are floating mussels bad?

Question

i just bought a bag of fresh mussels and when i tried to wash them i saw that most of them are floating in the water and some on the bottom, i remember i read that we should discard floating mussels,it didn't say why. is that true?

Answer 1

Mussels are even more touchy than clams so be careful. Your mussels shouldn't need too much scrubbing if you bought them in a store or fish market (rather than harvesting them yourself). They are grown offshore in bags so do not contain much sand or grit.

If you have rinsed the mussels, immediately place them in a bowl covered with a damp cloth or paper towels in the fridge until you use them (tonight, I hope!) When you cook them, throw away any that haven't opened within three or four minutes. Sometimes your mussels will simply float because they close up so tightly to protect themselves. It can be a good thing and mean that they are alive. If you find any that are wide open and don't close when you strike them (with a knife), they are probably dead and you should not eat them. Enjoy your meal!

Answer 2

Floating Mussels

Answer 3

Oh no. Just apologize and toss it in the pot. Mussels spoil quickly after expiring, so don't pull out the beards more than a few hours before they are to be cooked. But whether the mussel is open slightly or tightly closed is not the issue. The question is whether it is spoiled. You should be able to tell by smell. A fresh mussel should smell like a clean beach.



When you start working with mussels, if one is gaping wide open, it's probably dead and somewhere along the journey to spoiling. Ones that are open only slightly, a quarter of an inch or so, can be tapped, and should close within a half minute or so. James Peterson, author of Fish & Shellfish (Canada, UK), says the surest way to determine if a mussel is still among the living is to firmly push the shells sideways in opposing directions with your thumb and forefinger (not your pliers). If the mussel is dead, the shells will fall apart in your hand.

Answer 4

Firstly, pick over the mussels and discard any open ones that refuse to spring closed when they’re lightly tapped; failure to do so means they’re dead and their freshness is in question, so definitely don't risk cooking the odd one or two in this category.

Secondly, discard any with broken shells as these too would certainly be questionable.

Fill the sink with cold water and one by one scrub the mussels, removing barnacles and tugging off the "beard".

You'll need to inspect mussels that are unusually heavy, as these are usually full of sand when you open them.

Rinse thoroughly several times before cooking as you really don't want a mouthful of grit or mud.

Don't leave live mussels standing too long in fresh water, or they will die and be useless.

Although they need a bit of work before you get to the cooking stage, mussels are ridiculously easy to cook.



Cooking mussels is easy. Add them as specified in a recipe to a pan of water, stock or wine – usually onions and/or garlic are softened in a little oil or butter first – then cover and bring the liquid back to a boil and allow to simmer for a minute or two. The mussels will cook in this short time, over-cooking should be avoided as it can lead to a rubbery texture. The mussels will open when they’re cooked, if you see a rogue one that refuses to open, simply remove it as you finish off the recipe.

Answer 5

try to slide the mussell shells together. (side to side) if they are tight with no movement of the shell they are alive and well. if they move side to side easily, then discard. live mussels can have air trapped in the shells which may make them float.

Answer 6

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If they are open,tap the shells against the sink, if the close they are alive and fine.If they do not close, they are dead and should be thrown. ( cold water can actually kill the mussels)

Answer 7

Yes, do not use ones that float or ones that are open because they are dead. When they die they the get air in their chambers.

Answer 8

yea their bad..

Answer 9

ummm...