Sunday, October 10, 2010

Geoduck: Neither Gooey Nor Duck

If you are a regular viewer of the Food Network or the show Top Chef, you may be familiar with geoduck, a large saltwater bivalve in the clam family that has become an exotic delicacy. Mysteriously, geoduck is pronounced "gooey duck" and can be found in the Pacific waters off of Washington and British Columbia.

Geoducks have a long tube-like siphon that performs a variety of functions. The siphon gives the geoduck its phallic appearance and, as my son says, proves that God has a sense of humor. Although geoduck is popular in Asia, its name is derived from early Native Americans of the northwest coast. You can see and learn everything you ever wanted to know about geoduck in this humorous video from Mike Rowe's Dirty Jobs.