized specimens and the scallops must be no smaller than 102mm in diameter. The open season for scallops is between October and May; the exact date varies from year to year. Diving for scallops is permitted all year round in the waters surrounding Jersey.





References and Acknowledgements.
http://www.sud-goelo.info/
http://www.ouest-france.fr/dossiershtm/coquille/30.htm
http://www.ifremer.fr/envlit/pdf/actualitespdf/20041207Coquille_Saint_Jacques_Bretagne.pdf
http://www.eurofish.dk/indexSub.php?id=3255
http://www.red2000.com/spain/santiago/
http://www.noillyprat.com/default.aspx
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si2004/20040012.htm
Fete de coquilles st jaques 2006, Cotes de Goelo