mussel Mytilus edulis and allied species, an edible bivalve with worldwide distribution and importance. Their dark blue or blackish shells are a familiar sight at the seaside, and ‘wild’ mussels (if one can use the term for a creature of sedentary habits which feeds innocuously on the nutrients which it can filter out of sea water) have been gathered and eaten since remote antiquity. But the introduction of myticulture, as the culture of mussels is called, in France in the 13th century raised the consumption of mussels to a new plane; and the development in Spain of a new method of rearing mussels on ropes suspended from rafts has transformed the industry in the latter part of the 20th century.
Mussels grow in clusters, attaching themselves by means of a ‘byssus’ (numerous threads, produced by the mussel itself) to rocks or other supports such as jetties or gravel beaches. They can also attach themselves to the hulls of ships, and it is by this means that the main European species, M. edulis, has been spread all over the northern hemisphere. Other species important as food, or potentially so, are:
M. galloprovincialis, the Mediterranean mussel, which differs but little from M. edulis;
Motiolus barbatus, the bearded mussel, so called because it has a more noticeable ‘beard’; it has names such as cozza pelosa (Italian);
Mytilus californianus, a slightly larger species of the Pacific coast of N. America;
Perna viridis, the principal mussel of SE Asia, which has a greenish-black shell which turns yellow after exposure to the sun, and is larger still (maximum 20 cm/8", common market length only half as great);
various ‘horse mussels’ are less good fare than mussels proper.
The fan mussel (see fan shells) belongs to another family.
There are certain localities where ‘wild’ mussels of exceptional quality are found; but in general these mussels tend to be skimpy and their consumption is sometimes risky for reasons explained below. The overwhelming majority of mussels brought to market are cultured, and these should always be both plump and safe to eat. Their size, appearance, and flavour vary according to species, age, and place of culture. More than one place claims to produce ‘the best mussels in the world’. One such is Wimereux, near Boulogne in France, where the mussels are relatively small but have an excellent flavour and remarkably clean and pretty indigo shells. But myticulture is practised in so many places that it is doubtful whether anyone has ever been able to make a systematic comparison of all the competitors.
There are three principal methods of mussel culture. The most ancient, which is still the main method in France, involves fixing poles, known as bouchots, upright in marine mud flats and growing the mussels on these. The story has often been related of how an Irishman called Walton was shipwrecked in the Bay of l’Aiguillon on the French coast in 1235; how he decided to stay and make a living by trapping seabirds in nets held up by poles; and how his quick Irish wit led him to change vocation when he observed that the poles were soon covered with infant mussels. The same bay is still studded with bouchots, and they are also used on the French Mediterranean coast. This technique has the disadvantage that the mussels can only feed when the tide is in and they are covered with water.
A second method, used in the Netherlands and Denmark, consists in creating sheltered mussel ‘parks’. Forming these in flat and low-lying littoral zones such as the Wadden Zee is easy, and the mussels can be first reared in dense beds, then thinned out over a wider area to give them better feeding. Protection can be provided against predators, and the mussels benefit from being able to feed continuously. Harvesting is highly mechanized.
The third method, which now accounts for a very high proportion of the total output of mussels, is to anchor rafts in suitable bays, notably those in the north-west of Spain where conditions are ideal, and suspend from these numerous ropes on which the mussels can grow.
Consumption of mussels varies greatly from country to country, and is remarkably high in Belgium, for example, where Moules et frites (mussels and chips) are a national dish, although low (so far) in the USA.
Mussels can be eaten raw, but cooking is usually preferable. They play the main role in the French dishes Mouclade and Moules marinière; in the Italian Zuppa di cozze; and in Turkish dishes of stuffed mussels. They are used in the Spanish paella.
Although, as indicated above, mussels are safe if they have been professionally cultured and marketed, wild mussels must be treated with caution. They are by no means alone among shellfish in their capacity to harbour toxins, but they do present a somewhat greater risk than other bivalves, and they do from time to time cause PSP, paralytic shellfish poisoning. This typically occurs after there has been an abundance of a certain dinoflagellate planktonic organism in the water, an abundance which is often visible as the so-called ‘red tide’.
© the Estate of Alan Davidson 1999, 2006, 2014 © in the Editor’s contribution to the second and third editions, Oxford University Press 2006, 2014.
