Peter Aitken wrote:
> "Bob (this one)" > wrote
>
>>Peter Aitken wrote:
>>
>>>"Bob (this one)" > wrote
>>>
>>>>Dee Randall wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>"jmcquown" > wrote
>>>>>
wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>I know what opaque means. I do not know how to to when they are.
>>>>>>>I mean they're white and without cutting them open how do I tell?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>No need to cut them open. You can tell by looking and even
>>>>>>touching in the center. Any pink in the center? Are they firm?
>>>>>>Any pink when you turn them over? Opaque. About 6 minutes total;
>>>>>>no longer than 10. Otherwise you get rubber scallops.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>Jill, I've not seen any pink scallops. Should I eyeball them closer
>>>>>to observe a pinkish tint? They look more on the greyish side than
>>>>>pink to me.
>>>>
>>>>Different varieties will be differently colored. Few will be pink. Some
>>>>will have a pink "fringe" which is perfectly edible.
>>>
>>>And scallops that are all pure white when raw should be avoided. They
>>>have been soaked in a phosphate solution to improve shelf life and it
>>>makes them watery and almost impossible to sear properly.
>>
>>Not necessarily, in my experience. The ones that have been soaked are
>>called "washed" and are obvious from the milky liquid that gathers around
>>them as they leak or "purge" the solution. Scallops will be a warm, creamy
>>white color - sometimes almost beige - or lightly tinged with orange, or a
>>pale pink, washed or not.
>
> I think you need to do a little research. First of all it is "wet" scallops,
> not washed, versus dry (unsoaked). Every authority I have seen says the wet
> ones are "stark white" and sometimes unusually plump looking. The slight
> color variations that you describe are the diagnosis of dry scallops. Dry
> scallops can still leak liquid, but it's their natural juices and not a
> tripolyphiosphate solution.

Peter, I'm not going to get into it with you. I've been buying scallops
for my restaurants since the 70's from professional vendors who taught
me their vocabulary and showed me what to look for when their
competitors tried to mess with me. I've been on boats when they were
dredged and I've cut them out of shells; both sea and bay scallops. In
my restaurants, I served whole scallops in the shells (complete with
roe) that I had flown to me from the Fulton Fish Market when it was in
lower Manhattan. I don't need to consult online authorities now, I've
been dealing with seafood experts for 30 years.

Pastorio