FOOD VALUE OF SEA MUSSELS. 
“5 
Table: 9. — Showing Loss of Weight in Mussels Due to Drying. 
Date. 
Weight of 
flesh. 
Time in 
dryer. 
Weight after 
drying. 
Per cent of 
loss. 
Per cent re- 
maining. 
1907. 
August 28 
Ounces. 
10 S A 
Hours. 
13 
Ounces. 
3 K 
69. 4 
30. 60 
August 29 
25 
15 
5 y« 
79 - 5 
20. 50 
August 30 
60 
7 
17 *A 
7 °- 83 
29. 17 
1908. 
July 9 
29 
1 2 
7 S A 
73 - 7 i 
26. 29 
July 10 
24 K 
14 
6 A 
72 . 13 
27. 87 
July 12 
65 
20 
23 
64- 04 
3596 
July 15 
a 42 
25 
9 3 A 
76. 79 
23. 21 
July 16 
105 
18 
36 'A 
65. 48 
34 - 52 
August 10 
47 
17 
1 4 vs 
69 95 
30. 05 
Do 
37 
19 
n 3 /i 
68. 24 
31 - 76 
August 26 
24 
20 
6 3 A 
71. 84 
28. l6 
August 28 
30 
22 
7 ^ 
75. 00 
25 . OO 
Total 
499 
b i6§ 
149 3 A 
69. 99 
30 . OI 
“ Had been salted down 15 hours. 6 Average length of time in the dryer. 
The product of this treatment is a brown brittle substance with an unappetizing 
look and odor. The appearance is greatly improved by passing the material through 
a sausage grinder, which breaks it up into a mass of brown granules. In this condition 
it looks well when put up in glass jars or fiber-ware packages. The only remaining 
objection to it is an offensive alkaline odor. In attempts to eliminate this disagreeable 
quality I have treated both the raw and cooked flesh with salt, with vinegar, and with 
hydrochloric acid in various proportions and for various periods of time preliminary to 
the drying, but without success. The purpose of using the acid, which was in very 
dilute solutions, was to neutralize the alkaline compounds as fast as they were formed. 
Dried mussels which had been soaked in a 0.2 per cent solution of hydrochloric acid 
for two hours before desiccation were rendered remarkably free from any bad odor. 
After being bottled up for a few weeks, however, they acquired the smell so character- 
istic of the dried material. 
In spite of this offensive property the dried mussel can be used in preparing a very 
palatable soup or chowder. A better smelling variety will have to be produced, how- 
ever, before there can be a possibility of attaching commercial importance to it. 
The chief trouble with this process is that the drying is accomplished at a high 
temperature, where chemical changes within the food material are accelerated, causing 
the production in large quantities of undesirable substances. This difficulty is removed 
by means of an improved method of desiccation devised by Shackell (1909). Briefly, 
this consists in freezing the flesh, and drying it, while still in the frozen condition, in a 
vacuum. At this low temperature chemical changes practically cease and with the 
extraction of moisture a very stable substance is secured which will withstand all ordi- 
nary temperatures. Mussel flesh treated by this method shows remarkable properties. 
It retains the color and form of the fresh material; it is light and porous and can be 
easily crushed between the fingers. In air-tight bottles it may be preserved indefinitely. 
