Mussels

Mussels on the menu

If you're a seafood lover, you've probably been suffering an overload of bad news lately, from declining stocks to rising prices.

There is some good news, though. Research published by the Marine Conservation Society, a UK charity dedicated to protecting the marine environment, suggests that mussels are one of the most environmentally sound types of fish or shellfish available. There's no hefty price tag and, what's more, these little creatures are in abundance.

Their prolific nature means that mussels will grow on just about anything that's submerged at high tide - rock-faces, jetties, wooden stakes and hulls of boats. They do this by means of their byssus threads, or beards, which they use to cling on for dear life.

Farmed or wild?

The majority of mussels available in the UK are farmed, rather than 'wild'. Most are cultivated by a rather ingenious method involving floating rafts. From the rafts are suspended a number of ropes, upon which the mussels grow. This method of suspending ropes from rafts was developed by the Spanish more than 500 years ago.

Mussel farms are peppered around bays and inlets along the Scottish, Welsh, English and Irish coastlines. The great thing about mussel farming, from the grower's point of view, is that it takes care of itself. The mussels release their seed, called spat, into the water and these tiny microscopic creatures either anchor themselves to the seabed or, if there is rope to be had, they will happily use that as their home. This spawning period takes places around April, spelling the end of the British mussel season, when the meat yield is very low.

The mussels cling to the ropes for two or three years, after which time they are ready to be harvested. The lengths of rope teeming with bivalves are lifted into boats and the mussels carefully removed.

Top molluscs

So what makes a good mussel? Alasdair MacPherson, a mussel producer from the Shetland Isles in Scotland, says it has everything to do with the richness of the environment.

"Mussel sites tend to be situated in inlets, or what we call voes, because they need shelter," says MacPherson. "They need strong tidal currents for oxygen and to ensure the water gets recycled. Remoteness is key; the waters must be clean and their food plentiful, which means no overcrowding. There must be lots of gaps between the ropes so that the mussels get their fair share of food."

'Food' in this case is not something that comes out of a tin; mussels are filter feeders - they act as filters sieving through gallons of water each day to draw out the plankton on which they feed. This is where mussels get their reputation for being potentially dangerous to eat. Gathering mussels in the wild, as wonderful as it may sound, can indeed be risky, as the water they feed in could be contaminated in any number of ways. It's best to avoid the risk and buy your mussels from a reliable supplier.

Buying mussels

Shop around when buying mussels and select those with tightly closed shells, avoiding any that are broken. Plump, juicy flesh and a succulent taste of the sea is what you are looking for once they are cooked. Colour is not indicative of quality - orange flesh tells you the mussel is female, while a whiter hue suggests a male.

Unless you know how fresh they are, always eat mussels on the same day you buy them. Carefully place the blue-black mussels into a sinkful of cold water and discard any that stay open when tapped. Pull away their beards and, if you are presenting them in their shells, it's a good idea to give them a good scrub, scraping off any barnacles. A final couple of rinses will ensure a sand-free meal.

Cooking mussels

Mussels need very little cooking. Place them in the bottom of a large, heavy-based pan with a small amount of liquid and turn up the heat to steam them. As soon as the shells start gaping open, you know they are ready. Don't overcook them or you'll end up with rubbery flesh. Discard any that fail to open fully.

Mussels are delicious with a wide array of flavours. Steaming them in vermouth or white wine - along with shallots, garlic and a few herbs - is traditional in some European countries. Or try them with a combination of South-east Asian flavourings such as coconut, ginger, lemongrass and chilli. The cooking liquid is half the joy of eating mussels, so have plenty of crusty bread on stand-by for soaking up.

Find out more about cooking and buying shellfish, including mussels, with our Get Cooking: Cook's Guide to shellfish.

Recipes

• Mussels with wine and parsley (video recipe) by Mitch Tonks from Get Cooking
• Steamed mussels with chilli bean sauce by Ken Hom from Saturday Kitchen
• Mussels by Rick Stein from Fresh Food
• Mussels and jamón with sherry by Jill Dupleix from Saturday Kitchen
• Mussels with Burgundy broth and garlic bread by Lesley Waters from Saturday Kitchen
• Moules marinière by Antony Worrall Thompson from Food and Drink
• Indian spiced mussel and saffron soup by Andrew Turner and Tony Joseph from Saturday Kitchen
• Poached haddock with mussels, spinach and chervil by Rick Stein from Seafood Lovers' Guide
• Mussel and saffron risotto by Raymond Blanc from The Restaurant