Umay FR

Species sheet · The Edible Ocean

blue mussel

It holds to the rock by threads it makes itself, one at a time.

  • Marinière with shallot and white wine
  • Stuffed with garlic butter, grilled
  • In a creamy, mildly curried mouclade
blue mussel in its natural habitat, Umay image
Mytilus edulis · Umay image, generated from a reference photograph — Olivier Dugornay, CC BY 4.0
In French
Moule commune
Scientific name
Mytilus edulis
In the water
Benthic; brackish; from 0 to 60 m; often on the shore, lashed to hard surfaces by its byssus threads.
Season & buying
Mid-July to the end of January, peaking between August and November; between March and June the flesh turns milky with spawning, best left alone.
Common length
~11 cm
How to identify it
Almond-shaped, blue-black shell
Pearly, bluish interior
Clustered in bunches by tough threads

On the plate

Briny and tender, the taste depends mostly on the growing method: post, rope or open sea.

Avoid: Keeping the ones that stay shut after cooking: they were already dead before.

Its byssus inspired a surgical glue: the threads hold underwater on wet rock, which no industrial adhesive could do.

In Umay recipes

13 Umay recipes call for it.

Mussels with GorgonzolaPoached yellowtail snapper in spicy mussel broth with silky carrot ribbons and egg yolkMussels in coconut curry sauceFish cassouletCioppino (San Francisco Seafood Stew)Seafood Boil with Cajun Garlic ButterBreakfast yogurt, fruit, and granola popsiclesLinguine allo scoglio (seafood linguine)Jalea (Peruvian crispy mixed seafood platter)Moules marinièresSeafood cataplanaArroz de mariscoSeafood fideuà