Experts tell 'The Scallop Story'

By Marie-Christine Aquarone, Standard-Times correspondent

Would you be willing to pay more for a superior scallop? And what are the dishes that show this unique bivalve to best advantage? These were the questions at the heart of a Westport Rivers Winery event in October in which scallops played the lead and wines provided a major supporting role.

A representative of M.F. Foley, a New Bedford seafood distributor, and Chef Wayne Gibson teamed up for "The Scallop Story."

The scallop is a mollusk with dozens of eyes situated all around the mantle at the rim of its shell. Familiar to consumers are sea scallops and bay scallops.

The bay scallop begins its two-year life cycle as a tiny egg, or spat, attached to eelgrass. The food that it obtains from the tidal currents of estuaries gives it a sweet taste. At the veliger or "swimming" stage of its life, it propels itself through the water by opening and closing its shell.

In our region, bay scallops are harvested in the Westport River estuary, in Bourne, Falmouth, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Bay scallops are raised through aquaculture techniques by Taylor Bay in Fairhaven. They can grow in a controlled environment that limits the risk of pollution and offers protection against predators such as crabs.

The sea scallop is larger than its cousin the bay scallop. It grows to the ripe old age of 10, and it can be found on Georges Bank, the very rich fishing ground situated to the east of Cape Cod, where it is harvested by fishing vessels that drag dredges across the ocean floor.

The scallop differs from other shellfish species such as oyster, quahog, soft-shell clams and mussels, all of which are sold whole, including the viscera, where water-borne pathogens can accumulate, resulting in possible health hazards for those who partake of these foods. What is usually eaten in the scallop is the adductor muscle that opens and closes the bivalves.

This makes the scallop unique as a pollution-free food item.

The scallop suffers many indignities before reaching the market. Those who harvest scallops shuck them on board, reserving only the meat of the large adductor muscle. Before bagging and icing scallops, they will often engage in a practice known as soaking, which will add extra weight to the scallop catch. In this process, the scallops are soaked in a solution of sodium chloride for up to 48 hours. Scallops can absorb as much as 35 percent of their weight in water.

The temptation to "soak" is hard to resist for it increases the scallopers' profit margins. If for any reason the scallopers don't soak, chances are that the fish companies that buy the catch will. This gives the companies a competitive edge and helps bring down the price for a pound of scallops.

It is a practice that M.F. Foley Inc. won't abide. The family-owned company operates fish plants in Boston and New Bedford and has developed a reputation for providing fish and scallops of superior quality and freshness. The firm supplies restaurants, hotels and clubs, and retail stores such as the Roche Brothers.

In 1906, Michael Francis Foley started the firm as a sidewalk business in Boston. Frank Foley, his son and successor to the business, invented a new name, scrod, for small haddock and small cod and he sold it to parts of the country that had never yet seen a fish from the sea.

Today, Foley's keeps the fishermen and scallopers in line by helping them unload the boats. The company inspects the scallop bags for evidence of soaking. Foley's guarantees the market an unadulterated scallop that has not been soaked. As a result, the scallop retains its original sweet flavor.

Because a scallop tastes best in its shell, and because the presence of the shell is a guarantee that the scallop wasn't tampered with, Foley's sells Taylor Bay scallops in their shell. But the added weight of the shells increases the cost of transportation. This, and the lack of soaking, raises the prices charged by the company to retailers and consumers.

Is it worth it? Does the taste of these scallops justify their higher price? A dish of Singing Scallops with Silk Kerchiefs in Champagne & Truffle Beurre Blanc certainly proved the point. It was prepared with Taylor Bay scallops by Chef Gibson at an educational food event that took place Oct. 21 at the Westport Rivers Vineyard and Winery on Hixbridge Road. The bay scallops were steamed open while still alive and "singing," then served in their shells with beurre blanc, a reduction sauce made with shallots, butter, chives and the winery's recently released sparkling wine.

The food event attended by about 25 people was hosted by Bob and Carol Russell, the owners of the winery. The guests had paid $40 each to learn about scallops, watch the chef demonstrate his cooking techniques, sample the scallop menu and drink several wines.

A special speaker was Fred Weckman of M.F. Foley. Chef Gibson, who previously worked at Biba in Boston and at the Inn at Castle Hill in Newport, now teaches at the culinary school of Johnson & Wales University in Providence. He praised the quality of the Taylor Bay scallops as he whipped up the beurre blanc.

"Fred is changing my cooking approach," he said, adding that "a chef's career can be changed by ingredients."

He cautioned the guests to be light on the salt when cooking scallops since they are naturally salty. In the "scallop comparative," the guests were invited to sample two sea scallops that had been cooked in exactly the same way, except that the one on the right had been "soaked" while the one on the left was natural and unadulterated. There was no visual difference on the plate, but the soaked scallop was definitely blander and less fresh-tasting, with a firmer, whiter, fishier consistency on the inside. The natural scallop melted in one's mouth and had a wonderful, clean taste.

All three scallop dishes were beautifully enhanced by the wines. "Something can be created by matching food with wine that surpasses either of them standing alone," Richard Olney wrote in his recently published "Reflexions."

"The wine is doing the food a favor," said Chef Gibson, as the guests tasted the wines for their finesse, balance, personality and originality. The elegant 1994 methode champenoise Blanc de Blancs that accompanied the first dish took six years to mature, a cycle almost identical to the sea scallop's.

The dishes and wines served at the event demonstrated some of the culinary possibilities of the scallop, which are many: it is great in wine or champagne sauces, curried, au gratin with mushrooms, grilled on skewers, sautéed with tomatoes, or eaten in a cold salad. It is well worth paying a slightly higher price for it. But can scallop fans tell if scallops have been soaked? Your best bet is to get to know and trust your retailer -- and to hope he or she is knowledgeable enough to know the difference.

Educational food events take place at the Westport Rivers Winery every month. For information, call (508) 636-3423, or visit the Web site at www.westportrivers.com

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