More Oyster thoughts...

Back to our little bivalve, for another wonderment I came up with.  And I don’t have any answers, that will take some research.

Now that we know we may encounter edible oysters in summer months, here’s something else to ponder.  I have a friend who has relocated to to Virginia Beach, and I had a note from him the other day in response to the diploid/triploid discussion.  He has a friend who “farms” oysters, and is now in the business sort of.  Somehow his little oysters have found traction in some DC bars and so on, and he markets them under a name something like (not his) “VaBeach Beauties”.  Apparently they are very popular, and he gets compliments on “the best oysters around” and such.  That got me to thinking (which doesn’t usually take much).

A little background and digression:  Worldwide, there are several verities of oysters, but here are the most common ones found in North American Oyster bars:

Crassostrea Gigas:  oyster farm raised in the pacific northwest and some in France with common names such as Pacific Oyster (US); Creuse (France); Cupped Oyster (Great Britain and Ireland).

Crassostrea Sikamea: the “Kumamoto”; oyster from Japan, also grown in the Northwest

Ostrea Conchaphila:  Olympia Oyster, “Oly”; Indiginous oyster of the Pacific Northwest

Ostrea Edulus:  European/British, called Bellons, Plates in France, or “Natives” in Great Britain and Ireland

And the one we are most familiar with (whether you know it or not), our East/Gulf Coast native Crassostrea Virginica, known by local names such as Blue Points in Long Island, Wellfleets in Massachusetts, and so on..   each of the oyster species vary in size, shell cup depth, and so on.

So anyway, to return to the subject, what got me wondering was the story about the “VaBeach Beauties”.   They are Crassostrea Virginica which most likely would be the same variety encountered up and down the Chesapeake Bay and into the Gulf, and Texas.  So whether they are called “VaBeach Beauties” or some other cute name up to the famous Blue Points they are all the same creature.  Assuming they are all fresh in good shape and stored and served properly, why would one taste any better than another?   Is it mental?  “Ahhh these Beauties taste a lot better than Clyde’s Clunkers”.  Doesn’t a golden delicious apple from Washington tastes pretty much like one from New York? Striped Bass from Maryland are a lot like ones from Georgia.  So why should an oyster from Virginia be different than one from Long Island?

I don’t know the answer to that question, but I got to thinking about wine.  The Pinot Noir Grape (or Cabernet Sauvignon, etc.,) is a single grape variety.  It is grown all over the world (well, mostly) but there is a wide variation in the wine they make.  To be sure, that is heavily influenced by the skill and tastes of the vintner, but more and more these days there is a trend toward “natural” wine, where there is minimal interference with the basic fermentation process.   Allegedly this lets the true character of the fruit come through.  I think most wine aficionados are familiar with the term: “Terroir” which roughly means the characteristics of the location are reflected in (this case) the grape and hence the wine.  Is the vine grown in gravel?  Limestone?  Clay?  A Cool or Warm climate?  Elevation? on a slope or flat ground for drainage? and so on.  The debate is (and I think there is a debate) how much these factors impact the grape and wine.  Here’s a quote I found about terroir and Pinot Noir: “because this grape is hypersensitive to its environment, reflecting the slightest nuances of soil and climate in its aromas, tastes, textures, structure and aging curve”

Without solving that issue, is it possible that the same theory applies to an oyster?  It seems reasonable that the little organism filters those large amounts of water each day and hence would reflect the character of that water.  The salinity, clarity, type of bottom/reef they are attached to and “stuff” in the water might have an effect on the character of the oyster we eat.  I think this might be an excellent chance for some research!!  Maybe an Oyster Tasting in our future..  Something to ponder as you

DFD (or O)

Off to the Smithsonian Craft Show today…check book in chains..  have a good weekend!!