(Intriguing title, innit?)
It's amazing what things we take for granted. I just found out recently, when researching "fried clams," that the so-called "whole belly [fried] clams" (pictured above) that I, born, raised, and still living in the northeast part of the USA (a/k/a New England) have known about for all my life are not readily available outside of New England!
And why was I researching fried clams, you may be wondering? Well, in New England, fried clams come in basically two forms. Besides the whole belly clams which I've already mentioned, they also serve what they call "fried clam strips" (pictured below).
I always thought they started selling these "strips," which are basically fried clams without the so-called bellies, because they were cheaper than the whole belly variety. I don't recall ever seeing fried clam strips before fried clam prices started going through the proverbial roof during the 1970s.
And I've always wondered, "If clam strips are fried clams with the bellies removed, what do they do with all the leftover bellies?!?"
Well, that's why I was researching fried clams online. And here's what I learned:
"Whole belly clams" are usually soft-shell clams (pictured below, in and out of the shell). They're often called "steamers," because steaming them is a popular method to prepare them.
"Clam strips," on the other hand, are usually made from Atlantic surf clams (again, pictured below, in and out of the shell), also known as sea clams, among several other names.
The sea clams, y'see, are much easier to cut into the aforementioned strips.
And I was wrong -- but don't tell anyone! -- in assuming that the clam strip form was created as an alternative to whole belly clams, in answer to inflation. Evidently, clam strips were originally designed to be sold (primarily) outside of New England, because the whole belly variety is much harder to come by if you aren't in "my" region of the country.
And now that I've told you more about fried clams than you ever wanted or needed to know...
Thanks for your time.
