NANFA-- Fw: Abalone

B.G. Granier (bgkajun_at_worldnet.att.net)
Tue, 12 Nov 2002 18:48:17 -0600

FYI............

----- Original Message -----
From: B.G. Granier
To: rjs_at_silcom.com
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2002 6:38 PM
Subject: Re: Abalone

Hey Bob,

Thanks for the flashback, that's about the same that I've heard from
others......It seems that the Japanese have declared Biological warfare on all
sea creatures that they desire as prime food items and have driven up the
bounty on such unfortunate creatures, so much so that they're being pressured
and driven into extinction due to the high prices on their flesh....We should
be so glad not to be on their menu as the whales, abalones, shellfish,
Yellowfin tuna, etc. etc..

Where does this end? There are so many pressures already on the United States
resources and the Japanese keep rasing the ante on our most precious
resources. Doesn't anyone realize this?

Now that I realize what is happening, and the same pressure is being applied
to the Australian abalone stocks, I don't think that I could even swallow even
a bite of this previously available delicacy!

Thanks for your informative reply, Bob!

Your friend,

BG

----- Original Message -----
From: Bob Sinclair
To: B.G. Granier
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2002 6:19 PM
Subject: RE: Abalone

BG:

Anne and I first moved from the east coast to southern California back in
1967;
to the Palos Verdes Peninsula, which is on the coast in LA's urban sprawl -
between
the beach towns on the north side (Redondo, Hermosa, Manhattan, etc.) and
San
Pedro and the city of Long beach to the south. In those days you could
snorkel
and literally pick sizeable abalones off the rocks in 4 or 5 feet of water.
The limit
was 5 per person on a boat...so I would cruise out to Catalina Island on a
little
24' inboard we had at the time, with a couple of our kids plus a couple from
the
neighborhood. Ergo, six on board meant 30 abs, seven and we could legally
bring
back 35. Cleaning them was a bit of a bitch, then you had to slice the
large muscle
and gently pound the slices with a wooden mallet until they went
soft...being very
careful not to pound them to mush, of course.

I'd freeze up a batch, with wax paper between the slices, then haul a bunch
of them
back to NYC with me on my fairly regular business trips. I was President of
the
western U. S. Volvo sales subsidiary at the time, so was back at the New
Jerse
headquarters at least once a month. I had friends in the city. I'd give
one of them
a ring and tell him I was on my way with a batch of abalones. "You come up
with
the women, the wine, the booze, and the fixins'. We're gonna have an
ABALONE
party." Great fun.

Today I understand they're about gone. I've heard you can find some if
you're a deep
water scuba diver - down at 80 to 100 feet or more. But they're pretty
scarce. On the
fairly rare occasions that one of the better restaurants have them on the
menu, dinner
is generally priced in the $40-50 range. A bit too rich for my blood, to
say the least!

You can find canned and smoked abalone in the oriental markets, but it's
nowhere near
the same thing.

Bob

----Original Message-----
From: B.G. Granier
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2002 2:36 PM
To: rjs_at_silcom.com
Subject: RE: Abalone

Bob,

Do you know of a source for Abalone in your area? I had it once in Alaska
and really liked it.......I'd even settle for the canned and/or smoked
variety.

Is it still being harvested however sparcely in California?

BG
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