Group · Seafood
Abalone
The abalone is a marine mollusc with a single shell, pearly on the inside, that lives clinging to rocks. Now rare and very expensive in Brittany, it is one of the most sought-after shellfish in French gastronomy, and one of the hardest to cook.
In terms of nutrition facts, raw: 99.6 kcal per 100 g, with 14.4 g of protein, 8.69 g of carbohydrate and 0.83 g of fat. It provides 5.9 mg of iron, 215 mg of potassium and 154 mg of phosphorus per 100 g, with 0.47 g of salt.
Macronutrient breakdown
Nutrition table per 100 g
| Calories | 100 kcal |
| Kilojoules | 422 kJ |
| Protein | 14,4 g |
| Carbohydrate | 8,7 g |
| Fat | 0,9 g |
Micronutrients per 100 g
All measured nutrients, ranked by share of the daily reference intake.
- Vitamin B53 mg50 %
- Iron5,9 mg42 %
- Vitamin E4 mg33 %
- Vitamin B120,73 µg29 %
- Phosphorus154 mg22 %
- Copper0,2 mg20 %
- EPA0,05 g20 %
- Vitamin B10,15 mg14 %
See the other 12 nutrients
- Vitamin B20,19 mg14 %
- Magnesium48 mg13 %
- Potassium215 mg11 %
- Vitamin B60,15 mg11 %
- Vitamin B31,5 mg9 %
- Zinc0,82 mg8 %
- Calcium31 mg4 %
- Vitamin C2 mg3 %
- Vitamin B95 µg3 %
- Manganese0,04 mg2 %
- Total omega-30,05 g2 %
- Vitamin A2 µg0 %
Anses Ciqual 2025. Source: Anses, 2025, Ciqual food composition table
Tips
It must be tenderised, otherwise it is inedible. This is the key point: its muscle is extremely firm. Beat it with a mallet between two cloths until the flesh softens. Without this, no cooking method will rescue it.
After that, two minutes or two hours. The same rule as for squid: seared very hot in butter for a minute on each side, or simmered for a long time. Anything in between is rubber.
14.4 g of protein for 0.83 g of fat. A good ratio, close to that of a clam, with the bonus of carbohydrate, which shellfish do not usually contain.
5.9 mg of iron: 42% of the reference intake. Along with black pudding and liver, molluscs are among the best food sources of iron, and this is haem iron, which is well absorbed.
Fishing for it is tightly regulated. Minimum sizes, closed seasons and quotas: wild populations are fragile. Farmed abalone, developed in Brittany, is the most responsible option.