Asian freshwater clams

[texherp]

(This is almost appropriate for the "wild game" forum too)

Has anyone cooked and eaten these...or even heard of them? They are a non-native clam from China that are in most lakes around here. One of my professors from Taiwan goes out to the lake and collects them with his family to eat. Apparently they're pretty popular. I went out there yesterday to go swimming and I could literally grab handfuls out of the sand at a time. They're only about 1.5 inches in diameter, so they're small but it's real easy to dig up pounds and pounds of them. We brought back a bunch and I have them in a 5 gal bucket out back with an air pump. They were full of sand last night but are completely clean today and I think I'll try to cook some up tonight. Just thought I'd share the "adventure" with ya'll.

 

[giggler]

This sounds like a Great Adventure! I'd cook them like Muscles with white wine and garlic.. and go at 'em to see how they taste!

Eric, Austin Tx.

 

[pmeheran]

Asian fresh water clams

Freshwater clams often called mussels are no longer recommended as food. Pollutants build up in their bodies since they are filter feeders. You can cook them very well and kill any bacteria, but there is no way to get rid of chemical toxins. Salt water clams are said to taste better anyway. I checked with the texas parks and wildlife dept. They too don't seem too thrilled with people eating them. Taking clams from public waters is prohibited, but then the rules get confusing. Just take a look at their website and you will see what I mean.

Finally the chinese freshwater clam is known to be a host to trematodes, protozoans, and bacteria that will get into the liver. If I remember correctly, the cycle of the flat worms requires an intermediate host and this depends on the species of worm. It may be snail to fish to clam and if a human gets in the middle, or well, he is now a host. There are plenty of good clams in the market. Bon appetit!