Shellfish are highly appreciated for its high food nutritional value, palatability and the wide range of dining options they offer. Considered for centuries as a poor bite, seafood is now one of the finest gourmet delicacies, tasting almost obligatory in the grand celebrations.
1. Types of seafood
The term includes various seafood and shellfish, lacking an internal skeleton and fins, unlike fish.
2. Crustaceans
Refinement. The seafood is now one of the most exquisite culinary delicacies.
The crustaceans are equipped with a shell, usually very hard, two pairs of antennae, two strong front calipers and a large number of side legs, depending on the species. They are the most cherished and among them the following.:
- Lobster
One of the tastiest shellfish and is used mainly for the development of haute cuisine dishes. The medium size are the ones with the tastiest meat. Females usually have in my head immature eggs, which are very tasty and we must seize to add to the sauce that accompanies the lobster itself.
If the eggs are ripe, are placed in the queue and are less palatable. Also this is not the best time for consumption. When purchasing a live lobster should verify that by taking it, the body weight.
Tips & Tricks: It is best to buy live lobster. Should check that, take it weighs. If you buy cooked, it should be fixed in your head is firmly attached to the tail and has a homogeneous color without dark spots.
To cook, you have to submerge in salt water and boil once broken, it gets cooked lobster and twenty minutes per kilogram. For over half a kilo each, add five minutes of cooking.
For cooling, it is best to dip in plenty of ice, although there who advises let it cool in the cooking broth. Sized lobsters are the ones with the tastiest meat.
- Lobster
Similarities with the lobster, but their meat is less attractive and more intense flavor. Prepare baked, steamed, grilled or baked. They are boiled like lobster, and it is best to do it in seawater, calculated cooking time of fifteen minutes per pound of weight.
Tips and tricks: When shopping, refuse those specimens showing signs of struggle or legs mutilated. The lobster must be alive at the time of cook and for this reason, before boiling, tie tweezers and grasp its tail.
The preferred female to male, his flesh more fleshy and delicate. To distinguish is to turn it around. Its central part is concave and in this space is where the eggs home. Like cooked lobster, calculating a cooking time of about fifteen minutes per pound of weight.
- Cigala
Its taste is very refined and used as the edible part inside tail and claws and is a perfect accompaniment for rice. Cooking time is two to three minutes and are removed immediately from the water to cool.
Tips & Tricks: The Norway lobster is fresh, has black eyes and a bright pink shell. The quality of the meat of the crayfish is linked to water temperature in which they live, with better texture and flavor, as colder water.
- Crab
The crab is a crustacean shell with spikes hairy, long legs and two claws and hairy less bulky than the ox of the sea. Their meat is very tasty and their culinary uses are quite diverse. It can be prepared baked, boiled, steamed or cooked simply.
Tips & Tricks: When buying crabs (as with the edible crab) must choose individuals that weigh more as they will have more meat.
- Edible crab
It is a great drive and great crab shell and impressive meat tongs highly esteemed. You can prepare just like the spider crab, cooked and presented in a cocktail, in a salad of seafood, salads or grilled.
- Shrimp
It is prized for its flavor and lends itself to preparations of all kinds. They are sold whole and classified into various categories based on size. You can prepare baked, boiled, grilled or in salads. We must introduce them in cold water with salt and let cook a minute from a boil. Are removed from the heat and let cool. The cooking time is three minutes for medium size.
- Gamba
It’s seafood is more popular. Smaller than the prawn, enjoys the same gastronomic versatility than this.
- Barnacle
Seafood is one of the most esteemed and sought for their meat so exquisite.
Tips & Tricks: The best are those with a size between 5 and 7 inches long with a diameter not exceeding 2 centimeters. Their preparation is not of much trouble. Simply cook them in salt water or sea water, is left to drain and serve warm or cold.
3. Molluscs
Molluscs. Are varied and many preparations welcome.
The mollusks are mostly protected by an outer shell, usually hard and tough. Her inner body is quite soft, denominating the mollusc shell to shell.
Univalve differ (one valve), such as garden snails and sea snails and bivalves (two valves), such as oysters, clams, mussels, razor …
There are also mollusks that have no shell and are known as cephalopods, among which is the squid, octopus, cuttlefish and squid. Among the most common molluscs are of the following:
- Oyster
The oyster is a mollusk of the exquisite flavor attributed aphrodisiac qualities due to its high content of zinc, a mineral associated with reproduction. The normal form of consumption is raw, on a newly opened shell and with a little lemon juice.
- There a variety of clams that lend themselves to different preparations. From raw to take them together with a few drops of lemon, as the largest take up the grill or pil-pil, or in the preparation of paella and fish soups, and smaller are used, also called clams.
- To see one of shellfish whose price soars at Christmas.
Tips & Tricks: To open it easily is immersed in warm water and leave a few minutes. When you start to open, the leaflets are separated using a blunt knife. Remove all dirt and adhesions that could have and proceed to prepare using their deeper or convex valve.
Can be prepared by adding plenty of chopped onion, oil, salt and a few drops of vinegar or, once cooked with salt, sprinkle with chopped garlic, parsley, ground pepper and fry lightly in the oven.
- Or periwinkle sea snail
The snails have been widely used since antiquity. The sea snail meat has a very firm texture and delicate flavor.
- Mussels one of mollusks commonly used for its mild taste and affordable price. It can be consumed live, steamed, baked, in soups, salads …
- Octopus
It is desirable that their weight does not exceed one kilogram otherwise the meat is tough. Before hitting should prepare to soften the flesh.
- Sepia
They belong to the group of cephalopods like squid. They can be purchased fresh, frozen, canned, smoked or dried. The method of cooking depends on the size. If small is skipped or made whole stuffed. If you are large, only the legs are cooked.
- Squid
The external appearance of the squid is reminiscent of sepia, and its meat taste very nice. The ink contained in a kind of bag is very useful as a basis for making a sauce used to accompany him.
- Cockles
They can be purchased raw or canned, and are consumed especially as an aperitif.
4. A very nutritious food
Nutritional content. They are rich in protein, vitamins and minerals, especially phosphorus
Its nutritional value is very significant, being especially rich in protein, and a wide range of vitamins and minerals, especially phosphorus.
The nutritional composition of seafood varies greatly depending on the species, age, time of year, fishing area, the type of food you have, and vital phase of the cycle or that seafood is at the moment capture.
- Water: The water content is high and is between 75 to 86 percent.
- Carbohydrates: The shellfish (mainly mussels) contain a small amount of glycogen, a carbohydrate complex, similar to starch, and found only in animal praise.
- Fat: The fat accounts for only 1 to 8%, still less its content than for fish, but it is a fat rich in omega-3 fatty acids beneficial to the agency action.
However, do not forget your cholesterol and purine content (from which it forms uric acid), which advises moderate consumption in people with cardiovascular problems and gout.
- Protein: The seafood stand out as excellent sources of protein, of excellent quality, though somewhat lower than meat and fish.
- Vitamins: Oysters and clams contain plenty of vitamin B12 while the squid, oysters and mussels noted for its vitamin C, and the latter two also are rich in vitamin D.
- Minerals: They are an excellent source of selenium’s antioxidant properties beneficial health effects in the body. It also provides iodine, essential for the functioning of the thyroid and zinc, a mineral essential to the immune system, body defense, and reproduction.
5. Tips
Perishable food. Should buy them live or frozen
- Buy them alive. Seafood is a food as delicious as perishable. The ideal is to buy live, preferably crab, lobster, lobster and crabs. The characteristic odor of “sea” is indicative that the product is fresh.
- How to detect if it is in bad shape. The most obvious symptom of the shellfish is not in optimum condition for consumption is a strong smell of ammonia.
- Closed shells. In the case of clams and other shellfish, it must be secure, discarding those being manipulated are not closed, a clear sign that they are dead.
- Heads blackened. The prawns, shrimps, prawns and fresh prawns blackened must not present the head that joins the body. Your head should not easily be detached and not seen any viscosity inside the shell.
- How to tell if frozen. To determine whether frozen prawns are just set, to peel, if the shell is very close to the meat. In that case will be frozen.
- Conservation in the refrigerator. The best way to keep shellfish in the refrigerator is covered with a damp cloth to keep dry.
- Maintaining a bright color. For crustaceans (shrimp, prawns ..) maintain a bright color after baking, was introduced into ice water and plenty of salt to cool completely.
Tags: nutritional composition, phosphorus, Protein, Seafood, Shellfish, Types of seafood, variety of clams, Vitamins, vitamins and minerals
