Troutbirder II

Troutbirder II
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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Clams


We left our little cottage on the bay in Cedar Key, Florida for an early morning walk. In a few blocks along the main road we heard a commotion and looked to see what some men were doing in an open building.
As we approached I asked one of the men if they would mind if I took some pictures.  “Not at all,” he said.  He then proceeded to tell us what they were about. They were tumbling freshly harvested clams. Tumbling gets rid of sand, shells, and anything that’s not a live clam. It also rinses and cleans the clams for processing.
 


There are basically four stages: hatchery, nursery, growout and harvest. Naturally we were looking at the end of the harvest when the clams were being sorted for their ultimate destinations.
 

It turns out here the size of the clam determines the common name as in Littleneck  2 -2.5 inches, Cherrystones 2.5-3 inches and Chowder more than 3 inches. Little island vacation retreat Cedar Key has lots of clam farms.  Which makes it Florida’s largest producer.  Whoda thought? We kept going on our morning walk and later decided to head back to Tony’s restaurant for lunch. Tony’s serves their world champion famous clam chowder…..:)
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27 comments:

  1. joehTue Mar 18, 12:52:00 PM

    My favorites are the Pith Clams, often misnamed piss clams.

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  2. Katie (Nature ID)Tue Mar 18, 12:55:00 PM

    What an interesting find! That large tumbler is great. I got a tour of our local abalone farm. Very cool to see how it goes from "farm" to kitchen-ready.

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  3. Katie (Nature ID)Tue Mar 18, 12:56:00 PM

    To joeh - Have you seen clams squirt? It always reminds me of baby boys and diaper changes.

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  4. Ms. ATue Mar 18, 01:46:00 PM

    Obviously I know very little about clams... except the eating part.

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  5. TexWisGirlTue Mar 18, 02:33:00 PM

    that's pretty cool!

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  6. MontanagirlTue Mar 18, 06:18:00 PM

    I know nothing about clams - The only time I've eaten any was in Clam Chowder soup.

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  7. MichelleTue Mar 18, 07:25:00 PM

    I have only eaten them a couple of times in my life. This process does sound interesting, though.

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  8. PaulaTue Mar 18, 08:16:00 PM

    Interesting! I don't think I've ever eaten Clam, I like that you picked up the litter. I do that often but I'm sorry to say people here in south Texas are bad about littering.

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  9. Rubye JackTue Mar 18, 09:20:00 PM

    How interesting! I tried clams as a kid and hated them. I love fish but really can't see eating the squishy gooey things like clams, oysters, squid, and the rest of the bunch.

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  10. JackieTue Mar 18, 09:52:00 PM

    Cedar Key has some yummmmmmy eating places, for sure!
    Lovely photos that you shared with us today. Thank you!
    And....have a beautiful week!!

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  11. ValerieWed Mar 19, 04:28:00 AM

    Interesting post. I think I mentioned once that I tasted my first and only clam chowder in Boston. I needed to see this post before then ... I would have appreciated it more.

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  12. warriormomWed Mar 19, 04:48:00 AM

    I'm a Clam Chowdah fan (as we say in New England). My family loves Steamers....not me. You had a pretty neat winter. I LOVE your banner photo!! What a beautiful family!

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  13. VickiWed Mar 19, 07:06:00 AM

    I've never met a crustacean that I didn't want to consume. Great new masthead, much, much warmer than the previous one!

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  14. AnvilcloudWed Mar 19, 07:33:00 AM

    I trust you were as happy as a clam to get those pictures.

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  15. Out on the prairieWed Mar 19, 08:25:00 AM

    yum, I would be in heaven

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  16. NCmountainwomanWed Mar 19, 08:50:00 AM

    Who knew they tumbled clams? Interesting.

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  17. Should Fish MoreWed Mar 19, 09:34:00 AM

    My favorite clam is the razor clam, they are delicious when fried lightly. A close second is the 'big-belly' fried clams available on the NW Atlantic coast. Yum.

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  18. Sarah LaurenceWed Mar 19, 05:41:00 PM

    Clamming is a big industry in our town but I didn't know the different names only referred to size and not species. Cool!

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  19. Far Side of FiftyWed Mar 19, 10:09:00 PM

    Interesting..I have never eaten a clam...I am not a very adventerous eater:)

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  20. Ien in the KootenaysThu Mar 20, 10:04:00 AM

    I never even knew clams were farmed, and I had no idea the names referred to size. Love learning something every day. And speaking of love....what a sweet picture of the family on top.

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  21. Nancy/BLissed-Out GrandmaThu Mar 20, 12:11:00 PM

    A great vacation story. I love going for a walk and discovering a whole new thing I didn't know about!

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  22. fayeThu Mar 20, 12:27:00 PM

    Thanks for your comments on my blog.

    Cedar Key is a short drive from Gainesville.. Next time you visit
    stop in Gainesville and walk La Chua Trail... the wildlife is amazing . You never know what you will see.

    faye

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  23. GinnieThu Mar 20, 04:21:00 PM

    I was fascinated with the clam operations too when I was in Cedar Key. A fun place to vacation.

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  24. NancyFri Mar 21, 06:27:00 AM

    Fresh, fresh, fresh! Great find Ray and I would love to try that chowder!

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  25. Linda at To Behold The BeautyFri Mar 21, 01:13:00 PM

    Sounds like a good place for a clam lover to vacation. Me...I'm not big on seafood.

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  26. Folkways Note BookFri Mar 21, 04:22:00 PM

    First I want to say what a loving header of you and Mrs Troutbirder with grandchildren. Mrs Troutbirder and you look so gentle and kind and this is reflected in your grandchildren's faces. Secondly, neat to watch the process of sorting and cleaning clams. -- barbara

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  27. Bonnie KWed Mar 26, 09:55:00 PM

    That was a very interesting post. Never even thought about clam farms. Who would have thunk it. Thanks for the lesson.

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