When you are in need of the shiny black-shelled types for your tapas or as a garnish for paella, the smaller, sweeter Mediterranean species are the ticket. Carlsbad Aquafarms raises these shellfish in a quiet lagoon close to I-5 in Northern San Diego. Pampered shellfish grow in long tubes of netting that suspend in seawater and dine on carefully tender homegrown red seaweed. When mature, they’re set in trays of pure, circulating water, so that small sand particles and other impurities are flushed away. Carlsbad sells about 500,000 pounds of mussels annually to restaurants such as McCormick & Schmick and the Chart House. Use them on your next gathering and taste the difference.
Tags: ingredients mussels, purchase fresh mussels, San Diego, tapas