KNOWING THE ROPES

Meet the man whose family Asda's mussels, grown in the icy, pristine seas off the Shetland Islands, north of the Scottish mainland

Michael Tait's family has been growing mussels since 1997, when his father William, a keen boatman, decided to set up an aquaculture farm in the Shetlands. It's a rural location that has little pollution and a good supply of plankton, making it a pristine growing environment.

Shetland Mussels now boasts a farm with nearly 2 million metres of ropes (that's almost 1,250 miles), on which the shellfish grow. The farm produces about 800 tonnes for Asda every year, for both pre-packed products and the fresh fish counters. Each mussel is farmed over three years. To transfer them to another site where there is more food available - it looks like a huge field in the middle of the sea! Here, they're put on fresh ropes, wrapped in a biodegradable cotton "sock" and hung down in the sea with a plentiful supply of food and space to flourish.' Once fully grown, the mussels are harvested, washed, covered in ice and taken straight to a distribution point in Glasgow where they are packed. It is this swift sea-to-shelf process that ensures the mussels are as fresh as can be. The resulting plump, meaty mussels are a source of pride for Michael. 'They have a nice marine taste rather than a fishy flavour because they're grown in cold, clean Scottish water,' he explains. 'And, as they never touch the bottom of the sea, they don't have a gritty texture. 'I love nothing more than cooking my mussels in garlic, white wine and cream - the classic moules mariniere. Perfect!' Asda Mussels, £1.50 (500g; £3/kg)