Texel mussels are found in the Wadden Sea on the east side of Texel. Along the coast, you are allowed to collect your own mussels.

Collect your own mussels

You can collect mussels for at least nine months of the year. The only time you can’t is from mid-April to early July. During this period, they are not suitable for consumption because this is the spawning season. The best time to collect mussels is at low tide. So, pull on your wellies, grab a small bucket and start collecting!

Clean thoroughly

Mussels suck sand into their shells. Obviously, you don’t want to eat that. Rinse the mussels in cold water at home, then put them in a container with cold water for a while. Remove the beards (stringy bits). Discard the mussels that didn’t close up because these are not edible.

Try Wadden Sea mussels

Do you want to taste the mussels without collecting them yourself? Visrestaurant 't Pakhuus serves a pan of Wadden Sea mussels. Reservation recommended.

Recept met Texelse mosselen

Did you collect your own mussels and do you want to prepare a Texel dish with them? Check out this recipe:

• Pan of Texel mussels with cockles and lamb sausage

The recipe in this article is courtesy of Annette van Ruitenburg, author of the cookbook De Smaak van Texel.