A mussel has a hinge that keeps its shell together, and well-cooked mussels should open slightly. “Pay close attention to what the shells of the mussels look like when they arrive,” says Matt ...

The first-of-its-kind project is happening in Lake Michigan near Milwaukee, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and ...

Mussels' stickiness works like this: They bind to surfaces using strands called byssus threads, which stream out from their shells like wild, sticky beard hairs.

Mussels are briny yet sweet and mild, with no “fishy” notes. The bite-size morsel inside the shell is succulent and tender — no rubber-band chewiness like with a clam.

Mussels have three large sets of adductor muscles -- one to attach to rocks, two to open the shell -- that can be unpleasantly chewy, like too much thick gristle on red meat.

Heat the remaining olive oil in the pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan, until the onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes.

Most people haven’t cooked many — if any — mussels in their lifetimes. Just the sight of that little cluster of blue-black shells is sometimes enough to send one scurrying back toward more ...

Most people haven’t cooked many — if any — mussels in their lifetimes. Just the sight of that little cluster of blue-black shells is sometimes enough to send one scurrying back toward more ...

Blue mussels like colder water and “start to struggle and even die at water temperatures near 80F,” Borkman wrote. “Much of the Bay, especially shallow areas where people might harvest from ...