Edible Seashore by John Wright

Author:John Wright
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781408896297
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2017-03-13T04:00:00+00:00

There is no EU minimum landing size but local byelaws often set one – anything from 45mm to 51mm. Mussels can grow to a massive 15cm and live up to 20 years, but such aged monsters are rare, with most beds consisting of just three year classes (one-, two- and three-year-olds) and 70mm being about the largest you will find. If you encounter a bed where the Mussels are clean, neat and all about the same age, it is very likely to be a commercially laid bed and will be, alas, out of bounds.

There is an unfortunate complication that clouds Mussel collecting in Scotland. In that fine country all the Mussels (and Oysters) are owned by the Crown and, technically at least, it is illegal to gather them without the express permission of the Crown Estate. Fortunately the collecting of Mussels (though not Oysters) for personal use is tolerated and it is most unlikely that the Scottish forager would face the prospect of explaining his or her activities to the local magistrate.

Collecting Mussels is a straightforward matter – just gently twist them free, taking care not to dislodge too many of their diminutive neighbours. Never worry about encrusting barnacles; they will just make your dinner seem all the more authentically wild.

Sometimes you will find that the Mussel contains one or two tiny pea crabs, Pinnotheres pissum. These are rather startling creatures when first encountered as they live, permanently, within the Mussel and not just in the shell. However, there is no reason why they cannot be eaten along with their host – they taste of crunchy Mussel. The relationship between host and guest has been the subject of much fanciful speculation over the years, the wildest notion being that the Crab acts as ‘lookout’ against marauding cuttlefish. In fact the relationship is one of mild parasitism, with host Mussels tending to be underweight.

How to eat

Just before cooking, give your Mussels a good scrub under cold running water to remove anything you don’t like the look of, and debeard them by pulling away the byssal threads, which will otherwise remain attached to the Mussel flesh (I use pliers to do this, they can be very tough on the wild animal).

There is nothing complicated about cooking Mussels. The simplest and arguably the best way is to simply steam them with a splash of white wine, a knob of butter and a chopped garlic clove for 3–4 minutes in a tightly covered frying pan.

For more recipes, see here, here, here.

P.S. The byssal threads that anchor Mussels to rocks are remarkable pieces of biochemical engineering. These tough little protein tethers are much more complex than they look, consisting of a rigid part, a shock-absorbing spring section, an adhesive ‘foot’ and a protective ‘varnish’ layer. The ‘foot’ is the most interesting part as it contains one of the best glues on the planet. It can stick to rock (obviously), glass, plastic, metal, skin and even Teflon. It also works (again obviously) underwater. Much effort has been expended by industrial chemists in synthesising this glue.

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