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Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love herself, sprang forth from the sea on an oyster shell, forever giving the oyster the reputation of enticing love and lust. And whether or not any truth lies in its reputed aphrodisiac powers, it is safe to say that people are, indeed, passionate about them.
There are precious few foods that command appreciation historically, culinarily and monetarily, as the oyster does. As a food that has been around since Triassic times, harvested and consumed since the days of Neolithic man, and cultivated for at least two thousand years, it is an amazing feat to still be able to capture the hearts of food lovers everywhere, in almost exactly the same way. Raw.
The Celts and Greeks served them in abundance as great feasts paired with wines. The Romans sent thousands of slaves to the shores of the English channel to gather them and paid for them by their weight in gold. But their status as a delicacy, although back to that in modern times, was not consistent. Early European settlers in America discovered a plethora along the coastlines and in the bays of the colonies, which quickly turned into an easily-harvested and tasty source of protein, thus becoming less expensive and a staple of the working class, technically street food. Between overfishing and demand rising, soon foreign varieties were introduced and some of these brought disease. Between this development and the pollution from the ongoing Industrial Revolution, oyster beds were wiped out and they became rarer than ever.
Just as with wine, the tastes and even consistencies of this treat can vary depending on their regions and techniques of growth. Tastes range, for the most part, from sweet to salty to briny, while their notes can range from seaweed, mineral, hints of melon, mushrooms or even butter. As a mollusk, the oyster constantly sieves water for its food and so the water and nutrients within flow over the meat, creating a direct relationship with its taste. The terroir (environment) and microclimates impart their individual mix of temperature, salinity and minerals to the point where even identical species not all that far away from each other can still feel and taste differently (colder water will result in firmer and saltier oysters with crisper flavors). Because of their location being so key, they are usually marketed and named by where they are harvested, even if their species is the same. For example, Fanny Bay and Denman Island oysters are both cultivated not far from each other on the east coast of Vancoever Island and though having similarity in meatiness and saltiness, Fanny Bays have the slightest bit of a cucumber finish, while Denman Islands’ completely different microclimate produces a fruitier, watermelon aftertaste.
There are literally over a hundred variations of oyster, some being the pearl-producing kind (which, though contrary to popular belief, are not the kind you’re supposed to eat), and true oysters, the edible varieties broadly classified into three groups; the Pacific, the most widely cultured in the world, a creamier, mineral-tasting type of oyster, especially good for beginners due to their mild tastes, with varieties such as the Hama Hama or Samish Bay; the Olympia, native to the Pacific coast and found primarily in Washington’s sound, a very small, full-flavored oyster; and the Atlantic or Eastern oyster, found along the Eastern seaboard and Gulf of Mexico with varying degrees of salt, much more reminiscient of seawater, with popular varieties including Blue Point and Malpeque. An oyster previously believed to be of the Pacific variety, the Kumamoto, in recent years has now been recognized as its own species altogether; originally from Japan, and now cultivated on the West Coast primarily, is one of the most approachable oysters, sweet and small, probably the best choice altogether for an oyster newbie.
Though providing information on varieties and taste profiles can be helpful, much like with wine, you really have to experiment to learn what kind of an oyster lover you’re going to be. Jonathan Swift once said, “He was a bold man that first ate an oyster.” But thankfully, he did it.
June 18, 2009 - 7:34:17 PM EDT
Garza says…
yum, i love Oysters.