Paleo Diet: Raw Paleo Diet and Lifestyle Forum

Raw Paleo Diet Forums => General Discussion => Topic started by: bharminder on September 07, 2010, 10:57:05 am

Title: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: bharminder on September 07, 2010, 10:57:05 am
In a book I read that shellfish such as oysters filter through lots of water and they accumulate lots of toxic compounds. Is it safe to eat lots of shellfish from a RPD perspective?


Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: goodsamaritan on September 07, 2010, 11:20:39 am
I have benefited immensely from oysters and clams from clean waters.
The trick is to get them from clean waters.
I used to pig out on oysters when my instincts demanded them.
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: bharminder on September 07, 2010, 11:33:31 am
I think you have told me the answer to this question before, but how do you know which waters are clean?

I only know of one or two areas that are majorly polluted but don't know about the cleanliness or noncleanliness of any other waters.
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: goodsamaritan on September 07, 2010, 12:57:56 pm
You need to know the waters in your country.
I live in the Philippines so I must learn about the oyster farms here.
I ask my wet market vendor where my oysters come from, it's a common question.
I don't buy oysters or any shellfish from Cavite waters because I just think they are dirty.
And I have experienced red tide poisoning with oysters from cavite... deadly.

This lunch I just had 5 oysters each as large as my palm.
The guy said it came from Pangasinan.
I contracted him to open the oysters for me for a tip.
I ate it right there at the market stall.
Yummy, it was a good deal for P 100 and 5 palm sized oysters.
Freshly opened.
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: bharminder on September 07, 2010, 01:06:18 pm
Cool, large oysters!
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: TylerDurden on September 07, 2010, 05:29:31 pm
My fisherman is great - he only gets shellfish during the right season so they're not too small. The waters he gets them from are very clean, with the result that his raw oysters are superior to anything in fishmongers' shops or supermarkets.
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: bharminder on September 07, 2010, 09:49:43 pm
Cool, raw oysters are tastey on the half shell
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: miles on September 07, 2010, 09:53:51 pm
100PHP is like £1.50? In the supermarket fishmonger I got my (1)Oyster from, they were 55p each and small.
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: TylerDurden on September 08, 2010, 12:31:49 am
100PHP is like £1.50? In the supermarket fishmonger I got my (1)Oyster from, they were 55p each and small.
I pay 1 pound sterling for each double-oyster(2 oysters bound together in different shells). These are all extra-large oysters.
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: bharminder on September 08, 2010, 05:22:14 am
Regarding clams, I found one with lots and lots of grit. I did soak it for only 10 minutes.

What is a good protocol for soaking clams? Do I need to add salt, and does the table salt kill them? does soaking them in fresh waters kill them?


How long do they need to be soaked?

This one clam I opened was completely full of sand and grit,  I took it back to the store and got another, but I'd like to see if soaking works instead of that. That was the first clam I ever got with that much sandgrit


edit: after so I opened these and these had practically no grit at all. When I was at the store exchanging I asked for the lighter colored clams in thesame bundle,as the one that I opened that had a ton of grit was really dark on the outside shell. Does shell color have any indication of grittiness?
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: goodsamaritan on September 08, 2010, 06:06:16 am
Regarding clams, I found one with lots and lots of grit. I did soak it for only 10 minutes.

What is a good protocol for soaking clams? Do I need to add salt, and does the table salt kill them? does soaking them in fresh waters kill them?


How long do they need to be soaked?

This one clam I opened was completely full of sand and grit,  I took it back to the store and got another, but I'd like to see if soaking works instead of that. That was the first clam I ever got with that much sandgrit


edit: after so I opened these and these had practically no grit at all. When I was at the store exchanging I asked for the lighter colored clams in thesame bundle,as the one that I opened that had a ton of grit was really dark on the outside shell. Does shell color have any indication of grittiness?

Clams need to be soaked in salty water so they will spit out the sand, mud and grit.
We usually soak them for at least 2 hours.
They have to be ALIVE to spit.
Make sure the water is saltier than sea water.
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: bharminder on September 08, 2010, 06:13:47 am
Clams need to be soaked in salty water so they will spit out the sand, mud and grit.
We usually soak them for at least 2 hours.
They have to be ALIVE to spit.
Make sure the water is saltier than sea water.


Is regular table salt good to use to soak the clams in?

Does color of the shell have anything to do with the grittiness? These 2 lighter colored clams had practically no grit, yet the darker one that I got before was so full of grit it just seemed inedible. Should I start selecting the lighter colored clams from now on?

edit: if you use regular table salt, don't the clams soak up some of the salt and then one eats the table salt? I don't like to eat table salt
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: MaximilianKohler on September 08, 2010, 06:21:56 am
:o

I bought some clams from the store and just pried them open and ate them. Maybe they were presoaked?
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: goodsamaritan on September 08, 2010, 06:27:34 am
I never buy "table" salt.
We always have organic sea salt.
This is how we soak clams.
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: bharminder on September 08, 2010, 06:29:31 am
GS, do you refrigerate the clams while they are soaking?

Max, That's what I do usually, but today I got 2, and pried it open when I got home...and like
 all this grit came out onto the  knife, and then i opened the clam al the way and like it
was just FULL of grit, I couldn't see -

the clam properly and all this black stuff smeared on my towel that I use to hold
the clam with to prevent cutting myself.


So I took it back and got 2 more and they were gritless, but this time I asked the seafood guy if I could
 pick the clams, and I tried to pick the ones that looked lighter and more bronze in color as the one I opened
 was really dark and black on the outside. Don't know if darker clams are grittier but I plan on asking if I
can pick the clams again next time I go and pick the light colored ones.


Ok thanks GS, you don't mind eating the sea salt either?

edit: Are farmed shellfish good to eat?
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: fwadmin on September 08, 2010, 07:32:19 am
GS, do you refrigerate the clams while they are soaking?

Ok thanks GS, you don't mind eating the sea salt either?

edit: Are farmed shellfish good to eat?

No, I don't refrigerate because I want the clams to be alive.

The saltiness in the water is just there so the clams can spit out the sand.  I don't mind.

I don't see much wild oysters in the markets.  It wouldn't be practical from a business point of view.  Clams though are mostly wild.
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: bharminder on September 08, 2010, 01:27:59 pm
So does the dogma of wild > farmed not so important with shellfish?
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: goodsamaritan on September 08, 2010, 02:01:13 pm
So does the dogma of wild > farmed not so important with shellfish?

Oysters are as wild as it can get even if farmed like oysters.

The "farming" is just a structure where oysters can latch on to and grow.

They aren't fed anything by the humans.

You just wait for them to grow with the nutrition from clean ocean water.

They could be thought of as semi-wild.

Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: Iguana on September 08, 2010, 02:49:39 pm
Exactly. In Europe clams and oyster are pre-soaked in seawater; they are thus free of sand and can be eaten as you buy them. Only scallops are sometimes full of sand and I clean them with seawater.
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: bharminder on October 11, 2010, 06:52:10 am
GS, since I buy the clams already refrigerated... I don't know whether to soak them in or out of the fridge.

What if I plan to soak them overnight, will they survive in room temperature?

What kind of temperature do clams live in? I couldn't find much info. on google.
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: goodsamaritan on October 11, 2010, 07:31:48 am
I have no idea about buying refrigerated dead clams.

Dead clams are not sold in our wet markets.

And any dead clams before cooking are thrown away.

I don't eat dead clams.

We Filipinos think eating dead clams may be bad for our health.

I only buy live clams.  And they can only spit out their mud if they are alive.
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: bharminder on October 11, 2010, 09:52:57 am
All of the refrigerated clams are dead? They are still closed shell, and some of the clams sometimes are open and close their shells when tapped on. That means they are alive right?


Can you soak clams for upwards of 12 hours?
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: goodsamaritan on October 11, 2010, 10:24:04 am
I guess so.  You need to add some salt to the water you soak them in.

Just enough water level to just cover them.

You should see them spitting water out.

Fun for kids.

I should take a video of spitting clams.
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: bharminder on October 11, 2010, 10:56:25 am
Maybe the ones I get are dead. I never see them spit anything out. if i'm soaking them and they're dead that would be pretty funny
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: goodsamaritan on October 11, 2010, 11:01:24 am
Maybe the ones I get are dead. I never see them spit anything out. if i'm soaking them and they're dead that would be pretty funny

They will spit if the water is salty enough.

If they are dead it will be easy to open them up with your hands.  You can smell them.  If they stink they've been dead for too long to eat.

Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: bharminder on October 11, 2010, 11:23:35 am
Hm well then they must be alive because they are tightly shut shells. Occasionally I find some that have open shells I usually chuck those in the garbage.



 I usually skimp on the salt because I put sea salt and that is pricey so I'll try putting more next time.



On another note, I got some blue marlin tuna the other day from Costco, a huge warehouse membership type of store.
I cut it into small tiny cubes and dipped it in egg yolk. It was great,, even my cat ate some of the tuna, but none of the egg yolk.

 It was interesting because she would eat the tuna but when I dipped it in the yolk she refused to eat it.
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: goodsamaritan on October 11, 2010, 11:32:56 am
blue marlin and tuna are 2 separate fish.
Which one is it?
tuna is red meat
blue marlin is white meat

I don't see why you are dipping it in egg yolk.
blue marlin is totally fat.

Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: bharminder on October 12, 2010, 09:26:12 am
Oh, it is blue marlin. I thought wrong.

Is blue marlin a quality fish? It tastes good.

I dip it in the egg yolk because i like the texture and flavor that the yolk brings with the blue marlin.

I also like yolk with beef
Title: Re: are oysters and other shellfish a clean source of food?
Post by: bharminder on October 17, 2010, 11:44:52 am
I found this deal for clams for like 35-40 clams for about 17 dollars, which is much less than where I normally get them.



However, after soaking the clams, I examined each one as I was about to open it, and I noticed over 60% had a chipped part on where the two half shells meet. When I turned the chipped part down towards the ground and shook the clam, I saw water continuously dripping out. I opened these clams and they did not smell. However, some that were chipped did not smell fresh. I threw those away. And, the clams that did not have chipped shells smelled fresher and cleaner upon opening than the ones that had chipped shells.

Are these chipped clams to be avoided and dead? I can answer this myself but wanted second opinions since these clams are cheaper.  How could over 20 of the clams have light chips on them? Should I stop buying them and instead buy the clams that are more expensive from the other store where they sell clams individually instead of in packs of 35-40?