Bivalves a product of their environment, and an experience all their own
I have a very fond memory of tasting my first oyster. A girlfriend and I decided to drive the two and a half hours to Toronto to seek out the venerable oyster bar, Rodney’s Oyster House, to celebrate, well, the joy of eating and drinking. It was a little tricky locating the unassuming, port-holed door on industrial Adelaide Street East. Found, it led down to a small, dimly lit room with a long bar propping up well-dressed suits late on a Friday afternoon. We snagged the last two seats at the kitchen end of the bar and ordered our first dozen oysters.
My friend, having gone to chef school, was a pretty good person to initiate me into the nuances of eating a raw oyster but it also helped that the shucking bartender took a shine to Jenn and didn’t hesitate to offer his own pointers on success.
The dozen arrived in front of us, two each of different types of oysters, with varying pearly shades, neatly piled atop crushed ice on the half shell. With a gesture stolen from Vanna White, our bartender pointed out the array of condiments available to us but, whispering behind the back of his hand, he said that the oysters are best enjoyed au naturel.
With little else to procrastinate the deed and with two pairs of eyes riveted to my face, I lifted the smallest specimen from the platter, placed the shell delicately on my lower lip and tipped my head back, slipping the oyster with its liquor neatly into my mouth. Chewing, as I had been instructed was the "proper way," my mouth filled with a briny, salty taste as fresh as if I were standing atop the crashing ocean waves with my face to the wind. I was hooked. We ordered a bottle of Muscadet and proceeded to gorge ourselves on the bivalves well into the night.
I am not sure if it was Jenn flirting with the bartender or my restaurant connection when we were introduced to Rodney himself, but our wine glasses were never empty and we ate plates and plates of oysters, but the bill was a very reasonable hundred bucks.
Oysters are unique. It is one of those foods that you either love or hate. Oysters have been loved for thousands of years. They were eaten in large quantities by the Romans, Celts and Greeks. The Greeks began raising oysters in oyster beds. Today most oysters are professionally farmed by dedicated, patient farmers. In North America, there are three species of oyster that are commercially harvested; the Pacific oyster (or Japanese oyster) found along the Pacific seaboard, the Atlantic oyster (or eastern oyster) and the Olympia oyster which is native to Washington’s Puget Sound. Atlantic oysters are smaller than their Pacific cousins (which can grow up to a foot long) and are considered to be culinarily superior in texture and flavour. Incidentally, it was an Atlantic Malpeque oyster that I first sampled and when I tried a large B.C. oyster after the small P.E.I. delicacy it reminded me of chewing on an oil tanker.
Oysters are cultivated above the mud and sandy bottom of the ocean floor. Usually seed oysters are collected on tiles further out to sea. When they reach a certain size they are brought in to shallower waters to fatten up. Ideally, the oysters are reared near the mouth of fresh water rivers so that the mixing of fresh and sea water reduces the ocean’s salinity. This water mixture also induces overgrowth of the oyster’s liver, of which the fattening consists. It takes at least three to four years to grow an oyster and constant monitoring to ensure that pollution and predators are avoided. Natural enemies include starfish, octopus, crab and sea birds.
Oysters thrive in nutrient rich shallow waters. The water temperature affects the oyster’s resulting flavour; colder waters produce a saltier oyster. The temperature also affects spawning season. When the gonads (organ producing the gametes, i.e. testes or ovary) are ripe, they are full and white, giving the oyster its prime condition. After spawning the gonad shrinks and becomes watery, lowering the quality. This is why it is best to eat an oyster before spawning season, which usually falls in the summer months. The age-old myth of eating oysters only during the months spelled with the letter "r"(September to April) supports this spawning cycle.
Given the variation in water salinity, temperature and nutrient type and concentration, it is the habitat that affects the growth and flavour of a mature oyster. This is the reason that oysters are named and sold according to the geographic location of their harvest. In B.C., Fanny Bay oysters are cultivated on the beaches of Bayne Sound near the town of Fanny Bay and are described as very sweet, very salty with a strong cucumber aftertaste. The Chef Creek oyster is farmed not far from Fanny Bay on the east coast of Vancouver Island where Chef Creek flows into Deep Bay in Raynes Sound. It has a sweet and mildly briny taste.
By comparison, P.E.I.’s small Malpeque oysters are a summer oyster, best between May and November. The flavour of this oyster is described as very crisp with a lettuce like flavour, extremely salty with a clean aftertaste. Its flavour and texture have won many awards in Europe. Nova Scotia produces many types of oysters; Cape Breton, St. Anne’s, Wallace Bay, Saltaire and Fox Island o name a few.
In the U.S., Bluepoint oysters, once considered to be the most famous, were very popular but due to over fishing and pollution the oyster virtually disappeared. In recent years, after pollution is being tidied up, these oysters are beginning to appear again and are harvested from a long body of cold water bordered by Connecticut and Long Island Sound with a wide opening to the Atlantic Ocean.
When tasted raw, side by side, the subtle distinctions in flavour become apparent. The adjectives used to describe raw oysters rival those at a wine tasting; crisp, soft, buttery, fruity, briny, sweet, or like iodine, for example.
In North America peak oyster consumption happens at Christmas and New Year’s. They are excellent paired with the dry, flinty flavour of a real French Chablis, or for thinner wallets, a good Muscadet. Of course sparkling wine and Champagne are excellent choices too.
When buying these shellfish it is important that they are fresh and must be bought live from a reputable store with quick turnover. The shells should be closed or close tightly when tapped. The oyster should feel heavy as it should be filled with water. Smaller oysters (of the same type) will be younger and more tender. They should be eaten as soon as possible but can be stored for a short time covered with a damp towel and refrigerated with the larger shell faced down.
To open oysters (shelling or shucking an oyster) take a sharp pointed oyster knife (a Swiss army knife will do in a pinch but watch out for the palm of your hand) in one hand. Using a thick glove or cloth, grip the shell in the palm of the other hand. Keeping the oyster level with the knife, insert the point of the blade next to the hinge and twist to pry the shell open taking care to keep all or most of the liquor (juice) in the shell. Cut the meat from the top shell and discard the top shell. Gently loosen the meat from the lower hollow shell. If you are intending to eat the oyster raw, serve it in its shell on a plate of crushed ice or rock salt to stabilize it. If shucking the meat, tip it, with the juice into a bowl and discard the shell.
Raw oysters are great as is but they are often accompanied by condiments such as lemon, vinegar, pepper, hot sauce, butter, champagne vinaigrette or thinly sliced shallots. Oysters can also be baked, steamed, grilled, broiled or smoked. They can be batter-fried or used in soups, stews and stuffing for poultry.
No matter how you like your oysters they are a great addition to holiday festivities. A good source of protein, they are high in calcium and iron and have a low fat content.
The following recipe comes from The Flavours of Canada by Anita Stewart and was created by Rob Butters while he was chef at the Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino. This dish is best made with large, meaty Pacific oysters.
Oysters topped with Goat Cheese and Basil
(serves 4)1 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons canola oil
125 g. (4oz.) Plain goat’s milk cheese
12 opened oysters in the shell
Place basil and oil in a food processor and process to a coarse puree, scraping down the sides once. Add goat cheese and process until well blended. Spoon cheese mixture onto the oysters and place in a shallow roasting pan. Use coarse salt or crumpled foil in the pan to keep shells level. Broil for five minutes or until cheese begins to melt.
Angels on Horseback
Shuck some oysters (discard shells). Sprinkle them with freshly ground pepper and wrap each one in a thin slice of bacon. Thread them on skewers and grill for two minutes. Serve on buttered toast points. Variation: Devils on Horseback – add tabasco sauce.
Note: My neighbours recently tried a variation of these with prosciutto and Worcestershire sauce with excellent results.
