There might not be anything as beautiful as a perfectly seared scallop: pale, pearlescent meat surrounded by a brown-gold and crisp corona.

You can drape this scallop in a bright green herbed sauce or wrap in it pork.

You can try to show it up with a fresh-fruit salsa or mask its mild sweetness with a citrus vinaigrette.

But you have to do it justice.

"No matter how you prepare it," said Cindy Wolf, owner and chef of Baltimore's Charleston restaurant, "the scallop should be the center of the plate and the center of the dish."

The scallop is getting plenty of attention these days.

Because of its decidedly unfishy taste and smell, the scallop is increasingly popular among restaurant goers who are not overly fond of fish.

And that same mildness gives chefs a blank canvas on which to create.

"They are growing in popularity because restaurants are serving better scallops," said Patrick Morrow, chef at Ryleigh's Oyster Bar in Federal Hill.

Morrow indulges his imagination by preparing his signature scallop trio differently every few weeks.

"Right now, it's pork," he said. The scallops are wrapped in bacon, stuffed with andouille sausage and topped with braised pork belly.

"You get cravings, I get cravings. Right now, I crave pork."

If scallops present endless possibilities for the professional chef, they present two significant challenges for the home cook: choosing them and cooking them.

And the second challenge - cooking scallops without overcooking them until they develop the rubbery texture of an eraser - can be made more difficult if you choose your scallops poorly.

"With scallops, there isn't much to worry about except quality," said Bill Watkins, the consumer safety officer for the Food and Drug Administration's division of seafood safety.

"The trend now is for dry scallops, ones that are harvested and flash-frozen on the boat.

"But the scallop industry for as long as I have worked for the FDA is notorious for adding weight by soaking them in sodium tripolyphosphate [STP]."

(Scallops no longer can close their shells when they are harvested and the muscle that is the meat of the scallop quickly dries out. STP keeps them moist).

"You cook these things and the water comes out and you end up poaching them. And they just shrivel down.

"There's no harm, other than the customer pays more. In my opinion, that's economic fraud, but almost everybody does it."

Restaurateurs like Wolf are careful to buy their scallops not only dry, but fresh. Morrow says some of his arrive still in the shell.

Grocery stores and seafood markets can claim they are selling only dry scallops, but it is hard for the consumer to know for sure.

"A pool of milky white liquid is a dead giveaway," said Paul Johnson, author of Fish Forever, a guide to selecting and preparing sustainable seafood.

"And they may feel slippery or soapy, and have no odor or a mild chemical smell."

Cooking scallops is its own challenge. Though they are safe to eat raw, and the tiny calico scallops are probably best served that way in a ceviche, scallops should be cooked enough to release their sweetness and flavor, but not so much that they become tough and chewy.

Chef Michael Costa at Pazo likes to sear his scallops in grapeseed oil, which has a smoke point high enough to let the scallop develop its light-brown crust without overcooking.

"Then maybe I'll add a little bit of whole butter and baste it for 10 seconds to get the nice nutty flavor without burning the butter," he said.

At this time of year, scallops are also wonderful on the grill, threaded on bamboo skewers that have been soaked in water so that they don't burn.

Scallops don't really have a season, but for Ray Popson, seafood manager at Wegmans Food Market in Hunt Valley, they have a day. Saturday.

"We sell plenty on Friday, but on Saturday, it doubles," said Popson, who might sell 40 to 60 pounds a week.

Popson said he buys only dry fresh and dry frozen - "We put it on our sign" - and prices range from $12.99 to $16.99 a pound.

The bay scallop, smaller than the sea scallop and prized for its wonderful sweetness, has been fished almost to the point of extinction and its eelgrass habitat has been decimated by development, according to Johnson in Fish Forever.

Restaurants and seafood stores will occasionally happen onto a few pounds of bay scallops, but it is the over-large sea scallop that is most common on menus and in seafood cases.

Most of the bay scallops come from China, where they are farmed on a huge scale but not considered particularly tasty.

The farming of scallops, much preferred over the eco-unfriendly dredging method, is just beginning to develop in this country, according to Watkins.

The sea scallop is found from the Carolinas to Newfoundland, fished in areas that are opened and closed to reflect fishing quotas.

There are a few boats out of Ocean City that harvest scallops to sell to local shops and restaurants, said Howard King, director of the Maryland Fisheries Service in the Department of Natural Resources.

But because of the price of fuel and the catch limits, scallops are the province of large fisheries.

Stormy weather may make scallops hard to find in winter months, but generally this delectable foodstuff from the sea is available year-round.

Some scallops are called "diver" scallops.

"The best scallops you can buy are the ones they dive for," said Wolf.

"You are going to pay a price for those," said Morrow. "They are usually caught that day and they are a little fresher than the dry sea scallops."

Although Europeans eat the entire scallop, including the red-orange roe, American diners prefer the medallion of white muscle that this bivalve mollusk uses to open and close its shell .

Perhaps the most famous scallop dish is Coquilles St. Jacques, in which the scallops are prepared with mushrooms and cream and broiled in their shells.

The shell was once a badge of identification worn by crusaders of the Order of St. James. (James was the brother of the Apostle John.)

According to religious lore, James' intervention saved the life of a drowning knight, who emerged from the sea covered in scallops.

All scallops were henceforth called St. James' cockles, or coquilles St. Jacques, as is the famous dish.

Speaking of food lore, scallops are the subject of one of the most stubborn rumors. That is, most scallops are not scallops at all, but shark or skate meat cut with a biscuit cutter. Or that bay scallops have been cut from the larger, less-tender sea scallop.

"That doesn't make any sense," said Pat Cupp of Annapolis Seafood Market. "Shark and skate are good eating on their own."

"Who knows?" said Watkins of the FDA. "In the seafood industry, you run into all kinds of folks making a living doing all kinds of things. If it happens, it's not common."

Johnson thinks the cookie-cutter shark meat rumors are an urban myth that was debunked a decade ago.

"Rays are worth something in their own right," he said. "And who are we going to hire to cut skate wings into scallops?"

The truth is hard for a consumer to know. The best advice might be to beware of scallops that appear too uniform in size and shape.

susan.reimer@baltsun.com

A closer look

There are more than 400 species of scallops, but only a few are harvested commercially. Here are the most popular and available:

Sea scallops:

The largest of the scallops, they are found on the East and West Coasts of the United States as well as in Alaska and Canada. The meat can be 1 1/2 inches across and just as thick. As few as five or as many as 35 can make up a pound. Because of their size, they are favored for searing and grilling.

Bay scallops:

Found in bays and estuaries from Newfoundland to the Gulf of Mexico (but not in the Chesapeake Bay), the bay scallop has a delicate, sweet flavor. Even with fishing limits, the harvest of bay scallops has declined severely in the last 20 years for unknown reasons. As a result, a great many come frozen from China, where they are farm-raised and not particularly flavorful. Those bay scallops that are harvested often go right to restaurants.

Calico scallops:

These are quite small -- about the size of a pencil eraser -- and can be rubbery if cooked more than briefly. In addition, a great deal of flavor is lost in the processing. Most often used in ceviche.

Spiny pink scallops:

These have a pale-pink-and-white ribbed shell and are found in the inland waters of the Northwest, where they must be harvested by divers from depths of 30 to 180 feet and are sold live in the shell only during the fall and winter. As a result, they are somewhat rare.

Diver scallops:

A diver scallop is exactly that -- a scallop chosen and hand-harvested by a diver. The majority of the scallops on the market are harvested by boats that drag heavy chains across the ocean floor. The diver scallops are less gritty and much more ecologically friendly.

[Susan Reimer]

Scallop-and-Corn Chowder

Serves 4

5 slices bacon (4 ounces) cut into a small dice

1 1/2 pounds sea scallops (about 16) patted dry

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced into half-moons

1/2 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled (if desired) and cut into 1/2 -inch dice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

kernels from 2 ears of corn (about 1 cup)

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

In a large skillet, over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. You should have about 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings; if necessary, supplement with olive oil. Increase heat to medium-high.

Season the scallops with the salt and pepper and cook, working in batches, until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Add the onion to the drippings in the skillet and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the potatoes, wine, broth and cream, cover partially and reduce heat. Simmer gently until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes, add the scallops and corn and simmer for 4 minutes. Sprinkle with the parsley and bacon.

Per serving: 417 calories, 36 grams protein, 17 grams fat, 8 grams saturated fat, 26 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams fiber, 107 milligrams cholesterol, 821 milligrams sodium

Recipe and analysis courtesy of "Real Simple" magazine.

Coquilles St. Jacques (Scallops With Mushrooms in Cream Sauce)

Serves 6

4 tablespoons butter (divided use)

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots

2 cups thinly sliced mushrooms

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 pound sea or bay scallops

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup milk

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream (divided use)

pinch cayenne

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a saucepan and add the shallots. Cook briefly, stirring, and add the mushrooms. Cook until wilted and add the salt, pepper and wine.

Add the scallops and bring to a boil. Cook until all the scallops are heated through, stirring gently as necessary. Take care not to let the scallops overcook or they will toughen.

Using a slotted spoon, remove and set aside the scallops and mushrooms. Reserve the liquid. There should be about 3/4 cup.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a saucepan and add the flour, stirring rapidly with a wire whisk. When blended, add the reserved liquid, stirring until thickened and smooth. Add the milk and 1 cup of the cream. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and pinch of cayenne.

Whip the remaining 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Fold it into the sauce.

Use 6 individual scallop shells or ramekins. Spoon equal portions of the scallops and mushrooms into each shell. Spoon the sauce over the scallop mixture.

Preheat the broiler to high. Place the filled shells under the broiler about 6 inches from the source of heat and bake until a nice brown glaze forms on top.

As the scallops broil, turn occasionally for even browning, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

From "The Best of Craig Claiborne," by Craig Claiborne

Per serving: 374 calories, 27 grams protein, 25 grams fat, 15 grams saturated fat, 10 grams carbohydrate, 0 grams fiber, 141 milligrams cholesterol, 307milligrams sodium