THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 23, 1996 TAG: 9610220025
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By BETTY DOUGLASS, SPECIAL TO FLAVOR
LENGTH: 42 lines
CONCH (pronounced konk), is also known as whelk, scungilli and sea snail.
This shellfish is described in ``Cooking A to Z'' (The California Culinary Academy, 1992) by editor Jane Horn as having tough flesh that is tenderized by long, slow cooking or by pounding and parboiling.
On Caribbean islands, conch is served raw with lemon, onion and minced tomato for a cold cocktail or minced and made into chowder.
Conch is harvested throughout the year off the coast of Florida. It is sometimes sold in the shell, but is most often shucked, which we discovered isn't very pretty. Conch meat looks like what it is, a big snail missing its shell. Conch is also sold frozen and canned.
Horn suggests grinding the meat, binding it with a batter and deep-frying. Or substitute conch meat for clams in recipes.
Availability - Look for fresh or precooked conch meat in supermarkets and fish markets. It is also available frozen or canned.
How to buy - Fresh conch should smell sweet, not fishy. Most conch found in Hampton Roads will be precooked.
Storage - Fresh or precooked conch is highly perishable and needs immediate refrigeration. Store fresh conch for up to one day, precooked conch is best if used within two days. After opening, canned conch should be covered with water and stored in an airtight container; refrigerate and use within three days. Store frozen conch up to three months and thaw in the refrigerator before using.
Preparation - It is probable that conch meat purchased locally is precooked or tenderized. This kind of meat, as Mark Bittman writes in ``Fish'' (Macmillan Publishing Co., 1994), ``has been precooked, probably not to the point of tenderness, but enough so the cooking time is minimized. The only preparation necessary before cooking is cutting off the operculum, the hard, shell-like covering that protects the meat. After that you can chop or mince the meat and cook it until it softens, which takes 15 to 30 minutes.'' ILLUSTRATION: BETH BERGMAN
The Virginian-Pilot
Conch meat is also known as whelk, scungilli and sea snail. by CNB