Mussels that are cooked, then packed in a tin with sauce or oil. Most come from Galicia, where mussels grow on floating rafts called bateas. They arrive ready to eat with no cooking required.

A Spanish marinade of oil, vinegar, paprika, and bay leaf. It is the most common preparation for canned mussels and gives them a tangy, lightly smoky flavor that holds up against bread or potatoes.

Straight from the tin with crackers or potato chips, which is standard practice in Spain. They also work stirred into rice, folded into pasta, or spooned over toast with some of the sauce.

Spanish producers grade mussels by count per tin. A lower count means larger mussels, so 6/8 are meatier than 12/16. Larger grades cost more and are usually the ones served on their own.

Mussels are naturally high in protein, iron, and vitamin B12, and canning does not change that. Check individual labels for sodium and oil, which vary by producer and preparation.