# Mussels



## Chouan (Nov 11, 2009)

Having spent hours (seemed like) on Saturday afternoon cleaning mussels, for future reference, are those worm things on the surface of the shell harmful? Do they really need to be scraped off?


----------



## Woofa (Dec 23, 2014)

Well, I am no marine biologist but I can tell you that barnacles on your mussels are not a problem and in fact, it they are big enough, some people eat both the mussel and the attached barnacle. Usually you would clean off any barnacles on the outside before cooking but I have not heard of anything negative in leaving them on.
Having said that, these are obviously not barnacles and look to be some sort of worm shell. Nowadays in the states most of the mussels we buy are farm raised and come in very clean, a quick wash is more than adequate. I can remember my father bringing back fresh ones when I was a kid in New York and they always had plenty of crustaceans on the outside and we still ate them. I guess it would be prudent to make sure that there is nothing on the inside of the shell to indicate that such broke through the actual mussel shells and were just using them as an anchor. 

Boy, I do love mussels. In Fra Diavolo sauce, white wine, you name it.


----------



## Chouan (Nov 11, 2009)

Woofa said:


> Well, I am no marine biologist but I can tell you that barnacles on your mussels are not a problem and in fact, it they are big enough, some people eat both the mussel and the attached barnacle. Usually you would clean off any barnacles on the outside before cooking but I have not heard of anything negative in leaving them on.
> Having said that, these are obviously not barnacles and look to be some sort of worm shell. Nowadays in the states most of the mussels we buy are farm raised and come in very clean, a quick wash is more than adequate. I can remember my father bringing back fresh ones when I was a kid in New York and they always had plenty of crustaceans on the outside and we still ate them. I guess it would be prudent to make sure that there is nothing on the inside of the shell to indicate that such broke through the actual mussel shells and were just using them as an anchor.
> 
> Boy, I do love mussels. In Fra Diavolo sauce, white wine, you name it.


These were "wild", from the Isle of Lewis, in the Hebrides, and they were eaten with gusto by my brother-and-sister-in-law, as well as by son who is staying for a few days.
I did them with a couple of biggish shallots and a splash of olive oil and a knob of butter in a very large pan, to soften the shallots, then the mussels (5 kilos) and just over half a bottle of dry white wine from the Languedoc, along with three large bowls of french fries (thin chips!) and a loaf of pain rustique. A bottle of Cava and a bottle of Pinotage (and the rest of the vin de Languedoc) to accompany.


----------



## Langham (Nov 7, 2012)

The 'worm things' are just a cast. Their only likely offence is to the appearance of the dish. Mussels are one of my more favoured snacks but I must admit mine usually come from the supermarket. Your meal sounds most pleasant.


----------



## zzdocxx (Sep 26, 2011)

I had a pet barnacle one summer when we were staying at the beach when I was a small boy. He was stuck onto a sand dollar; we kept him in a little red bucket. Just had to give him fresh seawater every day. 

Well thanks for reminding me, I hadn't thought about it in so long !



Here is one like it:


----------



## Chouan (Nov 11, 2009)

Langham said:


> The 'worm things' are just a cast. Their only likely offence is to the appearance of the dish. Mussels are one of my more favoured snacks but I must admit mine usually come from the supermarket. Your meal sounds most pleasant.


It was indeed, and very gratifying to see the gusto with which people tucked in!
The "worm things" were mostly just casts or shell like structures, but many did have tiny red worms inside some of them.


----------



## Langham (Nov 7, 2012)

Chouan said:


> It was indeed, and very gratifying to see the gusto with which people tucked in!
> The "worm things" were mostly just casts or shell like structures, but *many did have tiny red worms inside *some of them.


That detail might have blunted my appetite, but I've been rather squeamish about worms in seafood since childhood - one day my mother brought home some cod from the market which proved to be riddled with white worms. Never eat cod in a month without an R in it.


----------



## Chouan (Nov 11, 2009)

Langham said:


> That detail might have blunted my appetite, but I've been rather squeamish about worms in seafood since childhood - one day my mother brought home some cod from the market which proved to be riddled with white worms. Never eat cod in a month without an R in it.


I know what you mean; I once had a piece of cod with a worm between the flakes and it put me off fish for months. 
On reflection, I'm sure that the little creatures, having been steamed in white wine, wouldn't be harmful, but they just looked a bit off putting. I'm also keen on a bit of reassurance from an expert that they're harmless!


----------



## Langham (Nov 7, 2012)

Chouan said:


> I know what you mean; I once had a piece of cod with a worm between the flakes and it put me off fish for months.
> On reflection, I'm sure that the little creatures, having been steamed in white wine, wouldn't be harmful, but they just looked a bit off putting. I'm also keen on a bit of reassurance from an expert that they're harmless!


I'm sure that cooking a thing in boiling wine not only kills it but makes it taste delicious. Where the Japanese err is in eating their fish raw; that is why, as a race, they suffer such a troublingly high incidence of trouble with intestinal parasites.


----------

