How it is made
Blanched, then freeze dried: the mussel process word
Updated
Blanched mussels for dogs are mussels given a brief heat step before freeze drying, and that is what our blue-lipped mussels are. Blanched sits between raw and cooked, so we call ours neither raw nor fully cooked. Our scallops, shrimp and quail eggs are freeze dried raw; the mussels are the bag stated as blanched.
What does blanched mean?
Blanched means a brief heat step. That is all the word promises, and it is all we use it for. Our mussels get that step, and then they are freeze dried. After that they go into the bag as a single ingredient, blue-lipped mussels, with no additives, preservatives or fillers.
We stop at the definition on purpose. We have no times and no temperatures for the heat step, so this page has none. It also makes no claim about what the step does to a mussel, because nothing we hold says anything on that. The word describes a step in how the bag is made, and the page stays there.
Ours are blue mussels, a different species from green-lipped, in case that is the search that brought you here.
Why is a blanched mussel not called cooked?
Because a brief heat step is not the same as the word cooked, and we try to say what we know. The way we put it is neither raw nor fully cooked. That is the plain middle.
Calling the mussels cooked would sound simpler, and calling them raw would put them in the wrong bucket. Neither one is how the bag is described, so neither one appears here.
If you came looking for a one-word answer, the word is blanched. The mussels are imported shellfish, made into a freeze-dried treat in Malvern, Pennsylvania.
Where do the mussels sit next to our raw bags?
They sit on their own line. Here is how our bags break down by the process word each one carries:
- Freeze dried raw: octopus, frog legs, scallops, shrimp and quail eggs
- Blanched: mussels
- Not stated: Captain's Catch
That third line is a gap, not a hint. The medley's listing does not say, so neither do we, and you should not read raw or cooked into it. Our mussels vs scallops page puts the mussel and scallop labels side by side if you want the full comparison.
Each protein is its own bag with its own words, so check the bag you hold.
Does blanching change how you handle the bag?
For storage, no change. Same resealed bag, same cool and dry spot, and the listing calls the mussels shelf stable.
For hands, nothing is printed. The mussel listing has no hand washing line, so we do not quote one. Two of the raw bags are different: the shrimp and quail egg listings do carry a washing line. For seafood in general, washing up afterward is a habit that costs a few seconds, and that is the extent of our advice.
What does the word blanched not tell you?
Quite a lot, and it is worth being clear about. Blanched does not give you a temperature, a time or a method. It is not a statement about any outcome for your dog either.
We use it as a description of how the product is made. Whether a mussel suits a given dog is a question for your veterinarian, and the first thing to know is that mussels are shellfish, specifically mollusks. The listing also says mussels are rich, so keep the count low.
These mussels are a treat, an extra and not a complete diet. If a dog eats to a prescribed plan, your veterinarian should hear about the mussels first. The mussels for dogs page has the rest of the label, and the guides hub lists everything else we have written.
Questions
Is blanched the same as boiled?
We cannot say. Blanching is a brief heat step, and we have no method, time or temperature for it, so we do not state whether it is boiling or anything else. We use the word as our product facts give it and add nothing.
Do I still wash my hands after handling blanched mussels?
No hand washing line is printed for the mussels. Washing up after handling any seafood is a sensible habit, so we would do it. The raw bags are different: scallops, shrimp and quail eggs are freeze dried raw, and their pages say so.
Is the baby octopus blanched too?
No. The baby octopus is freeze-dried raw. Raw is the same process word our scallops, shrimp and quail eggs carry, which leaves the mussels on a line of their own. They are the one bag we describe as blanched, and the word stays with them.
Are the scallops blanched?
No. Scallops go into the freeze dryer raw, and nothing else is in that bag. The mussels are the shellfish bag stated as blanched, which is why the two bags carry different process words even though both are mollusks.
Does blanching explain the crunch?
The listing does not connect the two, so we will not either. Our scorecard puts the mussel crunch at 4 of 5 and the training value at 3 of 5, and those are scores for the finished piece, not an account of how it got that way.
Can cats have the blanched mussels?
The same bag is listed for cats, and the size suits a cat. No cat portion is printed, so the amount is your veterinarian's call, and the listing's keep-the-count-low line covers mussels in general.