THE MUSSEL or BLUE MUSSEL
Mytilus edulis

Portuguese: Mexilhao	French: Moule	Dutch: Mossel
Spanish: Mejillon	Russian: Midiya	German: Miesmuschel
Danish: Blamusling	Icelandic: Kraeklingur	Swedish: Blamussla
Norwegian: Blaskjell

Maximum  length of shell is about 12 cm, but more usually 5 - 8 cm.  The shell is usually dark blue or black, sometimes rayed with dark brown or purple. The mussel has an extensive range from the South Arctic to the Mediterranean. The HORSE MUSSEL is a larger relative of the blue mussel, and is often regarded as inferior for cooking. It has a purple/yellow coloured shell, and is very orange inside with a red foot. They can be found offshore in vast beds covering huge areas.

There are many places where the blue mussel can be collected in the wild, but often these should be avoided. Some of the largest mussel beds are to be found in estuaries and on exposed inshore rocks where pollution can now render the mussel a dangerous meal. The best mussels are either found well offshore and away from sources of pollution or are cultivated on mussel farms under very controlled conditions.

Mussels can be wonderful when eaten raw, but those who are concerned for their health and safety really should cook them first as mussels can harbour all sorts of unwanted pollutants and organisms. The outside must be scrubbed clean and the beard or 'byssus' removed before cooking. They should then be put in a large pot with a small quantity of liquid over a high flame, and then steamed open as rapidly as possible to avoid them going rubbery, after which all sorts of great things can be done with them.

Mussels are at their best during the winter months of October to March. If buying mussels look to make sure that they are tightly shut ensuring freshness. You will need at least 1 ½  - 2 pints per person. This seems a lot but by the time they are cleaned, any open ones are discarded and the rest eventually out of their shells, it is not quite so much.

To clean the mussels you first need to put them all in a sink of cold fresh water. Discard any that float, are broken or cracked. With a small sharp knife, scrape off all the barnacles etc from the shells and remove the beards. Once cleaned, place the mussels in a bowl of cold clean fresh water and rinse off all bits of grit and dirt, do this a number of times. Leave the mussels in cold water until you are ready to cook them.

To cook, a large pan of boiling liquid is required, often white wine or cider based. The live mussels are placed in this, covered and steamed on a high heat for only a few minutes until they have opened. Once cooked discard any that have not opened as they may have been dead before cooking and hence a danger to health.

Mussel recipes

Belgian Mussels and Chips	Gratin of Mussel with Camembert
Moules Fecampoise	Mussels with a Garlic Stuffing
Mouclade	Moule Mariniere
Zeeland Fried Mussels