Why It Matters How Old Oysters On Your Plate Are

19th century and were mostly eaten by the working class as a source of protein. In fact, on any given day, six million oysters could be found on barges tied up along New York City's waterfront. Some say that's what kick-started the city's now famed food scene.

In his book The Big Oyster, author Mark Kurlansky wrote: "The history of the New York oyster is a history of New York itself – its wealth, its strength, its excitement, its greed, its thoughtfulness, its destructiveness, its blindness, and – as any New Yorker will tell you – its filth." And that is the beautiful story of oysters in a shell, literally.

But today, into a new century, oysters carry much more of a finesse with them. Some varieties have become rare, some are being engraved for uniqueness and others are proving to be perfect for celebrations of the Great Gatsby kind or for an everyday little decadence.

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