France’s mussel-growing is concentrated in Brittany, but some of the most prized mussels are from Normandy. Bouchot mussels from the bay of Mont-St-Michel are nurtured in the waters in front of the Benedictine abbey, and farmers have been using the same growing methods since the ninth century.

Dreaming of slurping up some good mussels in rich broth, my interest was piqued last week when I read that Kinkawooka Shellfish was celebrating their new season Petit Bouchot Mussels with a traditional cook up at both the Adelaide Central Market and the Adelaide Showground Farmers’ Market. Riding on a wave of success following their 2011 Delicious Magazine ‘Product of the Year’ award, Kinkawooka (an Aboriginal word meaning clear water) has again produced a small, seasonal crop of the classic French style petit bouchot mussels, adopting methods used in the traditional farming of mussels in France.

And so, last Sunday morning I rugged up and headed for the Farmers’ Market. I grabbed a strong, creamy latte from the Abbots & Kinney caravan at the entrance just as the bell ‘rang in’ the market, and made a beeline for the Kinkawooka stall.

Photo courtesy of Kinkawooka Shellfish

Soon I was talking mussels with Kinkawooka’s Andrew Puglisi, a fifth generation fisherman. I discovered that their petit bouchot mussels are only available from the beginning of June to the end of September, in limited quantity, before the launch of the mussel season. Characterised by their small size, soft and tender texture and sweet flavour they are one of the most prized eating mussels in Australia, and snapped up by chefs.

The revered shellfish company has developed a genius vacuum-packing system called sea-sure that re-creates the briny environment the mussels are plucked from, helping to reduce stress on the live mussels and preserve their natural sweetness and softness, resulting in a mussel that is far superior in freshness and flavour. It also means that live mussels can be whisked to domestic and overseas retailers within 48 hours of harvesting.

The Kinkawooka mussel farms are located in the deep, cold, pristine waters of the Great Southern Ocean on the West Coast of South Australia, with sites across Port Lincoln’s Boston Bay. A leader in the aquaculture industry in Australia, the company surpasses the most rigorous standards of quality assurance and is a standout in sustainable aquaculture, ensuring minimal impact on the environment. Like all of Kinkawooka’s mussel crops, les petits bouchots are seeded using spat harvested from the wild.

For me, the real drawcard is that these fresh-as-a-daisy mussels are pot ready; scrubbed clean, de-bearded and ready to go in 1 kg bags. Take away the usual prep time, and a meal of mussels is incredibly quick and easy to cook and plate up. Andrew also tells me that they are rich in omega 3, iodine, potassium, zinc and selenium, and have more iron than a fillet steak! Oh, and that old wives tale about throwing away any that are unopened after cooking – simply not true. Prise open and eat. Do, however, throw away any that don’t smell fresh and sweet.

After picking up a recipe with my mussels, a kind of moules marinières with cider, I gather a few other goodies called for in the recipe and head home for a cook up.

I melt a walnut-sized knob of butter, add a sliced shallot and a fat clove of tangy Bull Creek organic garlic.

Next, I glug in 100ml of apple cider from McLaren Vale Orchards, pour in my 1 kg bag of mussels and cook with the lid on for around 3 -4 minutes. Et Voilà! The mussels open. I throw in a handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley and stir in a tablespoon or so of incredibly thick and luscious crème fraîche from the Alexandrina Cheese Company, made from pure Jersey cream.

My recipe recommends Pepe Saya crème fraîche, a cultured cream made the authentic way. This Sydney company also creates a creamy cultured butter, so good that the hand churned, hand cut artisan pats are supplied to Qantas first class and business passengers on international flights. (South Australians can purchase Pepe Saya products from Say Cheese in the Adelaide Central Market.).

Photo courtesy of Kinkawooka Shellfish

I ladle the rowdy, clanging mussels into bowls and serve with rustic bread and cider. They are sweetly perfumed and soft, the broth wonderfully intense and as I slurp it up I am transported, for a moment, to France.

N.B. Kinkawooka mussels are also available at Foodland and Romeo IGAs around Adelaide, Samtass Seafoods in Keswick and at the Willunga Farmers’ Market on Saturdays.

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The award-winning Cheesery based in the Adelaide Hills is well known for its  delectable range of artisan cheese made from milk sourced from small, local dairies, but their foray into butter is relatively new. Determined to get my hands on a pat, I arrived early at the Showground Farmers’ Market on Sunday morning to snaffle a block to take home and slather on a fresh loaf of sourdough. Incredibly rich with a subtle blue vein flavour and curdly texture, this hand churned, cultured butter melted away immediately in my mouth.

There are two types of butter. In Australia, we are more familiar with ‘sweet cream’ butter, made from churned fresh cream that does not go through a ripening process. I fondly remember my grandmother making big pats of buttercup yellow butter with cream fresh from the cow. After being put through the separator, the cream was so thick that you could stand a jar of it upsidedown without spilling a drop.

The superior, ‘cultured’ butter is popular in Northern Europe where it has been produced and enjoyed for centuries. Made the time honoured way with slightly soured cream, it has a more complex flavour, a different texture and is very rich. If you are a butter lover planning a trip to France there are a number of beurres de baratte (traditional hand-churned butters) of exceptional quality from Normandy, Charentes and Isigny that will make you swoon…and then there is le beurre Bordier. Made by the celebrated Jean-Yves Bordier in Brittany this fabulous butter imparts an incredible richness to dishes and the grand chefs of France can’t get enough.

Still relatively new in Australia, there are just a handful of cultured butter makers in the country. Woodside Cheese Wrights make their butter with thick, naturally rich cream that is innoculated with cultures and set aside to ripen. After the buttermilk is removed it is washed with filtered water and sprinkled with South Australian Murray River pink salt.

There is nothing quite as delicious as good butter smeared on fresh bread but chatting at the Woodside stand at the farmers’ market I discover that Blue Butter goes exceptionally well with mushrooms. Simply pan-fry a medley of mushrooms in the butter, sprinkle the dish with fresh parsely and add a grinding of pepper. As is often the case with outstanding produce, it’s best to keep things simple in order for the flavours to speak for themselves. Apparently, the Blue Butter is wonderful on top of a steak. I imagine it would also be tasty melted into a hot baked potato, or used to finish a velvety cauliflower soup…With half a pat of butter left, I’d better get cooking!

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