Fall star...The scallop...and the festive season!

The scallop

The flagship product of the Normandy coast, the scallop has the merit of being appreciated by the greatest number of people!

Appreciated for its fine-tasting flesh punctuated by notes of hazelnut, the scallop is a flagship product of the Granville-Chausey bay. Its arrival on the shelves marks the beginning of autumn. Normandy is France’s leading region for scallop fishing.

Normandy is France’s leading region for scallop fishing.

Scallops

An exceptional product

While there are labels certifying the quality of this product, the scallop is a veritable treasure trove of vitamins and proteins. Vitamin B12, Omega 3 fatty acids, iodine, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, zinc… This shellfish is a veritable treasure trove for our taste buds and our health.

It should nevertheless be noted that this shellfish has benefited from the Label Rouge “Coquille St-Jacques fraîche et entière” since 2002. This label is awarded by the French Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.

In 2009, the Label Rouge “Noix de coquille St-Jacques Pecten maximus fraîche” was awarded to detailed scallops. This appellation, derived from the shell’s scientific name, distinguishes scallops from imported scallops.

Why scallops?
The scallop shell owes its name to the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in the Middle Ages. At the end of their journey, pilgrims would collect shells on the beach and attach them to their outfits. Both a good-luck charm and a reward, this gesture proved that they had completed the journey to the end.

Where, when and how is it caught?

The scallop is particularly fond of the Normandy seabed: water temperature, abundance of plankton, depth and nature of the seabed… all factors conducive to rapid growth. In Normandy, 20 to 30,000 tons are fished each year.

A peach

regulated

The scallop fishery is open from October 1 to May 15.

The summer period allows the shellfish to reproduce.

Professional fishermen use dredges, a type of rectangular iron trap, which capture the resource on the surface of the sand.

This fishery is highly regulated: fishing zones, equipment characteristics, periods, quotas, sizes, in order to make the activity sustainable.

Did you know?
You can tell the age of a scallop by counting the number of striations on its shell, just like the rings on tree stumps.

Recipe and serving tips

Fresh shells are highly recommended. You can keep them for up to 2 days in your fridge, but it’s best to eat them straight away.

Baked, cooked, raw, a la plancha or just colored in the pan, scallops can be cooked to your taste!

Do you prefer them raw? Just cut a small carpaccio into very thin strips, add a hazelnut oil and lemon marinade, and you’re ready to go!

Prefer it cooked? Prefer short cooking to preserve the flesh. Brown butter, shallots, white wine and crème fraîche. Then brown both sides of the scallop in your frying pan.