There’s a lot to like about mussels. They’re among the most affordable types of seafood and have one of the lowest mercury levels of any seafood. Mussels are also a very versatile ingredient. They’re great steamed baked boiled and fried in soups over pasta or all on their own with a generous dollop of garlic butter. A major factor in the culinary versatility of these mollusks is the fact that there are a few different types of mussels that each lend themselves to certain preparations. Choosing the right mussels for the job is essential for a successful meal.
| Channel | Publish Date | Thumbnail & View Count | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
 Insider Science | 2019-12-20 22:00:04 |  1,294,582 Views |
What's in a mussel?
There are seven main types of clams sold in the United States. On the West Coast you’ll find the Pacific razor clams Manila clams and the famous giant geoduck clams. On the East Coast you’ll find surf clams and jackknifes but none of these are as common as hard-shell and soft-shell clams. Hard-shell and soft-shell sound like generic descriptions but they actually refer to two specific types of clams. Chances are you’ll come across these at some point especially if you live on the East Coast so let’s set the record straight because the names of these types aren’t really helpful.
Softshell mussels refer to the species Mya arenaria which is found primarily along the northeastern coast of the United States. You might think that softshell mussels resemble softshell crabs in that their shells are soft and therefore edible but in reality the name is not so simple. Softshell mussels have thin shells but they are not really soft to the touch. They are actually quite brittle and you can find traces of the crumbled shells in the sand where these mussels are harvested. The other important characteristic of softshell mussels is that they have very large necks (technically known as siphons) so large in fact that the mussels cannot close their shells completely.
Soft shells go by a variety of names. They are often called steam clams as steaming is a particularly popular way to prepare them. They are also known as Ipswich clams after the coastal town in Northern Massachusetts where they are particularly common. These clams are about 2 inches wide when fully grown and spend their time in sandy intertidal zones. If you go hunting for soft shells on the beach you can spot them by the small jets of water they squirt out of their burrows in the sand. This characteristic has earned soft shells their most colorful nickname pisser clams although you probably won't see them on many menus.
