Mussels are known for their unique taste and nourishment qualities that have made them a favorite delicacy among seafood lovers. With their own sweet briny flavor profile, which is evocative of the sea, they can be incorporated into soups, and stews as well as used in pasta and paella dishes. Besides being tasteful, mussels are highly nutritious.

Nutritional Value

Mussels are a low-calorie source of good-quality protein needed for building and repairing body tissues. They contain various vitamins and minerals such as:

• Vitamine B12: It is crucial in nerve function and the production of DNA and red blood cells.
• Iron: This is essential for making hemoglobin which carries oxygen through the blood.
• Manganese: It helps in bone health and energy metabolism.
• Selenium: it acts as a strong antioxidant protecting damage to cells or tissue.
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids: These are vital fats required for healthy hearts.

Health Benefits

Omega-3 fatty acids from mussels assist in maintaining heart health by lowering triglycerides within the body while at the same time reducing hypertension; hence they minimize the possibility of heart attacks or strokes taking place.

Also, omega 3s support brain function improving mood, and cognitive function, thereby protecting against dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

Another reason why mussels are important for our bodies’ well-being is because they contain several immune-boosting nutrients including zinc, selenium, vitamin A, and vitamin B12.

The resultant effect is strong bones since mussels contain calcium, phosphorus magnesium together with vitamin D helping to reduce risk factors associated with osteoporosis.

Energy Production- Mussels contain iron as well as vitamin B12 which play a role in the production of energy necessary to prevent anemia.

Choosing Sustainable Seafood

Besides being healthy and delicious mussels are also considered one of the sustainable kinds of food fish available on sale. Usually, they are grown with environmentally friendly methods which at times help to improve water by cleaning it as well as filtration when they are placed inside water.

A Step-by-Step Tutorial on Buying, Preparing, and Cooking Mussels

Mussels are one of the easiest ways to create an elegant dining experience from the sea at home.

Cleaning them is not so much fun, but it only takes a few steps, and it’s really not hard.

First off, when you’re buying your mussels, you wanna order a little more than you need, because, I guarantee some are going to die before you even get them home.

You want to keep them really cold from the time you buy them till the time you use them. I’ve had these on ice in the fridge.

And you also don’t want to cover them because they do need to breathe. They’re still alive. You don’t want anyone to take your air away, do you? Most of them will come still closed.

If you find a mussel that’s already open, give it a little squeeze or a little tap and see if it closes back up on its own. If it doesn’t, that Mussel’s getting really tired. His Mussels just aren’t working that much anymore.

After you’ve sorted through your Mussels, the first step is to soak them in fresh water.

Soaking them allows the Mussels to breathe while expelling any extra sand or dirt. This is also going to make them just a little less salty.

After they’ve soaked a lot, this is the least glamorous part of the whole thing, you need to remove the beard.

You’ll find the beard, which is just a fuzzy little piece, right around the hinge of the Mussel.

If you’re lucky, it’s already gone. You’ll just grip the beard, by pinching your fingers and then just give it a little tug. The Mussel might fight you back a little bit and try to keep it in. You want to get a good grip on the Mussel. If you don’t have a good grip you can use a towel to help secure it.

As you pull the beard you want to pull out and towards the hinged end of the beard. Pull it towards the opening end. You run the risk of killing the Mussel before you even cook it. Step one, soak your Mussels.

Step two, remove the beards. Now, step three is to transfer this to some fresh water. And the final step is to give them a little scrub and then a final rinse.

This will release any more final dirt or stuck on sediment. Rinsed and ready to go, now we’re only halfway there. minutes away from enjoying these beauties.

You want to have everything prepped and ready to go because this dish comes together in no time. I’m gonna start by heating up a little olive oil in my large stock pot or Dutch oven.

Once your oil is hot, go in with the garlic, and I mean lots of garlic. This is my favorite type of recipe for mussels, but you can really get creative here with the broth.

It’s great to experiment with different flavors. I love a good curry or coconut-type broth as well for mussels. This is my favorite.

You don’t want your garlic to burn, you just want it to soften and then just kind of flavor up all of this oil.

Once it’s been about a minute, we’re going to add in our green onions and tomatoes. I’m using fresh roma tomatoes to keep it fresh. Compared to other seafood, mussels are actually very affordable.

This is a good way to entertain elegantly on a budget. Once those juices have rendered out and this causes a little bit, we’re going to go in with our wine.

I like to go ahead and add my salt now to help everything break down. Then you can season to taste later. Going in with the wine, a whole cup of wine.

Save some for your glass though. It’s a good measure. Add in a couple of tablespoons of butter. And a good amount of parsley.

If you wanted to make this spicy, you could add in some crushed red pepper, you could throw in some lemon juice, or whatever you like.

Bring this back up to a boil and let it reduce for a little bit, about 10 minutes and we’ll be ready to add our mussels in.

This looks amazing, I’m gonna give it a little taste for seasoning, and then we’ll go in with our mussels. Time for the stars of the show, to take their little bath. I’m gonna cover it up and let it go for about 10 minutes.

We’re going to cook them until they all open up. If there are any that did not open, we’re going to discard those because they are no good.

This smells incredible. I’m going to stir them around and make sure they’ve all opened. I’ve shown you how to clean them. I’ve shown you how to cook them. Now let me teach you how to eat them. You can serve this family style, or give everyone one large bowl, and then pour that heavenly broth over the top.

Y’all know these look like little packages of perfect bites, and for me, I don’t really need a fork, okay? The Mussel kind of does all the work. Just gonna break it open, and then you use your empty shell to scoop up some of that broth, and add it to it. Be sure you get some of the goodness, the garlic, the onion.

Okay, that’s how you build the bite. Now you eat it. Mm. It’s not like a big, huge piece of seafood, so it’s not overwhelming to eat.

They’re tender, and they’re packed with so much flavor, thanks to all that good broth. But, my favorite part. I could honestly make my whole meal just out of this.

The intimidation is gone now. You’ve got all the tips you need to make perfect mussels at home. See you next time.