On Food and Cooking

end, using a central striated muscle that can
be an inch/2 cm or more across and long. This
adductor muscle makes up such a large
portion of the scallop’s body that it also
serves as protein and energy storage. Its sweet
taste comes from large amounts of the amino
acid glycine and of glycogen, a portion of
which is gradually converted by enzymes into
glucose and a related molecule (glucose 6
phosphate) when the animal is killed.
Because their shells don’t close tightly,
scallops are usually shucked soon after
harvest, with only the adductor muscle kept
for the U.S. market, the adductor and yellow
and pink reproductive organs for Europe. This
means that meat quality usually begins to
deteriorate long before it gets to market. On
boats that go out for more than a day, the
catch may therefore be frozen and/or dipped
in a solution of polyphosphates, which the
adductors absorb and retain, becoming plump
and glossy white. However, such scallops