How to Tell If Freshwater Clams Are Good to Eat

Learn how to pick freshwater clams that are still fresh.

Pasta isn't the only cuisine complemented by the slightly sweet flavor and delicate texture of freshwater clams. For example, they can be incorporated into a variety of other dishes such as Cajun po' boy sandwiches and stews. Lightly frying clams in panko bread crumbs will give your traditional dish an Asian-inspired touch. Because eating clams that have "gone bad" will make you very sick, it is imperative to learn how to shop for clams that are still good to eat.

Things You'll Need

• Kitchen towel
• Clam shucking knife
• Food storage container

Instructions

1. Inspect the clams to ensure they are closed. Clams that are even slightly open indicate that they have died. Examine each clam to ensure it is tightly closed. Generally, a closed clam will indicate freshness.

   While a few open clams will not spoil the rest, choose bags with few open clams or ask to have the open clams be taken out of the bag.

2. Smell the clams. Fresh clams should smell like salt water from the ocean, not "fishy."

3. Ask the seafood merchant to open a clam, if possible, so you can observe the color of the flesh. Fresh clams should appear creamy white, not gray or brown.

   If you already have the clams at home, open one or two and look at the flesh. Hold the clam with a kitchen towel, so your grip doesn't slip, and slide a clam shucking knife between the two halves near the hinge. Twist the knife until the clam opens.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep live clams refrigerated in a food storage container filled with cold water in the refrigerator up to seven days from when they were picked. Ask someone at your seafood market if they know when the clams were delivered or picked.

• Clam shucking knives differ from oyster shucking knives, in that they have a thinner, flatter blade. You can find clam shucking knives at specialty food supply stores and some seafood markets.

• Avoid collecting clams when there has been a red tide--an accumulation of toxic red algae--because clams are bottom feeders and the red algae can make you sick.

References

• The Learning Channel: How to Cook Clams
• Man and Mollusc/Mollusk": Clams
• University of Wisconsin Sea Grant: Buying Fresh Fish and Shellfish

Resources

• Fine Cooking: Shucking Clams and Oysters
• Massachusetts Health and Human Services: Red Tide Fact Sheet