Hotategai – [Sushi | Foodlore]

Description

Hotategai – 帆立貝 – (Scallop.) – Kanji: 帆立, 帆立貝, Katakana: ホタテ, Hiragana: ほたて

• About this fish:  The largest muscle that a scallop has is its Adductor Muscle (which is used for scooting around & clamping itself shut.) Tender, buttery and incredibly sweet, Scallops have lots of vitamins and zinc in them and thus are believed to have anti-aging effects! They symbolize good luck and abundance, The town of Toyoura in southern Hokkaido is the heart of the Japanese scallop industry, where the indigenous Ainu have fished and raised them since the Jomon period!

Unrelated to Japan but Incidentally, The legendary painting by Botticelli, 1485 of the roman goddess of love, ”Venus” (also known as “Aphrodite” in greek lore.) is depicted emerging from a scallop’s shell – The goddess is often depicted with scallops because it is said that she was born from sea foam, symbolizing her birth from the ocean. (I wonder if that’s part of why mermaids an are often depicted wearing seashells as a bra?) if you didnt know, scallops have hundreds of eyes!

[Sticker art by @Samkalensky, Part of my Nigiri Sushi/Foodlore collections.]