The picture is of the outside of clams, but it says “shells”. The rest of the names of things in this picture don’t seem to have inaccuracies or non-English names–suggesting that “shells” is, in fact, what the creator of this superstitious sign actually meant.
Shell powder is actually added to some things as a calcium enhancement or preservative, but, notably, this is not at all what happens when you eat surf and turf. The only conclusion is that the surf & turf person up there thinks people eat the shell when they order lobster.
Surf & turf was me. And I am spectacularly ignorant of the vast variety of Indian cuisine, but I would be surprised if literal shells is a common staple. It doesn’t say “calcium,” it says “shells.” And it shows a picture of what looks like a cluster of mussels, although it could be clams.
Nobody in the US eats shells like that, except for Blueshell crab almost exclusively in the mid-Atlantic region. There are some recipes where you cook crab whole until the shell dissolves into the soup, but in neither case is the point to eat the shells - they’re just along for the ride to get to the meat. And if it’s a source of the calcium that’s sometimes added to some food, it’ll say “calcium,” it won’t say where it came from.
So: you’re claiming that it’s common in India for people to, what… source and grind up shells and eat them? I suppose if folks are doing it to Rhino horns, that’s not the weirdest thing I’ve heard. I think it’s just more likely it’s referring to shellfish.
I can’t tell if you’re being funny; I don’t think they meant eating the shells.
The picture is of the outside of clams, but it says “shells”. The rest of the names of things in this picture don’t seem to have inaccuracies or non-English names–suggesting that “shells” is, in fact, what the creator of this superstitious sign actually meant.
Shell powder is actually added to some things as a calcium enhancement or preservative, but, notably, this is not at all what happens when you eat surf and turf. The only conclusion is that the surf & turf person up there thinks people eat the shell when they order lobster.
Surf & turf was me. And I am spectacularly ignorant of the vast variety of Indian cuisine, but I would be surprised if literal shells is a common staple. It doesn’t say “calcium,” it says “shells.” And it shows a picture of what looks like a cluster of mussels, although it could be clams.
Nobody in the US eats shells like that, except for Blueshell crab almost exclusively in the mid-Atlantic region. There are some recipes where you cook crab whole until the shell dissolves into the soup, but in neither case is the point to eat the shells - they’re just along for the ride to get to the meat. And if it’s a source of the calcium that’s sometimes added to some food, it’ll say “calcium,” it won’t say where it came from.
So: you’re claiming that it’s common in India for people to, what… source and grind up shells and eat them? I suppose if folks are doing it to Rhino horns, that’s not the weirdest thing I’ve heard. I think it’s just more likely it’s referring to shellfish.