Scallops

Scallops are one of the great gastronomic delights of the Channel Islands. They are available from restaurants the Fish Market and from the Seafood vans scattered around Jersey. The crystal clear waters around the Channel Islands produce the finest Seafood and the local Scallops are excellent.

Scallops in the Fish Market

Scallops grow in a distinctive brightly coloured fan-shaped shell but because of the difficulty in getting them out of this shell they are often sold loose as pictured below. Scallops are found in all the oceans of the world are a highly prized much sought after delicacy.

Scallop shells for sale

Scallops shells are popular with shell collectors and are often used as decoration. The “scallop” gets its name  from the French word “escalope” which means “shell”.

Raw Scallops

Scallops are used in Eastern and Western cuisine. There are two types of meat in the shell, the white meat which is the adductor muscle and the actual “scallop”, and the roe also called “coral”, which is reddish orange in the picture above. In Jersey scallops are usually sautéed in garlic butter or cooked on skewers. Scallops like most seafood are often served with a dry white wine. In Japan scallops are served in a seafood soup or sushi or as sashimi. Dried scallop when used Chinese cuisine and known as conpoy.

Cooked Scallops

A popular way to eat Scallops hot is in the dish Coquille St Jacques where they are prepared with white wine and mushrooms served in the shell topped with potato and baked in the oven. Coquille St Jacques is a great starter or main course and can be bought frozen ready for the oven in the Beresford Fish Market.