When does a scallop actually die?

[Jux]

Watching Hairy Bikers doing scallops - one of my favourite foods, otherwise I'd have switched off.

Do they die when you take them out of the sea, like fish do, or do they die when you cut them out of their shell? Should you give them a quick death, or is it kinder to maybe boil them slowly like the proverbial frog?

Just wondering.

I had a quick look on google, and it said scallops die quickly after harvesting. Not sure how accurate that is or if it applies only to frozen ones.

I imagine they would die shortly after being removed from the ocean as they wouldnt have any food.

Also please dont boil a scallop unless you want to chew a bit of fishy rubber for dinner!

Oh no, I would never boil a scallop if I actually wanted to eat it!

I went to a food festival ( no restrictions here ) and had “ popcorn queenies’ . Tiny scallops dipped in sparkling water and beer batter then deep fried . They were amazing . Never thought that they would like being deep fried !

Scallop ctenidium do not function out of water iirc, so the animal would die pretty quickly once it's removed from the sea. I'd presume that they're either caught and shucked pretty swiftly afterwards if the meat is to be frozen or sold fresh, or the animal must be stored in water all the way to the retailer who then does the shucking.

@trumpton I’m sure they hate being deep friend but it’s a bit late by the time they hit the oil 😂

I've dived for scallops here in Victoria some years back. I'm assuming they died when I shucked them (stopped holding tightly shut)

@Crinklyoldhag
Ha I see what you mean !
I thought they might turn into nasty bits of rubber !

Trumpton sounds very delish

They die when you shuck them (cut them out of the shell) if they are fresh and have been kept cold
Or they die after being out of the water after X hours

If they are not alive when you are about to shuck them, you don't eat them - bit like mussels