Tips for Choosing Green Shellfish and How to Cook to Be Safe to Eat

Nutritional and protein content in green mussels, relatively cheap prices make people choose it as an alternative to meat or crabs.

However, rumors have circulated about the danger of consuming green mussels, especially the captured shellfish from polluted seas around Jakarta and Tangerang.

Shellfish in Indonesian waters are also often polluted by heavy metals such as mercury. This heavy metal should not be consumed by pregnant women, because it can cause fetal defects or autism in prospective babies.

Even so, we can avoid the consumption of shellfish that have been contaminated with mercury by not buying shellfish from waters containing a lot of industrial waste (both liquid waste and waste from factory fumes).

You can still, eat green mussels, as long as you know the right moves in choosing and processing them. Here are tips for choosing green shellfish that are safe for consumption, according to FaktualNews.co from recipes:

1. Choose live green mussels

Usually, in one basket of green mussels there are shells that are still closed and which have been opened. My advice, you should only select shells that are still closed, because it indicates the shells are still alive. If the shells are still alive, the freshness is guaranteed automatically. Avoid choosing shells that are already open because it is a sign that the shells are dead and not fresh anymore.

2. Pay attention to the scent of green mussels

Another thing you can do to test the quality of green mussels is by inhaling the aroma. Fresh green mussels will usually emit a distinctive fishy aroma and naturally. Conversely, green mussels that are already bad will give off a pungent aroma, even an annoying foul odor.

3. Spread the green mussels

Aside from the aroma, you can also test the freshness of the green mussels by touching it. Try to notice the texture of the green seashell. If the texture is tight, it indicates that the green mussels are still fresh and worthy of consumption. But if it turns out that the green mussel shell is slimy, you should not buy it because you can be sure the inside of the green mussel is almost rotten.

4. Pay attention to the shape of the green shells

During this time, you may not pay attention to the shape of the green mussel when you buy it. Even though you can make these sizes as a benchmark you know the freshness of the green mussels. Fresh green mussels usually have a shape that tends to be flat and tightly shelled. If you find green mussels whose shells appear bulging, you should not buy them. Because this indicates that green mussels have been polluted, damaged, and not suitable for consumption.

How to Cook Green Mussels

Clean the clams by soaking them in salt water. Salted from salt will make the pores in the shells open, so that the dirt on the seashell will come out. To be completely clean, brush again the clamshell after removing it from the soaking water.

If you don't want to cook it right away or want to cook it again on another occasion, keep clean shells in a tightly closed container or jar, then place them in the freezer. Shellfish can be stored for about 2 weeks to 1 month. Never store shells by dampening them in water, because this actually causes an unpleasant or rotten odor.

Generally shellfish is cooked by steaming. If you want to steam the clams, just steam for 30 minutes. Don't steam the shells for too long, because this will cause the mussels to become soft and the toxins in the shells to come out.

In addition to steaming, how to cook a good clam is by roasting it. But, so that all the bacteria in the shells die and the shells ripen evenly, before baking, the clams should be steamed first. After being removed from the shell, seasoned according to taste, freshly baked.

Another way that is usually done to cook shellfish is to boil it. Boil the clams in water a little. After cooking, the shells will open automatically and remove the juice which makes the broth become delicious. If too much water is used to boil, this delicious sari will not taste and the sauce will be tasteless. So that the shells are cooked evenly, immediately remove the clams from the stew after the shell is fully open. But there is one note: shellfish cooked by boiling will lose a lot of nutrients. So cooking shellfish in this way is not recommended.