Berberechos de Carril 'Los Peperetes' - Premium Cockle Clams

Cockles are tiny sweet clams, each one about the size of an olive. When you open the tin, you will see a thing of beauty: approximately 60 little clams symmetrically arranged by hand.

Served at room temperature, you will find they are perfectly cooked. Even the brine or 'liquor' is sensational, and is almost as enjoyable as the tiny clams themselves.

PRODUCTION:
They are harvested from the mouth of the river that feeds into the tiny fishing village of Carril. In the last 20 years they have become very scarce since berberechos, like all shellfish, go through up and down production (reproductive) cycles. This depends fundamentally on climatic factors that influence their growth and population.

The best place to fish is at the mouths of the Galician rivers where they flow into the ocean. The berberechos in fact live best at exactly this point where fresh water and ocean water mix. The beberecho cannot live in entirely fresh water. One of the critical factors is the availability of plankton in the ocean.

Plankton dominates the well-lit surface layers of the world's oceans and is an essential food element for the Berberechos and other mollusks in Galicia. It is made up of animals and plants that either float passively in the water, or possess such limited powers of swimming that they are carried from place to place by the currents. The word plankton comes from the Greek word planktos, which means 'wandering' or 'drifting'.

When 'Los Peperetes' owner Jesús was a child, during holiday and summer vacations he would fish for berberechos and sell them to his grandfather. He and his brothers would use long poles with a net on the end. It was simple way for a child to earn a small amount of money. As a little boy, he earned 50 pesetas a kilo. Now they cost significantly more - but they are still the best!