2.

7 Impurities on Shellfish

Molluscs, specifically green mussels are known to be burrowers in the sediment.

Cleaning green mussels is quite tedious. First, they need to pass through periodic changing of
water to rid them of impurities. Then, they need to be soaked in clean water to purge them of
impurities such as sand, grit and other impurities that are found and trapped inside the shells.
This step can take anywhere from half an hour to a couple of hours. For best result, periodically
change the water during soaking. To some, it is customary to soak mussels with vinegar at room
temperature since the mussels will die in the fridge not to mention refrigeration is not available
in some rural areas because of having no access to electricity, and in those circumstances, their
only option is to soak the mussels at room temperature.

In soaking the mussels, the shellfish are basically being forced to breathe in an
environment which has cleaner water to filter out the impurities. And to prolong the filtering
process the mussels have to be in an environment similar to their natural habitat. The
temperature under the sea ( or lakes or bays in the case of freshwater molluscs) is not the same
as room temperature in a tropical country, especially during summer. It is much cooler
underwater.At room temperature, the heat and humidity will make any shellfish spoil fast. In
order to keep them from spoiling ice is usually added in the water to lessen the temperature.
The cold keeps them fresh longer.

The water is changed periodically after some time or else the mussels will breathe
in the impurities that was just expelled and the process would become useless.

In using vinegar as a medium for soaking the mussels, it will affect the texture of
the mussel meat.

Salt is used as a preservative. Using salt in soaking the mussels makes sense since
they came from salt water and it imitates their habitat. Thus, salt also helps in preserving and
maintaining the mussels fresh.