Friday, January 27, 2012

Abalone

 We had this abalone during the cny eve


Abalone (Listeni/ˈæbəln/ or /ˌæbəˈln/; from Spanish abulón), from (Rumsen) aulón, are small to very large-sized edible sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Haliotidae and the genus Haliotis. Common names for abalones also include ear-shells, sea ears, as well as muttonfish or muttonshells in Australia, ormer in Great Britain, perlemoen and venus's-ears in South Africa and pāua in New Zealand.[3]
The family Haliotidae contains only one genus, Haliotis. That genus contains about four to seven subgenera. The number of species recognized worldwide is about 100.
The shells of abalones have a low and open spiral structure, and are characterized by several open respiratory pores in a row near the shell's outer edge. The thick inner layer of the shell is composed of nacre or mother-of-pearl, which in many species is highly iridescent, giving rise to a range of strong and changeable colors, which make the shells attractive to humans as decorative objects, and as a source of colorful mother-of-pearl.
The flesh of abalones is widely considered to be a desirable food, and is consumed raw or cooked in a variety of different dishes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abalone
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