Oysters

Fall is oyster season! Now is the time for oyster roasts, oyster chowders, oyster dressing and just eating raw oysters. You may have heard that you should only eat oysters in a month with an R which, according to old-timers, means that Novembe"R" is a safe month to eat them. This was a valid rule in the days before widespread refrigeration was available when oysters were often transported in rail cars on ice. In these days of modern refrigeration, summer months are safe for oyster eating; however, oysters are at their prime in cold weather. The spawning season, which makes oysters thin and less flavorful, is over. In colder temps, oysters become robust and fill their shells with meaty goodness.

Here at the Catch we do not sell oysters from the Gulf because of the presence of vibrio vulnificus bacteria in warm coastal waters, estuaries and brackish water. Gulf oysters are delicious but can be deadly, especially if you have a compromised immune system.

Along the East Coast of the US, all the oysters are of one species, Crassostrea Virginica, aka Eastern Oyster. Eastern oysters are briny due to the saltier water in the Atlantic and they generally have a flavor profile that is more mineral and seaweed. Pacific Coast oysters are creamy and delicate with flavors of melon and cucumber.

While East Coast oysters are all the same species, each region along the coastline develops specific characteristics. If you are a wine drinker you may be familiar with the term terroir which refers to the environment grapes are grown in, e.g. the amount of rain, the amount of sunshine, the mineral content of the soil. For oysters, the term is similar - merroir. The characteristics of the oyster reflect the environment in which it grows. Colder water temperatures tend to produce firmer oysters. Salty water produces salty oysters.

Blue point oysters come from New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Connecticut and close to the open ocean. (The name Blue Point comes from the town of Blue Point where wild oysters were first harvested in the 1800s.) They have a flavor of sea water and are medium salty. James River oysters, on the other hand, come from the more brackish water mix of the fresh water from the river and the salty water of the Chesapeake Bay making them milder with less of the salty flavor.

Check out our oyster selection and let us know if there is something you want that we don't have in stock. Over the next two weeks you should see:

Blue Points - New Jersey

James River - Virginia

Mere Point - Maine

Bad Boys - Prince Edward Island

Blackberry - Virginia

Beausoleil - New Brunswick

Kellum shucked oysters - 8 oz. and 16 oz. - Virginia

Oysters on the half shell (frozen)

McIntosh - next week

Happy slurping!