Scallops Nutrition Facts

You may have heard about scallops. But what are scallops? Scallops are mollusks. They are made of a tender fleshy-fishy meat enclosed in a hard shell. Scallops are in the same family of foods than clams and oysters. However, they have more meat. It tastes salty. The meat is kind of chewy if prepared correctly.

Scallop Nutrition Facts

Protein: scallops are rich in protein. One serving of scallops (defined as 3.5 ounces or 100 grams) has 23 g of protein which will give you according to the USDA nutrient Database about 46% of your daily needs of proteins. So a couple of servings of scallops and you get your daily dose of protein.

Carbohydrates: good news for Atkins, South Beach, and low-carb dieters. Scallops do not have any carbohydrate, not a pinch, they are pure protein.

Fats: Scallops do have fat, but very little: they contain a very small proportion of saturated fat (0.1 grams), and a small amount of healthy unsaturated fats. It has 53 milligrams of cholesterol but that is very small compared to what an egg has.

Calories: according to the USDA Nutrient Database, 100g of scallops give you 112 calories of which only 13 come from fat.

Vitamins and Minerals: Her is a list of the percentage of the daily value you get for minerals and vitamins from scallops:

The following are vitamins and minerals in a 3.5 ounce serving of scallops:

• riboflavin (1%)
• folate (1%)
• vitamin B6 (1%)
• vitamin E (2%)
• niacin (2%)
• thiamin (2%)
• vitamin B12 (6%)
• vitamin A (1%)
• magnesium (4%)
• potassium (4%)
• selenium (11% DV)
• copper (4%)
• zinc (6%)
• iron (5%)
• sodium (3%)
• phosphorus (9%)
• calcium (3%)

The importance of cooking scallops the right way

As with any food, scallops need to be cooked correctly to fully appreciate their flavor and nutritional properties. First of all, scallops can not and must not be subjected to overcooking. That will destroy many vitamins and will render the food uneatable. The fleshy meat will become hard and difficult to chew.

Scallops need only a few minutes to cook. Grilling, baking, broiling, sauteing, or stir-frying are good choices for cooking scallops. For baking 12 - 13 minutes at 370 Fahrenheit degrees is enough for a tender, flavorful scallop preparation.

Sources:

www.nutritiondata.com

http://allrecipes.com/recipes/seafood/shellfish/scallops/