Mussels

The season for mussels is usually between October to March. It is always a good idea to eat mussels the same day that you buy them, to make sure they are absolutely fresh. You can tell this by whether most of them are tightly closed or not; if a lot of them are open, don’t buy them.

As soon as you get the mussels home, put them straight into a bowl of cold water. Throw away any that float to the top. Under a running cold tap, take a small knife and scrape off all the barnacles. Also cut or pull off the little hairy ‘beards’. Discard any that are broken, and any that are open and don’t close up again when you tap them sharply with a knife.