If you do collect your own mussels, make sure the waters are unpolluted. They are at their best in the colder mussels cooking time outside the breeding season.

Shop around when buying mussels and select those with tightly closed shells, avoiding any that are broken. Plump, juicy flesh and a succulent taste of the sea is what you are looking for once they are cooked. Unless you know how fresh they are, always eat mussels on the same day you buy them. Carefully place the blue-black mussels into a sinkful of cold water and discard any that stay open when tapped. Pull away their beards and, if you are presenting them in their shells, it’s a good idea to give them a good scrub, scraping off any barnacles. A final couple of rinses will ensure a sand-free meal. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Read about our approach to external linking. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. In most marine mussels the shell is longer than it is wide, being wedge-shaped or asymmetrical. The external colour of the shell is often dark blue, blackish, or brown, while the interior is silvery and somewhat nacreous. The common name “mussel” is also used for many freshwater bivalves, including the freshwater pearl mussels. Freshwater mussel species inhabit lakes, ponds, rivers, creeks, canals, and they are classified in a different subclass of bivalves, despite some very superficial similarities in appearance.