Mejillón de Galicia

Appearance & taste

The shell consists of two equal-sized calcareous valves covered by a thin skin, the periostracum. Because the Rías Gallegas are home to a great variety of plants and animals, barnacles, brachiopods, bryozoans and algae often cling to it. The edible part inside is usually cream to orange and consists of two fleshy lobes bordered at the edge by a curved, dark purple band.

Each pack bears a label from the regulatory body with the logo, the words “Denominación de Origen Mexillón de Galicia Protegida” and control codes. Processed or preserved products in which these mussels are the only mussel component may, with authorisation, bear the statement “Elaborado con Denominación de Origen Protegida Mejillón de Galicia”.

Production

The mussels are farmed on bateas, floating platforms or rafts in the rías. All steps, from obtaining the mussel seed to processing the end product before sale, take place in the defined area. Before they go to market fresh, the mussels pass through a purification or dispatch centre in the coastal provinces of A Coruña or Pontevedra. So that their characteristics do not change, only seawater from the Rías Gallegas is used for this.

Tradition has given rise to a farming system of its own, with specially designed machines, working materials and a handed-down way of working, which according to the specification is known internationally as the “Galician system”.

Origin & history

The farming area is the inner waters of the Rías de Ares-Sada, Muros-Noia, Arousa, Pontevedra and Vigo. The rías are ecosystems with significant primary production. The mussel sits low in the food chain; its growth and meat yield depend directly on nutrient uptake. According to the specification, the uniqueness of the mussels lies in their adaptation to this ecosystem.

Even the first inhabitants of the Galician coast ate mussels, as evidence from the castros (fortified villages) and historical documents shows; the specification traces the link back to the 6th century BC. At the court of the Spanish Habsburgs there was the “escabeche real”, a royal marinade. Place names, family names, festivals and a vocabulary of its own such as “mexilla” (mussel farming) or “desdoble” (a step in farming) bear witness to the importance of the mussel; the farming platforms shape the landscape of the rías.