IDENTIFICATION AND PROPERTIES OF SEAFOOD

1. IDENTIFICATION AND PROPERTIES OF SEAFOOD It is called edible shellfish to marine invertebrates provided with external skeleton. Derived from marine waters found both in free state as in nurseries or farms. It is divided into MOLLUSCS CRUSTACEANS Gastropods:Univalves Cephalopods Bivalves Cirripedia Decapods Macrura – swimmers Macrura – walkers Brachyura Octopus, squid, cuttlefish Limpet, abalone, sea snail, periwinkle Clams, razor shell oysters, mussels, scallops, geoducks Barnacles Prawns, shrimps Crabs Crayfish, lobsters

2. IDENTIFICATION AND PROPERTIES OF SEAFOOD FORMS OF MARKETING Live: the best way to buy seafood but also the most expensive In sewage treatment: they are naturally prepared establishmentswith a number of facilities that serve to maintain artificiallyshellfish habitat, for the removal of germs that can harm human health, and leave them in optimal conditions for packaging and distribution. Refrigerated: chilled seafood preserved with good quality.Not much time must elapse between the capture and sale. Canned: in this presentation of seafood, combined sometimes with conservation methods such as pickled or in oil, or natural, a sealed can is sterilized. Boiled: developed in industrial cookers.

3. FORMS OF MARKETING Cooked vacuum: it is the last technique used in product storage,has the property that by cooking reaches the pasteurization of the productBesides conserving vacuum Dried or freeze-dried: those who have been deprived of its contents in water to reduce it to 5% or less, by the action of approved methods must be packed in vacuum or inert gas Vacuum: it is to present seafood well chilled, frozen or boiled in sealed bags of which air has been extracted by means of oxygen mechanics. Frozen: canned seafood that has been subjected to the action of the cold untilfreezing and to be maintained at a temperature of -20 º C. The price isless than that of fresh seafood. Ultra frozen: whole or split, having undergone a freezing procedure at a temperature close to -30 "C.

4. IDENTIFICATION AND PROPERTIES OF SEAFOOD ORGANOLEPTIC QUALITIES OF FRESH SEAFOOD Keep in mind that the parts that are considered of better quality will comedetermined by the specific weight in relation to its volume. Avoid those shaken parts to move its contents, and possiblyare filled with water and less acceptable conditions In the case of shellfish, it should not have broken legs or claws, causing loss of juices while still alive. During cooking this allows the entry of water with the consequent loss of taste. The eyes and antennae of crustaceans should be shiny and smooth and its shell color should be smooth and natural according to species, avoiding those that start to blacken around the head, and those that will easily peel. Crustaceans such as crab and lobster should be purchased alive. The smell should be fresh, rejecting pieces that begin to looseunpleasant or ammonia smell.

5. ORGANOLEPTIC QUALITIES FRESH SEAFOOD Bivalve molluscs should be purchased live and react always closingtheir shells on contact with a foreign body. Also shell should have a normal color and be free of tampering or breakage. If it hardly closes or does not close at all,it is a symptom of early deterioration. Once the valves are opened, the liquid must be abundant, clear and free of smell. Gastropod molluscs such as snails must be purchased alive and the body should be introduced in the shell at the lowest stimulus. The smell should not be nasty and the meat must be consistent and moist. Cephalopod molluscs must have very watery external appearance and pigmentation, the skin should be intact and look smooth and soft and meat must be firm and elastic. Moreover, their tentacles must be attached to the mantle and the smell should not be unpleasant.

6. IDENTIFICATION AND PROPERTIES OF SEAFOOD CRUSTACEANS BARNACLES They live in salt water, the larvae swim freely while when adult attach to any foreign object, boats, rocks, logs, etc. Their legs form a kind of thread and they live in colonies attached to rocks on foot of cliffs. It is consumed cooked and used as an appetizer. Should be cooked with plenty of salt.

7. IDENTIFICATION AND PROPERTIES OF SEAFOOD CRUSTACEANS Decapods Macrura Walkers They are characterized by well-developed abdomen muscles. Its tail forms a kind of fan. Walkers, moving or crawling on the seabed, the skeleton is harder and regular. The most representative species are lobsters. EUROPEAN LOBSTER Also called clawed lobster, it is a large crustacean that resembles a spiny lobster, but bigger (more than 60 cm). Blue-green with orange stripes, the Mediterranean type, and darker the Atlantic one, its thorax is oval and has two large and powerful claws. Its flesh is white and compact . Of best quality the Mediterranean, but harder to find.

8. SPINY LOBSTER It is characterized by having no claws but two long antennae. There arevarious types of lobster, listed from best to worst quality:- Common Red Lobster, reddish-brown with small white spots and triangular segments. Comes from Atlantic and Mediterranean waters, between 20 and 150 meters deep. Can grow up to 50 cm.- Portugal Lobster or Pink Spiny Lobster, same size as the former one, lives in Atlantic rocky bottoms at great depth, from 50 to 500 meters. It is identified by a clearer colour on both the cephalothorax and abdomen.- Green Lobster or Cape Rock Lobster. It has very long antennae, its color is blue-green and comes from the West African coast.- Palinurid Spiny Lobster. Meat is more tender and less tasty generally sold frozen and only the tails. It is caught in Cuba.  Lobster should be cooked tied to a table for about 20 min., depending on size.

9. IDENTIFICATION AND PROPERTIES OF SEAFOOD Decapods CRUSTACEANS Macrura Walkers CRAYFISHFreshwater crustacean that lives on the banks of rivers, and rapid and turbulent waters depending on the species. The native crayfish is already very rare in our rivers, as species from other countries have been introduced, being of lower quality but much more prolific. Norway lobster:Size is usually over 20 cm. Its shell is pink with white spots, and the tail ends like a fan.Its meat is thin and delicate, very appreciated and usually used for rice preparations.

10. IDENTIFICATION AND PROPERTIES OF SEAFOOD CRUSTACEANS Decapods Macrura SWIMMERS Swimmers, move freely in water and their shell is weaker than that of the walkers, their body is compressed laterally and is taller than wide. As the most representative species there are: Shrimp: small and curved body and smooth flesh, once cooked its colour is orange-red. Prawns; Similar but bigger than the shrimps and most popular and tastier meat. There are several species but the most popular are the white shrimp that lives in muddy waters and the red shrimp, present in all the seas of the peninsula.

11. CRUSTACEANS Decapod Macruros SWIMMERS King Prawns: there are many different varieties as ivory, white, tiger, in Spain, the best ones are those from Vinaroz and Sanlucar. Measuring 10 to 15 cm, they are marketed with numbers from 1 to 6. The most expensive are 1 and 2. Giant scarlet prawns are larger than shrimps, and bright red. Their meat is finer and tastier.

12. IDENTIFICATION AND PROPERTIES OF SEAFOOD Stomatopods: Mantis shrimp: It has two appendix that fold together like a knife. Chiefly found and fished in the Mediterranean Sea. It grows up to 200 millimetres long. It is generally dull brown. It is mostly used in rice dishes, and more appreciated in winter. It is considered of lower quality than other crustaceans.

13. IDENTIFICATION AND PROPERTIES OF SEAFOOD Brachyura Short abdomen, folded under the cephalothorax, which is very large and no fan-shaped tail. Their bodies are flattened with a shield that covers the carapace. Head and abdomen are poorly differentiated and have lower amount of meat. As the most representative species are the brown crab, the shore crab, the spider crab and the velvet swimming crab. To distinguish males from females just look at the abdomen under the body. The female crab has a triangle shaped area on the underneath part of the shell. Spider crab, also called Txangurro in the Basque Country, it is large and appreciated. It can measure up to 23 cm. It is oval-round shaped, its shell is covered with thorns. The two front legs end with claws while the remaining eight are smaller and end in hooks. The male is distinguished from the female by its bigger size, and the bottom of the shell. Although, most popular are the females. Its color ranges from dark red to pink and yellow brown. Brown crab, also known as edible crab, is less appreciated that the spider crab. It is a robust crab of a reddish-brown colour, having an oval carapace with a characteristic "pie crust" edge and black tips to the claws. A mature adult may have a carapace width of up to 25 cm and weigh up to 3 kg .

14. Velvet swimming crab, a fast moving swimming crab, blue in colour but obscured by a brown pubescence with red prominences. The dorsal surface has a finely velvety texture and the eyes are red. It grows to about 8 cm. Its meat is very characteristic, with delicate and fine taste. It is often confused with the less quality common crab. Shore crab or European green crab. Its colour varies greatly, from green to brown, grey or red. The carapace is flat and extends forward beyond the eyes. They grow to 9 cm wide. Its meat is often used as the basis for stocks or soups. Commercially, they are often processed into crab paste or paté.

15. IDENTIFICATION AND PROPERTIES OF SEAFOOD MOLLUSCS Edible molluscs are marine animals that have a solid unsegmented soft body. Most molluscs are protected by a hard external shell and many of them are not very mobile. In some cases, the shell is internal and some even lack a shell, as octupuses.  Gastropods Univalves Gastropods are molluscs with asymmetrical body, usually protected by a dorsal shell that presents a twist spiral feature, which makes that the visceral mass is coiled upon itself 180°. The senses are almost always in the tentacles. The foot is well developed and the skin is rich in mucus-secreting glands that facilitates displacement. Both the head and foot can be hidden in the shell under unfavorable conditions. Periwinkles or winkles: They have a dark and sometimes banded shell. They live on the rocky shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. They are small, black or brown, not exceeding three cm. Cooked in boiling water with salt they are served as an appetizer. Limpets: They have a simple shell which is basically conical in shape. They cling tightly to rocks.

16. MOLLUSCS Lamellibranchs Bivalves These molluscs are protected by two shells (valves) that can close by a flexible ligament called hinge. They have no brain. Some have no eyes or very simple ones, and some species have sensory organs. The mantle cavity is large and there are gills. They move usually opening and closing the shells. The foot is developed and used to dig in the sand, mud and even on the rocks. Oyster They have two hard, rough-textured shells attached by a muscular hinge (the adductor muscles) at the narrow end. The shape of the oyster's shells varies. They spend their entire lives in one underwater location. Clam They live in sandy beds. Clams come in many colors, including shades of brown, red-brown, yellow, cream, etc. The foot is used to burrow into the sand. In Spain are famous those of Carril (Galicia) AND PROPERTIES OF SEEFOOD IDENTIFICATION

17. MusselIn the wild, they grow on coastline rocks and stones but they are also farmed in suitable coastal waters. Dark blue to black, the wild ones are smaller and tastier. ScallopIt lives in deep water and is very common in Galicia, called pilgrim’s clam. Delicious, with a delicate taste, it is available in a range of sizes. Scallops have two fan-shaped shells which contain rounds of firm white flesh, sometimes with the edible cream and orange coral (or roe) attached. After opening the shell with a knife the membrane (skirt) that covers it, the gut and the muscle must be removed.

18. IDENTIFICATIONAND PROPERTIES OF SEEFOOD MOLLUSCS Univalves Bivalves Venus clam Smaller than clams, sometimes confused with them. They have ridges on the shell and it varies in shape. They are mostly circular and triangular. Wedge shell or butterfly shell Its surface is smooth and bright yellow with dark stripes. Inside white with some shades of purple. Cockle They live in sandy, sheltered beaches. They have rounded, symmetrical, sturdy shells.

19. IDENTIFICATIONAND PROPERTIES OF SEEFOOD Cephalopods MOLLUSCS These molluscs are characterized by the rapid growth of the head andtransformation of the foot tentacles or arms arranged around the head. These have on its inner surface rows of suckers to make extra clamps. They are very well suited for swimming and moving by the expulsion of water through the funnel or siphon they possess. They have an intestinal gland, the ink sac, which serves to flee from their enemies. They also have the power to change color by activating special cells. Cuttlefish Its body has got flattened and rounded fins that run along its body with 8 short arms and two long ones. It inhabits sandy bottoms. In the Canary Islands it is known as “choco”

20. MOLLUSCS OCTOPUSES; Are those with eight tentacles and rounded head. Octopus;It features a soft body. Inhabits rocky and sandy bottoms.Moving with the tentacles and its powerful suction cups. Squid, has a large head, its body is strengthened by cartilage skeleton. Faster than any invertebrate. In its side it has two triangular fins. It is pink or cream with purple spots. Their meat is tender and tasty. The smaller ones are called chopitos. IDENTIFICATION AND PROPERTIES OF SEAFOOD