what is a long neck clam

A guide to varieties you’re most likely to find in the US, from littlenecks and cherrystones to steamers, razor clams, and more.

From the pinhead-size specimens used in Vietnamese cooking to the giant guy that gave up its ghost to serve as decorations for Ivanka Trump’s Thanksgiving table, there are thousands of different species of clams that range in size, shape, and, of course, flavor. But, even as the food world rapidly globalizes, clams remain steadfastly regional. Here in the United States, on the West Coast, Manila clams reign supreme, while geoduck and razor clams hold court. On the East Coast, the quahog is queen, shucked and swimming in its own brine on ice at raw bars, stewed in chowders, baked in the shell, steamed in a wine-rich broth, or made into a sauce that gets tossed with linguine. Of course, in certain quarters of the Northeast (and some minds), it’s soft-shell clams that can’t be beat, whether served steamed with drawn butter on the side or fried, plump belly and all.

When plucked from their shells, clams might not win any beauty contests, but their briny bite and bouncy chew create a covetable combination that works in a wide variety of dishes in cuisines around the world. On top of that, not one single type of clam widely available in the US lands in the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch’s red “avoid” category of sustainability, which means that you can enjoy your pasta alla vongole or clams casino with a clear conscience. As filter feeders, clams even help clean up their environment, clearing out any toxins from the water as they bubble about in tidal flats and dig deep into beaches with their powerful muscles.

Those muscles—and what they do—gave the mollusk its name. According to Jay Jacob’s exhaustive book on the origin of food words, The Eaten Word, the word “clam” comes from an old form of “clamp,” which, when used in its full form—the name “clamshell” (“clampshell”)—describes how tightly the mollusk shuts. That, unfortunately, is about as close as we can get to defining what a clam is or isnt. The Oxford Companion to Food points out that, while the name should refer only to bivalves that can close their shells completely, this definition actually eliminates a few accepted clam types (razors, for example) and includes oysters and mussels. But we’re here to talk more about consuming clams than their confusing nomenclature.

We know from the piles of ancient shell remains lining coasts around the world that clams have been eaten for centuries, if not millenia. And for good reason: They are abundant, tasty, and healthful (full of iron and vitamin B). This is true even of the types of clams that aren’t commonly eaten, whether because they are endangered, like the giant clam; not worth the work, as with the horse clam’s high ratio of tough skin to edible meat; or only circumstantially inedible, because of seasonal or geographic diseases, like butter clams, which hold toxins for many years.

Most of the time, though, clams in the US are edible, as the Europeans landing on New World shores learned quickly from indigenous peoples, who had long been eating a version of what is now known as clam chowder. And Europeans also discovered that the shells were valued by Native Americans in the Northeast: polished and shaped quahog clamshells denoted specific achievements, status, and wealth, and as they were used to barter with European colonists, they came to be interpreted as a form of currency, which in turn led to the eventual use of the term “clams” to mean US dollars.

The abundance of clams in this country means that most clams don’t cost too many clams, as it were, making them a quintessentially American food that is as affordable as it is accessible. But we here in the US do miss out on a few international species. The FDA bans importation of blood clams from Southeast Asia, as their low-oxygen environments can make them carriers of diseases like hepatitis and typhoid. (They can occasionally be found in New England, though, and can be imported from Mexico.) Shijimi, a brackishwater Japanese clam thought to be a hangover cure and often used in miso soup, is classified as an invasive species in the US and is rarely found other than in packaged miso soups or frozen.

Meet the geoduck clam Clams do have differences: they all burrow, but long-necked ones like the geoduck sink lower than their short-necked kin. Staying buried in mud is safer than living exposed on the mud’s surface. It’s a soft life if you can eat, breathe and reproduce. Clams manage by sticking their necks out.

Quahog

The Narragansett tribe of Native Americans waded and dove for these clams, which dominate the clam-scape of the East Coast. They called the local mollusk poquauhock, which morphed into “quahog” as it entered the English language. The scientific name mercenaria comes from the Latin word for “pay,” the same root as the word mercenary, for their use as wampum (see above). Common nomenclature around this clam varies up and down the coast, including the simple “hard” or “hardshell,” and the preparation depends on the size. From smallest to largest, generally, countneck, littleneck, topneck, cherrystone, and chowder all describe different widths of the clam—and the word “quahog” itself is sometimes used specifically to describe chowder clams.

Manila

Region: West Coast.Best Use: Steamed clam dishes, sauced with butter, white wine, or broth.

Also known by its Japanese name, asari, this is what many on the West Coast know as a steamer clam, and is one of the most widely cultivated clams in the world. Unlike East Coast steamers, though, these are hard-shell clams, perhaps the smallest and sweetest you’ll find on a table in the US. The story has it that the clam hitch-hiked over from Japan on oysters imported into British Columbia, then spread down the West Coast, where it now reigns supreme in steamed clam dishes, whether sauced with butter, white wine, or broth.

Steamed Clams – Cooking Live Littleneck Clams to perfection in 10 minutes – PoorMansGourmet

FAQ

What sea clam has a long neck?

What is the difference between a manila clam and a littleneck?

What is the name of the littleneck clams?

What is the difference between steamers and littlenecks?

What is a little neck clam?

Named after Little Neck Bay on Long Island, these guys are usually about one and a half inches wide, and usually show up steamed open and served with a light sauce or in clams casino. Their small size makes for a sweet, tender treat when raw on the half-shell, but, of course, with less meat than larger clams.

What does constant neck pain indicate?

Persistent neck pain may indicate cervical spondylosis or thoracic outlet syndrome. In recent years, an increasing number of people complain of chronic pain due to strain on the neck muscles and distortion of the cervical spine caused by poor posture due to prolonged use of computers and smartphones.

What is a littleneck clam?

Littleneck clams are the smallest variety of hard-shelled clams typically available for sale (countnecks can be sold legally, but they’re uncommon). They’re harvested when the shell’s diameter measures about two inches. Like other quahog varieties, littlenecks are native to the East Coast.

What is the difference between Little Neck and cherry stone clams?

All those other names – from little neck on up – are this same species of clam and just refer to how large the clam has grown. What Are Their Differences? Little Neck: The smallest size of clam, amounting to 7-10 clams per pound. Cherry Stone: A little larger, you’ll get 6-10 cherry stone clams per pound.