Mussels, which are filter feeders, have hard outer shells. Other mollusks include clams, oysters, and scallops. The only edible part of a mussel is the mussel meat inside its shell—the shell is inedible, and any foreign particles it contains are not for consumption.
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- How long soak clams before cooking? Soak your clams for 20 minutes in fresh water just before cooking. As the clams breathe they filter water. When the fresh water is filtered, the clam pushes salt water and sand out of their shells. After 20 minutes, the clams will have cleaned themselves of much of the salt and sand they have collected.
- Do you eat oysters raw or cooked? Don't eat raw or undercooked oysters or other shellfish. Fully cook them before eating, and only order fully cooked oysters at restaurants. Hot sauce and lemon juice don't kill Vibrio bacteria and neither does alcohol. Some oysters are treated for safety after they are harvested.
- Do oysters need to be cleaned? Whether you buy oysters from a fish market or from a grocery store, you'll have to clean them before you prepare or cook them. Oysters live in the ocean, where they collect dirt and debris on their shells. To make them fit for consumption, this dirt must be scrubbed from the outside of the shell.
- "How do you clean and make clams?" Prepare a large bowl. To purge clams of sand, fill up a large bowl with a mix of cold water and sea salt. Soak the clams. Let the clams soak in the salted water for 20 minutes to an hour. Remove the clams from the water. Scrub the clams clean. Rinse the clams.
- "How do you clean clams before cooking them?" Prepare a large bowl. To purge clams of sand, fill up a large bowl with a mix of cold water and sea salt. Soak the clams. Let the clams soak in the salted water for 20 minutes to an hour. Remove the clams from the water. Scrub the clams clean. Rinse the clams.
- How do you clean fresh mussels and clams? Place the mussels in a colander in the sink and run water over them, using your hands or a clean scrubbing brush to rub off any debris like seaweed, sand, barnacles, or mud spots that could be on the shell. If you find any mussels with open shells, lightly tap that mussel against the side of the sink.