You may have heard less about mussels, but when you see the green mouth, mussels, and rainbows on the menu, it is estimated that you will immediately realize it.
For these shellfish, which are called differently in each place, don't worry, let the Food Herald teach you to distinguish today.
When it comes to small seafood, the most common is a variety of "shells". Since the beginning of human civilization, our ancestors have had a tradition of eating shellfish, and the earliest archaeological evidence found so far is the shell mound at the site of the Hachi Kingdom, about 300,000 years ago, perhaps not from the ancestors of modern homo sapiens, but from other humans.
Our ancients were also very fond of eating all kinds of shellfish, and according to records, the ancestors not only knew how to eat them, but also summed up what kind of shellfish were delicious. In the "Continuation of the Four Ming Dynasties", there is a record of mussels "having purple halos in the shell mouth and being fat". The term "mussel" here has been used to this day, although most of the time we still call it by some other name. So today, we're going to talk about them.
Of these names, we are most familiar with three: mussels, mussels, and rainbows.
Qingkou, as the name suggests, is "Qingkou"
First of all, let's talk about "Qingkou".
Several kinds of mussels are produced along the southern coast of China, of which the large-scale breeding is the "emerald mussel", especially in Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other places in China. Because the front half of the shell of the emerald mussel is often greenish brown, the name "green mouth" is given.
In general, emerald mussels, also known as green mouths, are the largest of the edible mussels, under normal circumstances, the shell is about 8-11 cm long, but the shell meat inside is only 4-8 cm, usually only accounting for about 2/3 of the volume of the hollow part of the entire large shell. Therefore, many people will feel that "the shell is big and the meat is small" when eating green mouths, and this feature is the iconic feature of the emerald mussel.
However, due to the "small meat", in recent years, some people have begun to think of importing green mouths, and some "big meat" green mouths from the other side of the ocean have also been sent to our table.
Among them, New Zealand's Munchot is the most common. Its scientific name is "green-lipped mussel", and the emerald mussels produced along our coast belong to different varieties of the same family, mainly from areas such as New Zealand's Golden Bay. It is characterized by fast growth, large and fat meat, after 18-24 months of breeding, they can grow from less than 5 mm seedlings to 9-12 cm adults (up to 24 cm), to reach the market specifications.
Mussels, small heads full of flesh
Having said mussels, let's talk about mussels.
In some places, "mussels" sometimes refer to dried mussels, including mussels. However, the real mussel actually refers to the "thick-shelled mussel".
This mussel is mostly produced in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, and is also found in the coastal areas of Fujian and the Pearl River Delta. The appearance of mussels is characterized by a pure black shell, almost without blue, yellow and other colors, but the size is relatively small, generally 4-8 cm long, but compared to the flattened appearance of the green mouth, it appears "swollen and bulging". The mussel meat is also relatively full, usually accounting for 80% or 90% of the total shell.
Despite this, mussel meat is always relatively small, and it is troublesome to eat, so people come up with a way to eat it after drying. Because of the "shrinkage" after drying, dried mussel meat is generally only about the size of the fingernails commonly known as "dried mussels"; and if the shellfish is large enough and the growth year is longer, it can be dissected into a higher price "dried butterfly".
Rainbow, moderate size is rare in the south
Finally, let's talk about Haihong.
The name Haihong is rare in the south, but it is common in the north. But it is no wonder, because the main production area of the rainbow "purple mussel" is in the north. The size of the purple mussel is not large, smaller than the green mouth, slightly larger than the mussel, the shell is thinner and the purple hair is blue, the appearance is a bit like the combination of the green mouth and the mussel, so in order to distinguish it from the green mouth, it is also called "blue shell".
Thin shells, not mussels
In addition, in addition to these green mouths, mussels, and sea rainbows that we are familiar with, there are also some common mussels, such as the golden mussels of freshwater mussels from the Yangtze River Basin (golden shells), and the Far Eastern mussels produced in the indian Ocean waters (greener shells).
It is worth mentioning that we usually see a kind of sea melon seed that is similar in appearance to mussels, but is very small, that is, a thin shell, which is not actually a mussel, and they are the same kind as "clams" such as flower shells, named rainbow bright cherry clams and smooth clams.
Foreigners are more particular about eating green mouths
As the "three major pieces" of mussels (including oysters and scallops), green mouths, mussels, and rainbows, in addition to blanching, stir-frying, and charcoal burning, we can also cook soup, roll porridge, etc. The way of eating is very similar, so I will not express it one by one.
On the contrary, in foreign countries, the eating method of green mouth is more exquisite, and it is said that they are even on a par with oysters in terms of edible status. The way to eat them is usually to cook them and cut them open, then pile them on ice cubes and freeze them, and squeeze some lemon juice when eating. If you are careful, French chefs usually cook white wine, onions, garlic and cream into a sauce, add green mouth and bring to a boil. Fill the broth with a huge shell, take a small sip, the delicious taste makes people want to die, bite the shellfish, fat and juicy. The authentic French way to eat is to eat it with a stick or fries dipped in a green soup, accompanied by a glass of frozen champagne.
More exquisite people, eat mussels also have to divide the male and female. In the case of mussels, for example, the sexually mature females of green-lipped mussels are very well distinguished: the reproductive glands of male shells are milky white, and the reproductive glands of female shells are bright yellow to pink. Generally speaking, the male green mouth is more refreshing and elastic, while the female green mouth is more fat and tender.
Today's topic
Mussels, mussels, and rainbows, which do you prefer?
Author today
Feng Ruijun
Edit & Typography
Peng Rouqi
Some of the image sources are integrated networks