Test for fresh mussels, step by step
Mussels still have to live before they end up in the cooking pot. Even with really fresh goods but it may happen that dead shells are there and must be sorted out. I've written down the most important rules that can be used to ensure step by step that afterwards you only have pure enjoyment on your plate.
- Rinse mussels in cold water and clean thoroughly with a coarse brush from the outside. The mussels should smell of sea, algae and mussels, so rather pleasant.
- They smell unpleasant or putrid, you have to be careful, because that is the sign that spoiled shells are there. That does not mean you can not eat them all, but you have to sort them out carefully. Sometimes only a few mussels are present, which are damaged and thus no longer edible and the much larger part is flawless. However, if the clams smell like ammonia (like urine) then that would be a great alarm and you should bring the shells back to where they were bought and complain.
- So, sort out all the damaged shells and throw them away. Then sort out all the open clams, but do not throw it away. Mussels open out of the water after a while to breathe. Open mussels can therefore still live and be edible. We do the knocking test and tap the shell several times on the worktop. Put aside.
- The remaining shells, which are closed and whole, we put in a large bowl of cold water, where they stay for an hour or two. If the shells have taken up sand, it is repelled now.
- By the time the other clams from the knock test have closed, they are still alive and come to the others in the bowl we will eat. If they are left open, they are dead and we throw them away.
- Make the mussels after a thorough washing and watering according to the recipe. Please keep in mind that mussels are living creatures and have not deserved a slow death, so please always in the already boiling liquid.
- After cooking, only eat all the mussels that are wide open. If there are some that are closed, they were already dead. They are not eaten! With shells that have opened only a crack, you take no risk and you do not open them by force, but puts them aside for later disposal.
This ensures that the delicious mussels are also pure enjoyment. Here at FM there are some delicious recipes, after "Mussels Op Rhenish" I have prepared the mussels from the photo. Trying out is worth it, so have a good appetite!
