When it comes to food, people usually eat it in one of two ways. They will eat it cooked or raw. With cooking food, you not only can get rid of the bacteria that can be in the food but also add spices and ingredients.
By eating it raw, you can sometimes get more nutrients by eating it raw than by cooking it. However, some foods can’t always be eaten raw safely.
One food people can eat raw is scallops. In this article, we’ll go into whether you can eat raw scallops, what are the risks and/or benefits, and how you can safely eat them.
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Is It Possible To Eat Raw Scallops?
Scallops are a type of shellfish, and like other types of shellfish, they can be eaten raw. Naturally, some risks and benefits come with eating seafood raw, but eating scallops raw isn’t uncommon.
One food that can be found in sushi. While they are partially cooked, the middle is still raw.
When you bite into a scallop, you’ll find that they have a very sweet flavor. This is only enhanced when you cook it, which is to be expected. Still, in both cases, scallops will taste good no matter which way you eat them.
What Are the Benefits of Eating Raw Scallops?
Many benefits can come with eating raw scallops. This includes:
- Scallops are great at balancing your cholesterol. They have a lot of healthy fats, so if you have any issues with your cholesterol, then you’ll want to go with adding scallops to your diet.
- Something scallops are high in is magnesium. This is important to have in your body because it helps lower blood pressure and helps the circulation in your entire body.
- Finally, scallops have a lot of omega-3 fatty acids in them, which helps prevent things like stroke and heart disease. It can also help control lupus, arthritis, and/or eczema.
These are the biggest benefits that come with eating raw scallops. Some of these you may have never even known about because eating scallops raw isn’t something many people do in certain parts of the world.
However, just because there are benefits doesn’t mean there aren’t risks to eating scallops raw.
What Are the Risks of Eating Raw Scallops?
Unfortunately, some risks come along with eating scallops. This includes:
- Sometimes the scallops can become contaminated by the water it’s been living in, and this can pass bacteria onto the people who eat them. Salmonella, E. Coli, and Cholera are the most common ones.
- Salmonella is a bacteria that affects the intestinal tracts. The biggest symptoms are diarrhea, cramps, fever, and nausea/vomiting.
- Coli is another bacteria that can infect the intestines, and the most common symptoms are diarrhea, cramps, and fever.
- Cholera causes diarrhea and happens after the bacteria ends up in the intestines.
- Food poisoning is probably one of the most common risks when eating scallops. When you get food poisoning, you can end up with vomiting, cramps, and diarrhea. These are the most common symptom. Less common symptoms include itching, headache, sweating, and sepsis.
These are the biggest risks when eating raw scallops, but eating scallops is very safe. As long as you know they are coming from a safe source, you’ll be fine.
This is something we will get into in the next section.
How Can You Safely Eat Raw Scallops?
There are things you can do to ensure that your scallops are safe to eat. This includes:
- One of the best ways to ensure that your scallops are safe to eat is by making sure they come from safe waters that have been tested. Always do your research when buying scallops and make sure it falls into these criteria.
- Make sure your scallops are still in the shell when you get them. If you touch them, they should close.
- They shouldn’t have a smell other than a watery, fresh type of smell.
If you follow these steps, you’ll make sure that you won’t be consuming scallops that will put you at risk of any illness.
How Can You Cook Raw Scallops?
If you prefer to cook scallops rather than eat them raw, we have them covered for you. The ways to cook your scallops include:
- One way to cook scallops is by cooking them on the stove with a pan. It’s a simple and quick way to do it. First, you have to rinse the scallops and season them with whatever season you prefer. After heating the pan over medium heat, put some water/oil in the pan before adding the scallops. You only have to cook them for a few minutes.
- Scallops can also be broiled in the oven. After they have thawed, you’ll want to put the scallops through a metal skewer if this is the way you prefer to eat them. Butter the scallops, put them in a pan, and then put them in for a maximum of ten minutes.
- Finally, the last way you can cook raw scallops is by grilling them over a grill. Once you thaw the scallops and heat the grill, brush them with butter, and put them through the skewer. They only have to be grilled for about five to eight minutes. You’ll want to use the skewers this time because they could fall through the grill.
These are the top three ways to cook scallops, and they are all really quick and easy to do!
Final Thoughts
And there you go, all your scallop lovers out there. It’s perfectly safe and possible to eat raw scallops. Of course, there are risks involved, but there are also benefits to eating them raw as well.
We also mentioned the ways you can safely eat raw scallops because there are precautions you can take to ensure your safety.
However, if you want to cook your scallops, there are several ways you can do that as well. Just eat scallops in whatever manner you feel comfortable eating them in. All that matters is that you enjoy that tasty, sweet scallop.
You might also be interested in the following:
- Can You Eat Raw Lobster?
- Can You Eat Raw Octopus?
- Can You Eat Raw Shrimp?
- Can You Eat Raw Crab?
- Can You Eat Raw Tuna?
- Can You Eat Raw Salmon?
- Can You Eat Raw Fish?
I have been smoking and grilling meat from an early age and enjoy sharing my knowledge and expertise through the hundreds of articles I have written about BBQ. I hope to make everyone’s BBQ journey that little bit easier.