Cockle
Live specimens of Cerastoderma edule from France
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Order:	Veneroida
Superfamily:	Cardioidea
Family:	Cardiidae Lamarck, 1809
Genera
Numerous, see text
Synonyms
Lymnocardiidae

Cockle is the common name for a group of (mostly) small, edible, saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae.

Various species of cockles live in sandy, sheltered beaches throughout the world.

The distinctive rounded shells of cockles are symmetrical, and are heart-shaped when viewed from the end. Numerous radial ribs occur in most but not all genera. For an exception, see the genus Laevicardium, the egg cockles, which have very smooth shells.

The mantle has three apertures (inhalant, exhalant, and pedal) for siphoning water and for the foot to protrude. Cockles typically burrow using the foot, and feed by filtering plankton from the surrounding water.

Cockles are capable of "jumping" by bending and straightening the foot.

Like many bivalves, cockles display gonochorism (the sex of an individual varies according to conditions),^[1] and some species reach maturity quickly. Confusingly, the common name "cockle" is also given (by seafood sellers) to a number of other small, edible bivalves which have a somewhat similar shape, but these bivalves are in other families such as the Veneridae (Venus clams) and the Arcidae (ark clams). Cockles in the family Cardiidae are sometimes known as "true cockles" to distinguish them from these other species.

Species [edit]

There are more than 200 living species of cockles, with many more fossil forms.^[2]

The common cockle, Cerastoderma edule, is widely distributed around the coastlines of Northern Europe, with a range extending west to Ireland, the Barents Sea in the north, Norway in the east, and as far south as Senegal.

The dog cockle, Glycymeris glycymeris, has a similar range and habitat to the common cockle, but is unrelated. It is inedible due to its toughness when cooked, although a process is being developed to solve this.^[3]

The blood cockle, Anadara granosa (not related to the true cockles, instead in the family Arcidae) is extensively cultured from southern Korea to Malaysia.^[4]

An example group of true cockles that have shells which are completely smooth, without ribs, is the genus Laevicardium. These are often known as egg cockles.

Genera [edit]

Genera within the family Cardiidae include:

• 

  Acrosterigma cignorum
• 

  Ctenocardia fornicata
• 

  Ctenocardia virgo
• 

  Trachycardium maculosum

In cuisine and culture [edit]

Cockles are a popular type of edible shellfish in both Eastern and Western cooking. They are collected by raking them from the sands at low tide. However, collecting cockles is hard work and, as seen from the Morecambe Bay disaster, in which 23 illegal immigrants died, can be dangerous if local tidal conditions are not carefully watched. In England and Wales, the Magna Carta grants every citizen the right to collect up to eight pounds of cockles from the foreshore. However, pickers wishing to collect more than eight pounds are deemed to be engaging in commercial fishing and are required to obtain a permit from the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority.^[5]

Cockles are sold freshly cooked as a snack in the United Kingdom, particularly in those parts of the British coastline where cockles are abundant. Boiled, then seasoned with malt vinegar and white pepper, they can be bought from seafood stalls, which also often have for sale mussels, whelks, jellied eels, crabs and shrimps. Cockles are also available pickled in jars, and more recently, have been sold in sealed packets (with vinegar) containing a plastic two-pronged fork. A meal of cockles fried with bacon, served with laver bread, is known as a traditional Welsh breakfast.

Boiled cockles (sometimes grilled) are sold at many hawker centers in Southeast Asia, and are used in laksa, char kway teow and steamboat. They are called kerang in Malay and see hum in Hokkien.

A study conducted in England in the early 1980's showed a correlation between the consumption of cockles, presumed to be incorrectly processed, and an elevated local occurrence of hepatitis.^[6]

Cockles are an effective bait for a wide variety of sea fishes.

The folk song "Molly Malone" is also known as "Cockles and Mussels" because the title character's sale of the two foods is referenced in the song's refrain.

They are also mentioned in the English nursery rhyme "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary".

They are also eaten by the indigenous peoples of North America.^[7]

• 

  Empty cockle shell on the beach

• 

  Bags of cockles picked from Morecambe Bay

• 

  Boiled "cockles" served in Tanjong Pagar, Singapore are actually ark clams in the family Arcidae

Alternate meanings [edit]

The common English phrase "it warms the cockles of my heart", is used to mean that a feeling of deep-seated contentment has been generated.

Differing derivations of this phrase have been proposed, either directly from the perceived heart-shape of a cockleshell, or indirectly (the scientific name for the type genus of the family is Cardium, from the Latin for heart), or from the Latin diminutive of the word heart, corculum. Another proposed derivation is from the Latin for the ventricles of the heart, cochleae cordis, where the second word is an inflected form of cor, heart, while cochlea is the Latin for snail.^{[citation needed]}

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Cockles
• Nutrition Facts for Cockles

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