Conch () is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point on both ends).
In North America, a conch is often identified as a queen conch, indigenous to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. Queen conches are valued for seafood and are also used as fish bait. In the United States, a rule has been proposed to list the queen conch's conservation status as threatened.
The group of conches that are sometimes referred to as "true conches" are marine gastropod molluscs in the family Strombidae, specifically in the genus Strombus and other closely related genera. For example, Lobatus gigas, the queen conch, and Laevistrombus canarium, the dog conch, are true conches.
Many other species are also often called "conch", but are not at all closely related to the family Strombidae, including Melongena species (family Melongenidae) and the horse conch Triplofusus papillosus (family Fasciolariidae). Species commonly referred to as conches also include the sacred chank or shankha shell (Turbinella pyrum) and other Turbinella species in the family Turbinellidae. The Triton's trumpet (family Charoniidae) may also be fashioned into a horn and referred to as a conch.
Etymology
The English word "conch" is attested in Middle English, coming from Latin (shellfish, mussel), which in turn comes from Greek (same meaning) ultimately from Proto-Indo-European root , cognate with Sanskrit word .
General description
A conch is a sea snail in the phylum Mollusca. A conch shell has superior strength and is used as a musical instrument or decoration. It consists of about 95% calcium carbonate and 5% organic matter. The conch meat is edible.
Culinary use
The meat of conches is eaten raw in salads or cooked in burgers, chowders, fritters, and gumbos. All parts of the conch meat are edible.
Conch is indigenous to the Bahamas and is typically served in fritter, salad, and soup forms. It is also eaten in the West Indies (in The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, and Jamaica in particular); locals in Jamaica eat conch in stews, curries and other dishes. Restaurants all over the islands serve this particular seafood. In the Dominican Republic, Grenada, and Haiti, conch is commonly eaten in curries or in a spicy soup. It is locally referred to as lambi. In Puerto Rico, conch is served as a ceviche, often called ensalada de carrucho (conch salad), consisting of raw conch marinated in lime juice, olive oil, vinegar, garlic, green peppers, and onions. It is also used to fill empanadas.
In Panama, conch is known as cambombia and is often served as ceviche de cambombia, consisting of raw conch marinated in lime juice, chopped onions, finely chopped habaneros, and often vinegar.
Conch is very popular in Italy and among Italian Americans. Called sconcigli, it is eaten in a variety of ways, but most often in salads or cooked in a sauce for pasta. It is often included as one of the dishes prepared for the Feast of the Seven Fishes.
In East Asian cuisines, conch is often cut into thin slices and then steamed or stir-fried.
Eighty per cent of the queen conch meat in international trade is imported into the United States. The Florida Keys were a major source of queen conches until the 1970s, but the conches are now scarce and all harvesting of them in Florida waters is prohibited and individuals who have harvested them have been punished by law enforcement.
Festival
In the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Conch Festival is held in November each year at the Three Queens Bar/Restaurant in Blue Hills. Local restaurateurs compete for the best and most original conch dishes, which are then judged by international chefs. Other competitions, events, and music performances occur.
Musical instruments
Conch shells can be used as wind instruments. They are prepared by cutting a hole in the spire of the shell near the apex and then blowing into the shell as if it were a trumpet, as a blowing horn. Sometimes a mouthpiece is used, but some shell trumpets are blown without one. Pitch is adjusted by moving one's hand in and out of the aperture; the deeper the hand, the lower the note.
Various species of large marine gastropod shells can be turned into blowing shells, but some of the best-known species used are the sacred chank or shankha Turbinella pyrum, the Triton's trumpet Charonia tritonis, and the queen conch Strombus gigas.