What is the difference between white clams and flower clams?

White clams and flower clams are two common edible shellfish, so what is the difference between white clams and flower clams?

1. The difference between white clams and flower clams

The shell of the white clam is hard and thick, somewhat quadrangular, with the two valves extremely swollen and the umbo protruding; while the flower clam has a thin and brittle shell, broadly oval in shape, with a light brownish-purple shell surface, black radial stripes, and a purple inner surface. They can be distinguished by the different characteristics of their shells.

2. Basic introduction to the white clam

The white clam is an animal of the family Mactridae, with the scientific name Mactra quadrangularis. It is a common benthic economic shellfish along the coast of China, mainly distributed in the Bohai Sea area of Yingkou, Liaoning Province, and the East China Sea area of Dandong, among others.

Clam meat contains protein, a variety of vitamins, and nutrients needed by the human body such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, and selenium; it also contains trace amounts of cobalt, which has a relatively good effect on maintaining human hematopoietic function and restoring liver function.

Mactra quadrangularis can be harvested when it grows to about 3 cm. Except during the breeding season, it can be collected at other times.

3. Basic introduction to the flower clam

The flower clam is an animal of the genus Cyclina in the family Veneridae, order Veneroida. A relatively home-style way to prepare flower clams is spicy stir-fried flower clams.

The specific method is: soak the flower clams in lightly salted water for 2 hours to expel all the sand and mud, wash the clams clean, drain the water and set aside, slice the scallion, shred the ginger, cut the dried red chilies into sections, heat oil in a wok, when the oil is warm, saute the Sichuan peppercorns, dried red chilies, and scallion and ginger until fragrant, then add the clams and stir-fry over high heat, when the clams slightly open, add cooking wine, light soy sauce, and a little sugar, stir-fry over high heat until all the clams open, sprinkle in chopped scallion, toss evenly, and take out of the wok.