TABLE IV

COMPOSITION AND FOOD VALUE OF SHELL FISH Food Value

Total Per Pound Name of Fish Water Protein Fat Carbohydrates Ash Calories Clams, removed from shell 80.8 10.6 1.1 5.2 2.3 340

Crabs, whole 77.1 16.6 2.0 1.2 3.1 415

Lobsters, whole 79.2 16.4 1.8 .4 2.2 390

Oysters, in shell 86.9 6.2 1.2 3.7 2.0 235

Scallops 80.3 14.8 .1 3.4 1.4 345 TABLE V SEASONS FOR SHELL FISH

NAME OF FISH SEASON

Clams, hard shelled All the year

Clams, soft shelled May 1 to October 15

Crabs, hard shelled All the year Crabs, soft shelled March 1 to October 15

Lobsters All the year

Oysters September 1 to May 1 Scallops September 15 to April 1 March 15 to June 1, and Shrimp September 15 to October 15 81. SEASONS FOR SHELL FISH.

--With the exception of clams and lobster, which can be obtained all the year around, shell fish have particular seasons; that is, there is a certain time of the year when they are not suitable for food. It is very important that every housewife know just what these seasons are, so that she will not include the foods in the diet of her family when they should not be used. Table V, which will furnish her with the information she needs, should therefore be carefully studied.

OYSTERS, CLAMS, AND SCALLOPS OYSTERS AND THEIR PREPARATION 82. OYSTERS, CLAMS, and SCALLOPS are salt-water fish that belong to the family of mollusks, or soft-bodied animals. They are entirely encased in hard shells, which, though of the same general shape, differ somewhat from each other in appearance. Fig. 25 shows a group of oysters and clams, the three on the left being oysters and the three on the right, clams. Oysters are larger than clams and have a rough, uneven shell, whereas clams have a smooth, roundish shell. The three varieties of mollusks are closely related in their composition and in their use as food, but as oysters are probably used more commonly than the others they are considered first.

83. COMPOSITION OF OYSTERS.

--Oysters occupy a prominent place among animal foods, because they are comparatively high in protein. In addition, they contain a substance that most flesh foods lack in any quantity, namely, carbohydrate in the form of glycogen, and for this reason are said to resemble milk closely in composition. A comparison of the following figures will show how these foods resemble each other:

WATER PROTEIN FAT CARBOHYDRATE MINERAL SALTS Milk 87.0 3.3 4.0 5.0 0.7

Oysters 86.9 6.2 1.2 3.7 2.0

Oysters, as will be observed, contain only a small quantity of fat, and for this reason their total food value is somewhat lower than that of milk. A pint of milk has a value of 325 calories, while the same quantity of oysters has an approximate value of only 250 calories. Because of the difference in the cost of these two foods, oysters costing several times as much as milk, the use of oysters is not so cheap a way of supplying food material.