The mussel is a bivalve with high nutritional density, which contains a large number of nutrients in very few calories. At proteins of high biological value (those that contain all the essential amino acids) adds their Omega-3 contentpolyunsaturated fatty acids essential for cardiovascular health. Mussels, in addition, are mollusks of great anti-inflammatory power.
Regarding its micronutrients, the food in question is a source of group B vitamins (B12, niacin and folate), and minerals such as selenium, zinc and ironthe latter essential to combat iron deficiency anemiaand to facilitate the transport of oxygen throughout the body.
Thus laying the foundations of its healthy properties, below we speak with the expert Dory Solla, Galicia Factory Manager of Aginamar, to discover a good number of curiosities about this very powerful Galician product.
Difference in presentation of the mussel in the market
To clarify this first doubt, which we have all had at some point, the Agguinamar expert begins by explaining the difference between mesh mussels and those packaged in protective atmosphere.
“Aguinamar was born to offer seafood products that can be consumed easily and simply, without spending a lot of time in the kitchen. To do this, it has a wide variety of mussels perfect to eat at any time. “From live mussels to cooked mussels.”
We can find in the market both traditional live mussels, in meshes or wooden basketsavailable in fishmongers (the mussel has been washed, selected and packaged), as clean live, which has been purified, washed, selected and debyssado (removal of the ‘byssus’ or hair). “This clean live mussel is packaged in a protective atmosphere that keeps it alive and in perfect quality conditions, inside the package, for 8 days“Dory adds.
Then, there is the cooked or prepared mussel, which we can find in cocotte format, which passes all the controls and is also sold already cooked, ready to be heated for two and a half minutes in the microwave before consumption.
1. How long do mussels last alive, in mesh or packaged?
The traditional live mussel is the one that is available on the market in nets or baskets, and that has no expiration date. “We just have to be careful that they are alive at the time we are going to consume them, that they are not broken and that close your valves if we touch you“.
As for the packaged clean live mussel, “we at Agguinamar give it a shelf life of 8 days. For the refrigerated (cooked) processed mussel, we can have it from 28 to 45 daysand frozen for 12 to 18 months”.
2. Do shell adhesions affect the safety of the mussel?
The calcareous incrustations that adhere to the shell of the mollusk (called ‘risco’ and ‘arneiron’) and that we can find in the market are absolutely ‘harmless’ and “do not affect at all the flavor, quality and texture of the mussel that is found inside the shell. shell”.
For his part, the ‘byso’, the hair that shows From the inside of the mussel, they are natural filamentous fibers secreted by the mollusks to adhere to the rocks in the tidal zone. It is something natural, which can be eliminated when we go to eat them.
3. What is the best way to cook live mussels?
The recommendation of the consulted expert, Dory Solla, is to “cook the mussels in a pot until they reach their boiling point. We will know that the mussels are ready when the shells open. As an addition, we could add a touch of bay leaf and pair it with albariño of the Rias Baixas”.
4. Can I freeze mussels?
Regarding the question that we have often asked ourselves, no, live mussels cannot and should not be frozen. This possibility only exists if they are already cooked, and it is advisable that they carry a little of the cooking liquid with them. We can also freeze it if we have prepared it with a sauce, and take it out for consumption before three months have passed.
5. How long can clean, live packaged mussels last?
Clean live mussels packaged in a protective atmosphere may be cooked and consumed taking into account the expiration dates that appear on the packaging itself, and provided that the indicated conservation conditions in it.
6. Keys to know that the mussel is alive and fresh
It is important to cook and consume a mussel as fresh as possible. For this, it is essential that they smell like the sea and that the shell is closed or close when you give them a small tap, as it indicates that it is still alive.
We must throw away the mussels that have their shells broken. Although it does not always mean that they will be bad, it is a risk that we should not take.
7. This is how you will distinguish the males from the females
As the expert explains to us, “the female mussel is orange in colormore vivid and intense, while the males appear whitish or cream in color. Finding white meat does not mean that it is of poorer quality, just that it is the male mussel.
8. Duration of mussel cultivation, until we eat it
Mussel cultivation is a fairly long process, which begins in December by collecting the seed on the rocks. Later this seed is roped into the tray. In 4 or 6 months this rope unfolds and separates so that the mussel can spawn and grow. From the moment the mussel is caught on the rock until it is collected, it can happen from 18 to 24 months.
Mussel farming in Galicia is carried out in several stages. The seed (mexilla) is obtained in thousands of native rafts (floating nurseries made up of a framework of eucalyptus wood) that populate the Galician Rías. The cheeks throw the gametes into the sea where fertilization occurs, giving rise to larvae that will later settle on the rocks. From December to April, the bateeiros take the seed (1-2 centimeters) from those rocks and take them to the trays so that they grow there, around the ropes.
After 4 or 6 months in the sea, the mussel reaches 5 centimeters, which makes necessary splitting because of the great weight. After a year, the mussel reaches commercial size.
9. What is the best time to find the meatiest mussel?
“Although we offer mussels of the best quality and with the greatest possible meat (meat) throughout the year, it should be noted that between the months July to February are the best moments to consume mussels at their perfect point”.
10. Why are Galician mussels the best?
The water of the Galician estuaries is, and never better said, the best breeding ground for the mussel to multiply. “Almost a miracle if it weren’t for the fact that here the holy water is what comes loaded with nutrients from the oceanmarked by the Gulf Stream, which fills the mouths of the Galician rivers with phytoplankton,” says Dory.
As if they were stone balconies open over the Atlantic, the play of tides and temperatures between salt and fresh waters becomes the perfect ecosystem so that the mussel, like many other shellfish, feels – also never better said – like a fish in water.
#Ten #didnt #mussels #cook
