Mussels

The mussel (Mytilus edulis) is a filter-feeding mollusc that lives attached to a substrate, feeding on plankton and other microscopic sea creatures that float in the water. They are exclusively sea-dwelling and live in both intertidal and submerged areas around the world’s coasts.

It is a quintessential Galician mollusc, farmed on mussel rafts for more than forty years, mainly in the Vigo, Pontevedra, Muros, Ares and Arousa estuaries. The use of new techniques for exploiting maritime resources led to the creation of salting factories in these areas, which in turn were the forerunners to today’s tinning industries, now found in great number all over the regions and their main source of wealth. The best time to enjoy them is spring, although they’re truly exquisite at any time of the year.

Mussels, thanks both to their quality and versatility, can be used in a range of different dishes. In Galicia, they’re normally eaten steamed, with a little lemon. 

They’re one of the most exquisite molluscs, rich in healthy fats (especially omega 3 fatty acids) and extremely nutritious, and the perfect food for diets aimed at preventing cardiovascular disease and cancer.

In other regions, they’re often accompanied by a vinaigrette sauce, found in escabeche, or enjoyed as “tigres”. To make “tigres”, well-cleaned mussel shells are used as a casing for a béchamel sauce combined with mussel meat, prawns and fish pieces, which are then coated in egg and breadcrumbs and fried inside the shell.