'Zamburiña' or scallop: how to avoid confusion so you don't get one at the same price as the other

BarcelonaIt happens more than it should, and, to think carefully, we could believe that it is due to confusion and ignorance and not so much because they want to make us pass off the scallop (which is cheaper in the market) as an expensive and prized mollusc like the varied shell (the scallop, in Galician). The fact is that both look similar but are different, very different. On the one hand, scallops have a light, almost white shell and an orange gonad. On the other hand, mixed-shell scallops have a dark shell and their gonad is not orange but light, like the rest of the body. They are bivalve mollusks, which means they have two parts, two valves, and live in the Atlantic and also the Mediterranean. However, there is a fundamental difference between the two when they reach the market: mixed-shell scallops have a very high price because, in addition to the closed seasons that regulate fishing, their catch, when permitted, is scarce due to overexploitation, while the scallop has a lower price and is caught more frequently.

At the Estimar restaurant in Barcelona, ​​marine scientist Arnau Subías believes that confusion often "is due to misinformation, because if we had them side by side, we would see that the differences are very obvious." He doesn't believe it's so much about trying to scam, thereby increasing the final sale price. Chefs like Víctor Ródenas, from the Maleducat restaurant in Barcelona, ​​also agree with this. But, of course, in practice, whether the confusion is intentional or not, mixed shells are always more appreciated in fishmongers and also in the collective imagination. So let's take a closer look at how different the two really are.

To begin with, the mixed conch has a light-colored gonad, that is, the organ that secretes both sperm and eggs, which is beige. And they secrete both types because they are hermaphrodites; they reproduce in the water when they expel their eggs and sperm. Regarding the gonads, it's worth mentioning that there are other marine species, such as sea urchins, whose reproductive system is what we eat, and the more orange the color, the tastier it is. But now let's return to the mixed conch. There are more essential differences in their valves, that is, in their external structure. Mixed conch have a single lug and their shell is dark, very dark. And to drive the point home, the shape of the two valves is convex. Scallops, on the other hand, have a deep orange gonad, a light-colored shell, and symmetrical lugs—one tip and the other are exactly the same.

This intense orange color is the same in the case of the other types of scallops, the chel (washer, Galician) and Pacific scallops. Furthermore, in both cases the ears are asymmetrical: one tip is sharper than the other, which is more rounded.

The size makes the difference

And there are even more differences between the two mollusks that cause confusion, the scallop and the mixed conch, and it is a matter of size. If you find a thick, large bivalve mollusk on your plate, so large that its shell is often even used as a plate, you will be looking at a scallop, never a mixed conch (a scallop), because the latter are always smaller in size.

When it comes to eating them, everything is similar. We eat only the muscle and reproductive organs of the scallop and mixed conch, because the remaining parts, which correspond to organs like the stomach or gills, are rejected, so in the market and also in restaurants, you'll only see these two parts eaten: muscle and gonad. We can eat it raw, especially in Japanese recipes like sashimi and nigiri, or grilled, with a traditional garlic and parsley seasoning. When they are caught in the Pacific, they arrive frozen to our markets, and the same is true for those that arrive from the Atlantic, although we can also buy them unfrozen. If it's the end of the year, it will be a good time to find mixed conch at the market, because that's when it's in season, and then you'll have to prepare your wallet because the price will always be high.

Finally, in all cases, these bivalve mollusks need to be depurated, which means that, once caught, they pass through tanks of purified water to extract what they filtered while living in the sea. Scallops or various shells, such as mussels, oysters, and razor clams, must be depurated between 24 and 72 hours before reaching the market. And not only because they have filtered everything in the sea, but also because this way they are free of sand. This last characteristic makes them similar to, and differentiates them from, other shells, such as sea urchins, which are herbivores and, therefore, do not filter bacteria. A scallop can't be caught from the sea and eaten because we might swallow fecal bacteria, whereas a sea urchin can be caught, split open (not an easy task without the right utensil), and eaten individually, each of the orange gonads, which, if bright, mean they're female. And one final note: scallops and various shells are considered by chefs to be high-flying mollusks, and that's why thousands of recipes have been created in cookbooks to enhance them. It's just a matter of knowing which one to eat.