Shells the Key When Cooking Clams

Question: Why are we told not to eat clams if the shells don’t open during cooking?

Answer: According to Howard Hillman, author of “Kitchen Science” (Houghton Mifflin, 1981), “When a healthy clam, mussel or oyster expires, so does the holding power of the muscle that keeps the two shells tightly closed. If the shells do not open after the bivalve is cooked (and hence killed), it wasn’t alive in the first place. Something other than the abductor muscle--perhaps an oily mass of mud--was keeping the shells closed.”

Hillman also warns not to cook a clam that refuses to close its shell. “It is quite natural for a healthy clam (or mussel or oyster) to open its shell if it feels relaxed as it rests on a bed of ice or in a bucket of cold water. However, it is unnatural for one of these bivalves not to clamp its twin shells tightly shut if you frighten it, say, by giving it a firm flick with your finger. Closing its shell in response to such an external stimulus is the shellfish’s only meaningful defense. Should your threat not evoke the safety mechanisms designed by nature, the bivalve is dead or dying and may therefore be contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms or toxins.”

Q: I have planted Chinese peas for three years now. They produce many pods. I have tried to freeze them--no luck. They turn gray and unappetizing. Have you any suggestions?

A: The “Ball Blue Book--The Guide to Home Canning and Freezing” (Ball Corp., 1989) says to “select firm, unblemished pods. Wash and scald two minutes. Cool; drain, and pack in can or freeze jars or plastic freezer boxes. Seal; label and freeze.”

Address questions on food preparation to You Asked About . . ., Food Section, The Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, Calif. 90053. Personal replies cannot be given.