Varnish Clam
Purple varnish clams, aka mahogany clams or Nuttalia obscurata, are yet another invasive from Asia. About two decades ago they were introduced to the West Coast from ship’s ballast waters.
Varnish clams are bimodal benthic feeders, which is a fancy way of saying they can filter food out of the sand and eat whenever they please. Other clams have to wait until the tide is in to feed.
These clams are edible and you can harvest them recreationally in BC, Washington, and Oregon. A few years ago farmers in BC began marketing them as “savoury clams.” But just because something is edible doesn’t mean you should eat it. Although some people rave about them, we find varnish clams to be mealy, soft, and pretty disgusting. {UPDATE: This might be because we’ve only tried them in the summer, and maybe they’re more seasonal than other clams?} They also seem to be particularly susceptible to pea crab infestations:
Final reason why we’re wary: because they filter sand, they can potentially consume toxins or resting algal cysts that other filter feeders aren’t exposed to.
So, what to do with the varnish clam? Even though they’re not delicious, they are spectacular looking, so we started making earrings out of them:
Maybe we would have sold more if the photo had been in focus? Hard to tell.
Last thing about varnish clams: one time, while out digging clams for earring production, a family approached and asked what we were doing. We explained that the clams were bright purple inside and very beautiful and that we were going to use them for jewelry. To prove our point, we stepped on a clam, breaking it into pieces. But surprise! The clam was bright white inside. It was the first white varnish clam we’d ever found, and we’d smashed it. Since then we’ve found a handful of others. Has anyone else ever found an albino varnish clam?
Tags: invasives, mahogany clam, pea crab, varnish clam
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February 24th, 2010 at 9:08 pm
Thanks for the link to my blog (I guess). I’m surprised you found varnish clams to be “mealy, soft, and pretty disgusting.” Can you explain more? I found them to be the same texture as other clams, and certainly not mealy.
February 25th, 2010 at 8:20 am
Maybe the mealiness is a seasonal thing, because I’ve only ever eaten them in the summer and their texture might be better in the winter. They have bigger bellies than smaller clams so they’re softer and less muscle-y. More like a mussel, in fact. And I also don’t like big, soft mussels. I actually love that you enjoyed them…. they’re definitely causing an infestation and eating them all up seems like the perfect solution. (The earrings didn’t exactly take off). Maybe I’ll change the post to be a little more impartial…. “eat the invasives!”
February 25th, 2010 at 5:39 pm
i happen to think the earrings are beautful. eye of the beholder and all that. I certainly wouldn’t ever want to eat one if an HH butter clam was available instead.
bummer to think about them hogging up the beach tho.
March 7th, 2010 at 7:59 am
We dig the clams at our place. We take the native and the manila clams but we leave the mahogany. Agree they are a different texture and we have been unable to successfully remove the sand via the corn meal method that works so well with the other clam species. Nice jewelry!
March 8th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
hmm… maybe you should start taking the varnish clams out with the others, even if you don’t eat them? Otherwise you’re giving the little buggers an even bigger advantage.
Snow and hail here today. Crazy.
March 19th, 2010 at 9:50 pm
I love these earrings. My last pair got smooshed when I was traveling. Time to get some more.
March 22nd, 2010 at 9:52 am
They are unfortunately very easy to break. My preferred way to destroy them is to put them in my back pocket and then sit down.