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The Haliotid family has a worldwide distribution, along the coastal waters of every continent, except South America and the East Coast of the United States. Most abalones are found off the Southern Hemisphere coasts of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, and Western North America and Japan in the Northern Hemisphere.

The family has unmistakable characteristics : the shell is rounded to oval, with two to three whorls, and the last one auriform, grown into a large "ear", giving rise to the common name 'ear-shell'. The body whorl has a series of holes - four to ten depending on the species, near the anterior margin.

There is no operculum. The back is convex, ranging from highly arched to very flattened. These shells cling solidly with their muscular foot to rocky surfaces at sublittoral depths. The color is very variable from species to species. The inside of the shell consists of iridiscent, silvery white to greenred mother-of-pearl through to Haliotis Iris which can comprise of; pinks and reds with predominant deep blues, greens and purples.

Abalones reach maturity at a small size. Their fertility is high and increases with size (from 10,000 to 11 million eggs at a time).

The larvae feed on plankton. The adults are herbivores and feed on macroalgae, preferring red algae. Sizes vary from 20 mm (Haliotis pulcherrima) to 200 mm (or even more) (Haliotis rufescens).

The shell of the abalone is known for being exceptionally strong. It is made of microscopic calcium carbonate tiles stacked like bricks. Between the layers of tiles is a sticky protein substance. When the abalone shell is struck, the tiles slide instead of shattering and the protein stretches to absorb the energy of the blow. Material scientists at the University of California, San Diego are studying the tiled structure for insight into stronger ceramic products such as body armor.