PRESERVATION OF FISHERY PRODUCTS FOR FOOD. 
473 
PICKLED CLAMS, MUSSELS, SCALLOPS, ETC. 
The process of pickling clams, mussels, and scallops is quite similar to that 
employed in j)reserving oysters, differing principally in the manner of removal from 
the shell and in cooking. The trade in these products is very limited and is centered 
about New York City. 
Clams or quahogs are generally steamed in the shell, a basketful being placed in 
the steam box at a time, where they remain for 10 to 30 minutes, according to the time 
for which they are to be kept. On removal the elams and liquor are cooled separately, 
the latter being first strained and flavored with vinegar, lemon, mace, etc., and then 
combined and sealed up in suitable reeeptacles. The objeet in steaming the elams is 
to avoid cutting and bruising the meats, whieh would result if they were opened raw. 
The shells of mussels are usually covered with dirt, which should be thoroughly 
rinsed off. The mollusks are then generally scalded in brackish water in the shell for 
10 or 15 minutes and on removal therefrom the dark filament or beard is pulled off, 
when the meats and liquor are cooled separately and treated similarly to the i)rocess 
of i)ickling ‘oysters or clams, the flavoring ingredients being selected according to the 
individual fancies, but consisting usually of mace and cloves in addition to vinegar. 
The quantity of ingredients suitable for 100 mussels is about a pint of white 
vinegar, an ounce of mixed cloves and allspice, with a large red pepper and a few 
blades of mace. These should be boiled with the liquor from the mussels, and when 
cooled the whole is poured over the meats. The quantity of vinegar used is small, 
only sufficient for flavoring. While almost any vinegar might be used, white wine 
or cider vinegar is preferred. Pickled mussels should be kept in a cool, dark place, 
for if not well excluded from the light they will turn dark. 
PICKLED LOBSTERS. 
When a lobster dealer is overstocked with boiled lobsters or with lobsters so 
weak that they must be boiled to save them, or less frequently when a fisherman 
desires to dispose of short lobsters caught contrary to local regulations, the usual 
method is to pickle them. For this purpose the live lobsters are first boiled and the 
meats extracted, 100 pounds of round lobsters yielding about 25 pounds of meat. The 
meat in the tail and the large part of the claw is the only i)ortion used, that in 
the knuckle being discarded, since the quantity is so small that it does not pay for the 
work of removing it. One man can usually pick out 100 iiounds of meat in three 
hours. The meat is immersed in vinegar for two or three days, then replaced in 
fresh vinegar and placed in suitable jiackages, which are usually glass jars with cork 
stoppers when prepared by the dealers, and barrels, kegs, or stone jars when the 
pickling is done by the fishermen. White- wine vinegar is preferred to cider vinegar, 
since the latter has a tendency to make the meat dark, and the vinegar may be weak- 
ened to suit the taste desired unless it is proposed to keep the lobsters a long time. 
If carefully protected in tight packages, the pickled meat will keep several months 
under ordinary conditions. It sells for about 12 or 15 cents per pound, representing 
an equivalent of 2 or 3 cents per iiound for the live lobsters. 
