Why fresh mussels are best
We know how lucky we are here at Eyre Peninsula Seafoods. We are surrounded by the pristine waters of Boston Bay, where we farm our premium mussels all year round. We eat our mussels fresh, as they are brought in from harvest. And we have developed a process so you can enjoy the taste of fresh mussels from your own kitchen.
The difference between fresh mussels and frozen
Our fresh mussels are soft, small and sweet. When you bite into them, they burst with a rich and creamy flavour. Whether you cook mussels in white wine or prefer garlic mussels, they will adapt to the flavour profile of the meal… with a bang!
If you freeze fresh mussels, you will find a huge loss in both the sweetness and the texture of the mussel. It doesn’t make for a pleasant eating experience. Fresh is how mother nature intended mussels to be eaten.
If you do want to freeze your mussels, it’s best to cook them first and then freeze. Steam them, freeze them and then defrost to enjoy in your favourite mussel recipe.
The mussel harvest process
It helps to understand the mussel farming process that produces the fresh mussels. In winter, our farmers collect wild spat – i.e. baby mussels – and reseed them onto longline ropes. The ropes never touch the ocean floor, so they are free from grit.
Over the next 6-12 months, the mussels feed off the nutrient-rich waters, developing into the flavoursome mussels that will end up on your plate.
Once we harvest the mussels, they are stored on ice with an extra dose of seawater until we return to land. From there they are scrubbed, cleaned, debearded and packaged within hours to keep the mussels fresh on their journey to you.
Pot ready fresh mussels
To keep our mussels as fresh as when plucked from the ocean, we developed the innovative SeaSure packaging. This packaging helps to maintain the sweetness of the mussel, so every mussel in every packet is a premium eating mussel. Our mussels are sold live. The mussels are scrubbed, cleaned and debearded so you can enjoy delicious mussels without the fuss of preparation.
When live mussels are stressed, it impacts the flavour. Our packaging minimises the stress on the mussel by adding an extra dose of oxygen saturated water.
This helps to recreate the water environment from which the mussels have come so they can stay stress free for 10 days. Store them in the fridge and you will enjoy chilled out and delicious mussels!
Our SeaSure packaging is exclusive to Eyre Peninsula Seafoods and our premium brands – Boston Bay Mussels and Kinkawooka Shellfish.
Premium fresh mussels
Fresh mussels don’t only taste amazing, they are incredibly good for you. Mussels have more protein than fillet steak and they are packed with a raft of nutrients, including zinc, vitamins A and B12, selenium, iodine and omega 3 fatty acids. Mussels are low in fat… and high in flavour!
You can pick up a packet of our premium fresh mussels from your local supermarket or premium seafood retailer.