The razor clam is a long, narrow burrowing bivalve named for the look of its shell — a slim, slightly curved blade, open at both ends, the shape and size of an old cut-throat razor or its leather strop. Several unrelated clams carry the name, but the classic European razor is the genus Ensis (Spanish navajas, French couteaux), with the giant Pacific razor (Siliqua patula) its prized West-coast counterpart. Sweet, tender and faintly nutty, with a brief cook that keeps it from turning rubbery, it is dug from sandy beaches at low tide and beloved griddled with garlic and oil in Spain and across East Asia.