We're living in a golden age for oysters. Just two decades ago, an ostreophile would have thought him or herself lucky to choose among a handful of options; today, in the U.S. alone, hundreds of varieties with exotic names like Moon Shoal, Hama Hama, and Kusshi tempt oyster lovers. What creates all those different flavors and textures—and what's the story behind today's oyster revolution?
Though you may not be considering it as you're drizzling on the mignonette, oysters are one of the few remaining creatures we humans eat whole, raw, and, frequently, still alive. If you (like us) take a few chews after sliding it off the shell, you'll know that the creature's texture and flavor varies based on its anatomy: a soft, pop-able, briny belly; creamy, sweet muscle that snaps the shell shut at the first sign of danger; and even, if you flip your oyster over, a tiny but perhaps still-pulsing heart, pumping translucent seawater instead of blood. It was indeed, as eighteenth-century satirist Jonathan Swift wrote, "a brave man that first eat [sic] an oyster."
Eat it he did, however, and oysters have been an important source of nutrition and pleasure in the human diet ever since. From the first oyster crackers of ancient Rome to the oyster-paved streets of New York City, and from the abundant wild oyster reefs of old to the high-tech hatcheries of today, we trace humanity's long and delicious relationship with the bivalve. "An oyster conveys its life experience directly to your senses," writes Rowan Jacobsen, the award-winning author of the gorgeous new book, The Essential Oyster.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: The Atlantic