The idea of a seafood dinner is captivating to most people, and the variety of options is seemingly endless: lobster, scallops, clams, mussels. But with so many choices comes the question: what’s the difference between all these shellfish?
It can be difficult to tell which kind of seafood is best for your next meal. To help you answer this question and more, we’ve compiled a list of facts about some popular seafood varieties. Read on to learn about key differences between calamari and clams.
What is calamari?
Calamari is a type of seafood that is fried and served as an appetizer. It is typically prepared with tentacles and is usually white in color. Although calamari can be cooked and eaten at any time, it’s most popular when consumed as an appetizer.
What is clam?
A clam is a shellfish that resides in the ocean and is used for both food and bait. Clams are typically boiled in salt water before they’re eaten, but they can also be eaten raw if they’re on the half-shell.
How do you eat calamari?
Calamari can either be served fried, grilled, or skewered with vegetables to create a kabob. Calamari can also be served with a lemon sauce or a spicy mayonnaise-based dipping sauce on the side of the dish.
How do you eat clams?
People typically eat clams by boiling them in salt water until their shells open up. They have been traditionally been boiled with herbs like thyme or parsley, but people often add garlic or other seasonings to their dish for flavor. Some restaurants will cook clams differently depending on what kind of dish it will accompany; for example, some restaurants will bake them while others will fry them whole in butter or olive oil before adding them to pasta dishes.
What is a clam?
Clams are a type of shellfish that live in the ocean and typically live on the seabed.
Clams are bivalves, meaning they have two shells that close together to protect their bodies. Clams come in many different shapes and colors, but the most common clam color is a dark brown or black. They can also be white, yellow, or red depending on where the clam lives and what it eats.
Clams can measure up to 12 inches long and live for around 10 years before they’re harvested by humans.
Whereas clams live primarily on the seabed, calamari lives primarily in the water column just below the surface of the water.
Differences between calamari and clams
The difference between calamari and clams is that calamari is squid and clams are a mollusk. Clams can also be categorized as bivalves, which means they have two shells and live attached to the sea bed.
This classification makes them different from most other seafood, which is usually classified as an invertebrate (meaning it lacks a backbone). Calamari come from the same classification of animals as squid and octopus: cephalopods.
In terms of appearance, calamari might appear lighter in color than clams when raw. They also have a thinner texture than clams when cooked.
In addition, calamaris are popular in dishes like fried calamari, whereas many Americans eat clam chowder with their Thanksgiving dinner.
Clams are sometimes served in dishes like paella or in a dish called “clam casino”. While both types of seafood contain high amounts of protein and iron, clams also provide a significant amount of copper and vitamin B12.
