Dry Packed Scallops--Another Seafood Lesson

At the recommendation of a good friend, I called Annapolis Seafood Market yesterday to find out if they would have scallops that Susan and I could pick up on our way to Rehoboth tomorrow. Not only do they have scallops, but they have "dry packed scallops" ... a new term to me.

I did a little internet research today and came up with the following information about dry packed scallops from a website called www.tonysmarket.com:

"Buying scallops, those delicious, sweet white morsels of shellfish muscle, used to be simple: you had your large "sea" scallops and your small "bay" scallops, and you could get them fresh or frozen anywhere. Now, in addition to these choices, scallop buyers need a whole new vocabulary, including "chemical free," "dry pack," and "day boat" scallops.

Lets put it simply. Dry pack means “chemical free” or “unsoaked”. For years, inexpensive frozen scallops (as well as many other frozen seafoods) have routinely been treated with phosphates, particularly sodium tripolyphosphate (STP), to reduce so-called "drip loss." STP and other related phosphates are GRAS (generally recognized as safe) food additives, and used in moderation, they help bind the natural moisture in seafood through the freezing and thawing process.

As useful as phosphates are with frozen seafood, they are subject to abuse when applied to fresh seafoods, especially scallops. If a little STP can keep the natural moisture in seafood, a lot can cause it to soak up additional water -- increasing in weight by up to 25 percent -- and since water is a lot cheaper than scallops, there is a powerful economic incentive to "soak" them.

Reports of abuse of phosphates in fresh seafood processing led to a crackdown by the Food and Drug Administration in the early 1990s, and the establishment of an upper limit on the moisture content of scallops that can be sold as natural and unadulterated. If the amount of moisture exceeds 80 percent of the weight of the scallops, presumably the maximum natural water content, they fall into a separate product category which must be labeled "scallop product -- water added."

In practice, this standard does not prevent the use of STP on fresh scallops, but it prevents processors from using STP to increase the weight of scallops without labeling them as such. The most common sea scallop in North American markets, and the one that sets the standard for flavor are found in relatively deep water from Newfoundland to North Carolina. Weather permitting, they are fished throughout the year, mostly by dredging the bottom with a large rake that gathers the shellfish into a chain net. Tony’s carries only dry packed North American scallops, which, in truth, are as natural as when they leave the beds they are harvested from.

... expect:

A slightly stronger scallop scent...very normal ...
Better cooking performance in the pan, on the grill, or in the oven - since they don't steam, or poach in their added water.
A 'meatier' and more satisfying texture and flavor
A color from creamy ivory to a slight tan.
A slightly higher price...but why pay for added water and chemicals?

Scallops are found the world round and vary in quality from one location to the next. Sea scallops harvested from the deep, cold waters of the North Atlantic, sometimes as north as Newfoundland, are considered by the industry as one of the world's finests ... To get these fishing grounds, and to keep fishing profitable, some boats stay out 2-3 days fishing for scallops. Unfortunately, scallops CANNOT survive out of water like mussels, clams & oysters, so they're usually shucked immediately on the boat." Dry packed scallops usually come only from "day boats"