Information on freshwater clams -

Hi Susan - did my own search on freshwater clams and found a couple of tidbits of information - one was written by a "Captain Jack" in reply to someone asking about clams found in a Ct. lake near her cottage:

"Provided the clams are taken from good waters, they would be edible. However, they do not make good eating. They can be used in any recipe that calls for clams. Years ago before plastic buttons, the clam shells were used to make buttons and studs for shirts. The meat went for animal food. Today there is very little use for mankind, but they provide food for wild life and being a filter feeder, they are a natural filter for the water in which they live."

On the other hand, there was a website for some guy who was giving ideas on how to live totally "off the land" and he said that they can be used and provide good source of protein and nutrition as long as the waters they live in are clean - since clams are the filterers of the water they live in, one has to be very careful about where you obtain your clams. The beds we dig in are carefully monitored constantly for e. coli bacteria.

So if you find more information and still want some clam recipes, let me know.

June