elberry cove mussels

29-4-09
The first test after the layoff to allow the mussel to recover from spawning was extremely promising. Six average size mussels weigh 100 grammes and after one and a half minutes in the microwave at medium power the meat weight yeild was 40 grammes .
This is 40 % meat content which is an exceptional recovery due no doubt to the plentiful supply of phytoplankton (food source) circulating in Torbay.
We propose to bring in the first tank full after the May day bank holiday to test whether the mussels are robust enough to go through the depuration process.
The alternative mussels will still be available, until either they go through their spawning process, or the Elberry Cove Mussels are back in full production .

Spaghetti Cozze e Zafferano Gran Sapora

Browsing in a well known German supermarket in Malta I came across a small packet which had the word Zafferano, underneath the word was Gran Sapore .It had a picture of a flower on the front.On the back of the packet were what appeared to be two recipe's in Italian. One recipe was Spaghetti Cozze e Zafferano Gran Sapore.
Eventually the penny dropped, that the packet had three sachets of Saffron inside .
Enquiring in an Italian restaurant what was the word for mussels in Italian, they are known as Cozze.
i need to translate this recipe before I put it up on line; one of the Maltese managed a sort of translation but not that you could work with, so it will be up in the future.

However here is a recipe for Garlic and lemon mussels from an Italian cookbook I found in Malta

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1kg Mussels (Cozze)
6 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 chilli sliced
half a bunch of basil roughly chopped
4 Roma tomatoes (plum)
1 cup of white wine
1 teaspoon of salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon cut in wedges

1 Heat the oil in a heavy based sauce pan until almost smoking. Add the mussels, they should make a popping noise when they hit the hot oil, cook for 1 minute.
2 Add the garlic, chilli, basil, tomatoes, and white wine. Cover with a lid and cook for a further 4 minutes.
3 Discard any mussel which do not open during cooking.Season with salt and pepper. Serve with lemon wedges

When will they be ready?

We estimate the middle of May will be the earliest time that the mussels will have recovered when they will have a minimum of 30% meat content.
Contact the factory 01803843080 for the current situation regarding mussel supplies
We currently have Manilla Clams (Palourdes )nice quality coming from the South Coast excellent for Paella's etc
Oysters 80-110 grammes from Bigbury Bay , look after them and they are good for a week
We are hoping to have a source of cockles in May, contact the factory for an update if you are into Paella.s
Recipes coming later. Rob from the Nautilus in Teignmouth has a nice one with Thai green curry with our mussels .

The spring equinox and spawning time for Mejillones

Being wise after the event is not an option when mussels are about to spawn . In our case the decision was taken on 27-3-09
not to harvest and as it turned out it was fortuitous, as mussel which had been collected on Saturday 28-3-09 for the Taste of the West show at West-point Exeter when cooked produced 20% meat content. If the decision had been to continue harvesting it would have needed 20% more mussels in a sack to achieve the correct weight.
Normally spawning would have occurred during the high tides when the larvae would have drifted further , but probably due to the sea temperatures being down for the time of year they had waited until the sea temperature was correct, which would appear to have been the weekend 27-28th March .