Best French Shellfish Types
Coquille Saint-Jacques des Côtes-d'Armor are scallops of the pecten maximus species that are sold whole, either fresh or frozen in their shells. They come from the seabed in the Côtes-d'Armor region, famous for its fish products since the 1960s.
The scallops are caught in the wintertime, their taste is complex, at the same time sweet and salty and their texture is delicately creamy. When fresh, they are quite firm and have a pleasant smell but when they are out of the shell they will become softer and lose some of their moisture.
Moules de Bouchot de la Baie du Mont-Saint-Michel are fresh mussels of the Mytilus edulis species, farmed on the high wooden stakes placed in water in the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel between the regions of Ille et Vilaine and Manche in France.
The mussels have hard, black shells and big, orange flesh on the inside. It is one of the gastronomic gems of the region, farmed since 1954, and today there is a fascinating 270 kilometers of mussel lines. The season in which they are harvested lasts from July until February.
Moules de Bouchot are mussels that are cultivated on stakes from larvae caught in their natural habitat, exclusively. When the species Mytilus edulis and Mytilus galloprovincialis are cultivated, they produce moules de Bouchout.
The mussels have dark brown to blue shells and are characterized by their two organs - a foot and a gland. Because the mussels are on stakes and exposed to the tides, they develop very strong muscles in order to keep their shells closed, which become sturdier and more resistant when harvested.
Another benefit of the stakes cultivation is that the mussels are free from grit and have a much cleaner flavor, sweeter than other mussels, with a melt-in-the-mouth quality.
True Belon oysters are produced in the area around the French river Belon, and some say that they are some of the rarest oysters in the world. They have a flavor reminiscent of brine and an intense copper finish, and they are full of umami.
These oysters are flat and round, with rippled green shells. However, in the 1950s, scientists brought these oysters to the Unites States of America, Maine in particular, where they are sold in a quantity of only 5,000 oysters per year.
Huîtres Marennes Oléron are oysters from the Bassin de Marennes Oléron area in France, where shellfish farming is a principal activity. The oysters are matured and fattened on oyster beds after which they are sold fresh, live and unprocessed.
There are quite a few varieties of these oysters, some of them rich in water and with a fine flesh flavor, the others greener, rounder, softer, firmer, crispier or with a more pronounced, long-lasting, hazelnutty taste, depending on the type of oyster.
Best French Shellfish Producers
Best French Shellfishes
AWARDS
Great Taste Awards - 2 stars
2024
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