Mussels
Flavour Profile
Briny, sweet and deeply savoury with a firm but tender texture. They have a cleaner, more mineral taste than oysters and a richer, meatier bite than clams.
Health Benefits
Mussels are packed with vitamin B12, which helps your body get energy from food and keeps your nervous system working. You also get a decent hit of zinc, which your immune system needs.
Buying Tips
Look for shells that are tightly closed. If one is slightly open, give it a sharp tap on the bench. If it closes, it's alive and good to go. If it stays open, it’s dead—chuck it. They should smell like the fresh ocean, not like a fish market at 4 PM.
Storage
Mussels need to breathe. Never store them in a sealed plastic bag or submerged in fresh water—you'll kill them. Keep them in a bowl covered with a damp cloth in the coldest part of the fridge. Cook them within a day or two of buying.
Cooking Uses
Steam them in a pot with a splash of white wine, garlic and shallots. They’re cooked the second they pop open. Use the leftover liquid as the base for a sauce or soup, but be careful with salt—mussels are natural salt bombs. Great in paella, chowders or tossed through linguine.
Forkin' Food Theory
Mussels are the ultimate 'canary in the coal mine' for heat.
The muscle holding the shell shut denatures at roughly the same temperature that the meat inside is perfectly cooked.
When the shell pops, it’s nature’s way of saying 'dinner is ready'. If you keep cooking them until the meat shrivels up and turns rubbery, you've missed the window. Open means done.