Love fresh clams? Learn everything you need to know about buying, cleaning, and storing clams, plus recipe ideas, with this comprehensive guide.
Looking for information about varieties of edible clams and how to identify them at the market? Don’t miss my Types of Clams guide!
The easiest way to tell if a clam is alive, and therefore able to eat, is to tap on the shell of an open clam and see if it closes. You will instead look for some movement or response to tapping on it. If it closes, then it is still alive and you can eat them.
Step 1: Clean the Shells
To start the cleaning process, rinse the clams under cool, running water and scrub the shells well with a stiff brush. Scrape any barnacles or debris with the tip of a paring knife, if needed.
How to Clean Fresh Clams
Most fresh clams should be scrubbed and purged of grit before cooking. The process is essential for wild clams and not-always-necessary-but-I-do-it-anyway for farmed.
The majority of clams you’ll buy at the in the grocery store at the seafood counter or the seafood market are either cultivated in an environment that doesn’t produce a lot of sediment, or have been pre-purged before being sold. Most of the time, all these clams need is a thorough scrub on the outside.
That said, I almost always give them at least a short soak, out of an abundance of caution. Several years ago, I made Linguine with Clams with a bag of littlenecks that I was assured had been pre-purged. Long story short: the entire pan of pasta ended up in the trashcan.
Nothing ruins a recipe more than a mouthful of sand! It’s probably overkill, but I’d rather take a little extra time to soak the clams than end up with an inedible dinner.
What’s Inside A Clam?
FAQ
Are clams living or nonliving?
Are clams alive out of water?
Is clam shell a living thing?
Are clams still alive?
Until now, the clam had been known only from fossils. A species of clam is back from the dead. Known as Cymatioa cooki, the clam had only ever been found as a fossil, and scientists presumed that the species had been extinct for more than 40,000 years.
Do clams go bad?
So, it’s important to understand the shelf life of clams as well as how to tell if they are no longer good. Clams that have gone bad are usually dead. When dead mollusks like clams die, toxins begin to compound inside them, and even worse, those toxins can be transferred to you if you cook and eat them.
How long do canned clams last?
Cooked clams can last up to four days in the refrigerator. Unopened canned clams can last up to five years, but once you open them they will usually only last in the refrigerator between four and five days. When buying fresh clams at the grocery store or the fishmonger, make sure the clams do not have cracked or broken shells.
How do you know if a clam is dead?
Clams should be slightly open, and if you tap on them, the shells should close rather quickly. If the clam shells are closed or do not close when you tap on them, then the clam is dead. That’s when you need to toss them in the trash. Another way you can tell if clams are dead if you’d like to double check is to toss them in a bowl of water.