« March 2007 Table of Contents 
Product Spotlight: Eastern oysters
Buyers play on the regional names of each Eastern oyster harvest area
By April Forristall
March 01, 2007
In The Art of Eating, M.F.K. Fisher wrote, "A perfect
oyster, healthy, of fine flavor, plucked from its chill bed and
brought to the plates unwatered and unseasoned, is more
delicious than any of its modifications." This has held true
since the 1700s, when Boston crawled with more than 30 oyster
bars where patrons consumed between 20 to 30 oysters in one
sitting.
Today, oysters on the halfshell still hook customers.
According to research conducted by Datassential, a Chicago
market research firm with a database of more than 350,000
restaurants nationwide, more than 1,900 restaurants in the
United States offer an oyster bar, 25 percent of which are
seafood restaurants.
Eastern oysters are known for their distinctive, briny
flavor and meaty texture. Today, two-thirds of the national
oyster harvest is Eastern oysters, at 500 million pounds,
in-shell, annually.
Oysters vary in taste, size, shape and color from one
grow-out area to the next and often bear the name of the
harvest region. For example, the Wellfleet oyster is native to
the shallow waters near Wellfleet, Mass., and is known for
having a recognizable balance of creamy sweetness and
brine.
The Oceanaire, an upscale independent chain with 13
locations nationwide, features a menu that changes daily by
"the moods of the sea." Its oyster bar carries Winterport,
Island Creek, Wellfleet and Fisher's Island, all referred to on
the Oceanaire menu as "heaven served on the halfshell."
The only blemishes in the history of the bivalve are safety
concerns evolving from old wives' tales, such as oysters
shouldn't be consumed in months spelled without an 'r', and
bacteria like Vibrio that, thanks to new processing
technologies, for the most part no longer hold water.
Seafood companies like Hillman Shrimp & Oyster,
Ameripure Oysters, Motivatit and Tampa Maid can package oysters
on the halfshell, meats, breaded oysters, whole oysters and
oyster "shooters" year round with a shelf life of up to 18
months.
Greek mythology has it that Aphrodite emerged from the sea
on an oyster shell to give birth to Eros, spawning the
oysters-as-aphrodisiacs theory. So it's no surprise that while
it was indeed, according to Jonathan Swift, "a bold man that
first eat an oyster," they are considered one of the most
romantic foods throughout the world, making them a popular
treat on Valentine's Day.
The Grand Central Oyster Bar in New York has an "aphrodisiac
menu" that encourages couples to feed each other a half dozen
raw oysters to get in the spirit of the holiday.
However, while high in iron and zinc, which increase blood
flow, the psychological suggestion that they provide an erotic
boost may be more help to the love life than the actual oyster.
So while it is not true that oysters can make people fall in
love, this is: A plethora of people are in love with
oysters.
Editorial Assistant April Forristall can be e-mailed at
aforristall@divcom.com