Mussels are some of the cheapest but most delicious entrées or meals you can prepare yourself. Packed full of nutrients, this healthy food from the sea can find its way to your plate very often. They are easy to prepare with plenty of variety in preparation. Let’s find out exactly how many mussels there are in one pound and if that one pound will be able to sustain you as a meal.
One pound of mussels in the shell will generally yield about twenty mussels. One pound of mussels is a serving for one person’s meal, or half a pound as an appetizer or light meal. One serving of mussels in the shell yields three to four ounces of meat, a perfect meal that is low in calories.
A serving of mussels can give you the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that other proteins only wish they could come close to. Not only that, but you can cook mussels in so many variations that your next plate of mussels can taste vastly different from the last. Quantities of mussels will vary according to size, so let’s see how many pounds of mussels you need to buy for your next meal.
How Many Mussels Are There In One Pound?
A meal consisting of mussels is ideal for cooking if you are still new and unsure how to prepare seafood. That’s because of their simplicity. Mussels are one of the easiest and quickest meal options for someone with little to no experience in the kitchen and still an easy way to impress dinner guests with your culinary skills.
However, there are a few essential and fundamental things to know about mussels. A pound of mussels is a whole serving for one person. That may seem like too much, but this serving is still with the shell. Once you have removed the shells from the delicious mussel meat, you will have a serving of only three to four ounces of mussels.
Depending on their size, there should be approximately 20 mussels in a one-pound pack of shelled mussels. And yes, this is enough for one serving, especially if you want to switch to a healthier diet. One serving of this superfood will provide you with more protein and nutrients than some other proteins.
The Nutritional Content Of A One Pound Serving Of Mussels
When you serve mussels steamed in a wine brine with some other clean and fresh ingredients, you get a superb meal that’s full of nutrients and vital minerals. They are low in calories but with very high protein content. As long as you keep the calories down with your other ingredients, you will have a meal that’s good enough for even the strictest connoisseurs and health nuts.
The FDA recommends that you have a diet that contains seafood, which includes mussels that can be very beneficial to your body’s health as long as you are not allergic and don’t eat them too often.
One pound of mussels, which equals three to four ounces of meat, will supply you with 40% of the protein your body requires daily and about a third of the iron value you need in a day. Just one serving of mussels every week or every second week will make you much healthier.
Adding mussels to your weight loss diet, and keeping to the serving guide of one pound of mussels per person, can make a massive difference to your health because of mussels’ nutritional value in your diet. Here are some of the benefits that you can get from having mussels as one part of your healthy eating habits:
- Mussels are high in protein; they typically contain about 20 grams of protein per one-pound serving.
- Mussels are low in fat. In fact, a single serving (one pound of mussels, with their shells) provides 150 calories and only 4 grams of fat.
- Mussels contain Omega 3, which tremendously benefits your heart and brain health.
- They are high in zinc, giving your body and cells the boost they need.
- Mussels are high in iron, improving your red blood cells’ efficiency in getting oxygen to all the essential parts of your body.
- A single serving of mussels provides Vitamin A, B2, and B12, thus giving your body a natural immune booster that is also beneficial for cell growth.
A Guide To Purchasing One Pound Of Fresh Mussels
Mussels that you find fresh at the fish market are farmed mussels, and many of the frozen mussels that you can purchase in the grocery store are farmed mussels as well. This is a good thing since mussels are filter feeders, and farmed mussels are not exposed to polluted ocean water, with less of the dirt and toxins that you would find with wild mussels.
This fact makes farmed mussels cleaner than wild mussels. Also, when you find them fresh at fish markets and grocery stores, you will find them loose or in a mesh bag on a bed of ice or even in trays modified to provide higher oxygen levels. This is to keep them fresher for longer. Despite all of these efforts, it doesn’t always mean that every mussel you find fresh will still be alive.
There are a few things to look out for when you are purchasing your one pound or more of fresh mussels. You should avoid dull shells at all costs. Their shells should also not have any cracks or dents, and there should be no broken shells. These are all sure signs of dead mussels that are not as fresh as you’d hoped.
You should make sure that the shell of the mussel is closed firmly. If they are slightly open, you can give the shell a gentle tap with your finger. If it closes, that is a good sign that you are about to purchase live mussels that are as fresh as possible. If it stays open, that mussel is dead, and one dead mussel can ruin the entire meal that you are about to prepare.
Do not be afraid to smell the mussels at the market. This is one of the most straightforward tests apart from checking the shells. The mussels should smell like the fresh ocean, slightly salty. Do not buy the mussels if you get even the faintest hint of something smelling “fishy” or dead.
Conclusion
Finally, it is time for you to set out and find your pound of mussels and a bottle of your wine of choice and explore the endless possibilities. Test out your culinary skills with meals or an entrée that will be ready in ten minutes. Remember the recommended quantities, and don’t overdo it. You can always have some more later in the week. For now, cook your one pound of mussels, and enjoy!
References
- https://food52.com/hotline/10669-how-many-mussels-average-from-maine-are-in-a-pound-how-many-pounds-for-12-people
- https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/articles/a-guide-for-buying-and-cooking-mussels
- https://www.livestrong.com/article/282297-mussels-nutrition-information/
- https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/selecting-and-serving-fresh-and-frozen-seafood-safely
