"Bob (this one)" > wrote in message
...
> 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

Please excuse me, I forgot that you are the World's Chief Expert on food and
that no matter how many authorities disagree with you, they are wrong and
you are right.


--
Peter Aitken