Everything You Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask Oysters on the Half Shell: Kinds, Qualities, Drinks Kinds of Oysters: What's Your Type? A Natural History of Oysters: They Reproduce How?

The oyster inspires love among its devotees, but it seems that no ardor is greater than that felt by an oyster-loving inhabitant of an oyster-growing area for the local oysters, served raw.

Blue Points? Welfleets?

On the whole, we only eat about five species of the creature, and only three of those species are consistently considered good enough to serve on the half shell. The only thing that differentiates oysters of the same species - and, as every oyster lover will tell you, they do definitely differ - is the environment in which the oysters were raised. How high is the mineral content in the water? What sorts of micro-scopic marine creatures live there? How high is the salt content? What is the water temperature? These are the things that matter. The impact of these variables explains why oysters are almost always named after the places where they grew up, and why there is such a wide variety to choose from at raw bars.

Qualities of Oysters

The qualities of a raw oyster are usually described in terms of three elements: texture, degree of sweetness/salinity, and mineral/marine plant life flavor. Traditionally, oysters are presented six to a plate, arranged on the lower shell around a piece of lemon. Strategies for adding condiments vary. For some, any addition to the oyster is heresy; for others, a drop of lemon, a little mignonette sauce, a hint of black pepper, or a dab of hot sauce (this especially in Louisiana) is ideal. One particularly luxurious condiment strategy is a drop or two of Pernod followed by the tiniest dab of caviar. Restraint in condiment use is crucial, though, because the flavor of the oyster is easily overwhelmed.

Drinks with Oysters

Feelings also run high in the matter of which alcoholic beverages best accompany a meal of oysters. Many agree that the flavor of the drink can obscure the taste of the oyster, and that the drinking should be done afterwards, or that an oyster cracker or two should follow a sip before the next oyster is eaten. The Irish traditionally opt for stout or a glass of black velvet (a mixture of stout and champagne). Champagne, in itself, is a popular recommendation, as are very dry white wines, say a Chablis or Muscadet.