Blood Cockle & Its Mantle

Color composition on the plate is one of the important factors that serves to whet dinner’s appetite, and it seems that the color red is a “must” to cheer them up. The color of tuna and salmon are perfect as fish toppings. Then, which ones are best for shellfish toppings? As the name indicates,   blood cockles provide a nice red color (or more precisely, reddish orange), and it is the brightest red among the shellfish toppings. The color of shellfish toppings tends to be basically a cream color, and sometimes they are fringed with grayish, or darkish color. So blood cockles are a star topping to prepare such a special, all-shellfish plate.

I have sometimes visited the fish market near my home when shellfishes were in season, and I was very impressed that blood cockles being prepared in a red colored liquid (I still cannot forget the sight). At the time, I thought the red liquid was its blood, but it has been hard to believe that we human beings and this shellfish have the same blood color. Do we have a special connection?



Later, I learned that body fluids of both humans and bloody clams contain the same type of proteins, which combine iron atoms, to circulate oxygen throughout the body. It is the iron atoms that give red color to the fluids, and in the case of the bloody clams, that also give a red color to the body.

The body of blood cockle is prepared like a butterfly spreading its wings(I am not exaggerating!). Sometimes, we see the clam being made decorative cuts to look more beautiful. This topping is meaty, red, and is usually applied in generous amounts. You might want to pick it up as an appetizer, or leave it for last. The meat has a springy and mildly crunchy texture. Its sweet taste remains in your mouth for quite some time.

“Mantles*”(“himo*” in Japanese) of blood cockles will make your experience of blood cockle complete. It is also a popular sushi topping. Some people prefer the mantles to the main body because it has a soft and crunchy texture. All bivalves have mantles, but when the Japanese talk about mantles, they mean the mantles of these bloody clams. Oh, by the way, do you know that the mantle of bloody clams has a best friend? They are cucumbers! Together, they makes a rolled sushi named “himo-kyu”(mantels and cucumber sticks): a traditional combination.

*It is a membrane which covers the body of bivalves.
* It means “strings” in Japanese