The Bottom Line: Quick facts about scallops.
The Full Story:
- The word scallop comes from the French “escalope,” referring to the shell that encases the scallop.
- Scallops belong to a group of mollusks called bivalves. Why does this sound like something in your bathroom you might have to call a plumber to fix?
- Scallops are now a major harvest off the North Carolina and Florida shores. So you can be patriotic while you eat them!
- Scallops can’t close their shells completely, the way mussels and oysters do. Therefore, they can only live in deep, full salinity sea water. Only the best for a scallop!
- Scallops have approximately 60 eyes lining their mantles. So don’t try anything! I really do have eyes in the back of my head!
- Like a tree, every ring on a scallop’s shell represents a year of its life. Scallops can also get extra rings due to particularly stressful incidents in their lives.