Oyster Haven
Posted
Sat, 01/10/04
By chance I found the web site for Washington State's 100-year-celebration of "oyster" culture (also known as Sea Grant).
The site contains a slew of information about the slimy little creatures: a timeline from 1851 to 1999, oyster varieties (Eastern, European flat, Kumomoto, Olympia, Pacific); an oysters life, how to purchase and prepare oysters, oyster publications, along with links and photos of various oysters.
Sea Grant even offers a description of the oyster:
The oyster is a bivalve mollusk, also called a shellfish because it lives in a two-part shell. The shell is joined at one end by a hinge, and can be closed by the oyster's powerful adductor muscle (the dark spots on the inside of an empty shell are the points to which the ends of this muscle adhered). Oysters can snap their shells closed with lightning speed and with the power of a vise. To open a live oyster, you must insert a knife blade between the shells and sever the adductor muscle, then remove the meat. This is called "shucking." Firmness, color and other qualities of the meat are affected by various factors such as water, food availability and sexual maturity. Flavors and textures of oyster meats may range from sweet, buttery and slightly salty, to rich-flavored, briny and slightly metallic.
I'm not terribly fond of oysters, but my father happens to love them. I can't manage to get them past my lips, but Dad claims they are an acquired taste. Once bitten, forever hooked.
*Related Blog Post: New England Cooking (Oysters on the Half Shell, 11/11/03).
Tags: Seafood
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