Guest Post: ‘Oyster Facts’ from Jo Thomas, author of The Oyster Catcher

Posted November 14, 2014 by Charlotte in Blog Tour, Guest Post / 0 Comments

author of The Oyster Catcher

Today I am delighted to be part of the Blog Tour for The Oyster Catcher by Jo Thomas, with Jo sharing some Oyster Facts!

I loved reading The Oyster Catcher (see my review) and highly recommend it for all you Chick-lit fans out there! Don’t forget to visit other blog stops along the tour for other great content. Below Jo shares some Oyster facts!

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So here are some Oyster facts to get you going!

Oysters have existed since pre-historic times.

According to champion shucker Patrick McMurray in his book ‘Consider the oyster’, shells have long been viewed as a symbol of womanhood and fertility. It was Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, to whom we owe the word ‘aphrodisiac’.  She was carried to shore on a giant shell after rising naked from the foam in the sea. Some say it’s an oyster shell, some say it’s a scallop.

The Romans couldn’t get enough of oysters. Roman emperors calculated their weight in gold and sent thousands of slaves to the shores of the English Channel to gather them, says McMurray. The Romans set up one of the first marine farms to keep a supply of oysters for grand feasts.

But at the beginning of the 19th century they were over fished and prices were so low they became the food of the poor. They were the pigeons of the sea, according to Jamie Oliver, peasant food and used as pie fillings. In Ireland during the famine those by the sea survived on them it says on Morans Oyster Cottage website.

There are two basic types of oysters eaten in Britain and Europe, according to Colin Presdee, a Welshman born in Oystermouth and author of London Oyster Guide. The native oysters which mates and breeds in the summer months and explains the saying ‘only eat oysters when there’s an ‘r’ in month’, when they’re not breeding. The Pacific oysters are reared in hatcheries and brought on in the sea, in mesh bags on trestles where they grow taking nutrients from the sea. But the waters don’t get warm enough for them to breed, so are available to eat all the year round.

The thing everyone wants to know about oysters is ‘are they an aphrodisiac’?

Casanova, the 18th century Italian lover obviously thought so and reportedly ate 50 oysters every morning.

Oysters are full of zinc, more than any other natural food source according to McMurray. Zinc helps to release testosterone in the body, which in turn drives libido.

‘Between ingestion and chemical reaction, we have a stimulant – or aphrodisiac, if that’s what you’d like to call it.’ (Patrick McMurray – Consider the Oyster).

‘Eating an oyster can be sublimely sensual’ Patrick McMurray says. ‘Bring the half shell to your slightly parted lips and tilt it back, allowing the soft flesh and liquid of this salty ocean treat to slide into your mouth.’

Oysters also are low in calories, only 7 calories each according to Morans Oyster Cottage. They are high in Omega-3 fatty acids and low in cholesterol. They are a great source of calcium and vitamins A and D.

They are also environmentally friendly. Oyster farmers don’t add any chemicals to their crops. They’re fed by Mother Nature.

They feed by pumping 1-6 litres of water through their gills every day – the equivalent of a human drinking a large public swimming pool every day, according to Morans.

Oysters have two hearts and they change sex frequently. The native oysters reproduce in the summer months and change sex every time they do so. They can be mother and father to separate litters in the same year.

Oyster festivals

September marks the start of the native oyster season and in Galway they really know how to mark an occasion. In fact, Galway is known as the festival capital of Ireland.

The Galway international oyster and food festival is the oldest oyster festival in the world. It was started in 1954 to keep the tourists there.

In Clarenbridge, they have oyster opening and eating contests, brush dancing competitions and a best dressed person prize. They have a motto ‘The world is your oyster and Clarenbridge is its home.’

At the end of September Galway city comes alive with street parades and seafood trails and it’s here that the Irish and World Oyster Opening or shucking Championships are held. Shuckers, I came to realise, are an international community coming from all over the world for the event.

‘Oyster shuckers are the rock stars of the shellfish industry.’

Patrick McMurray, Canadian, still holds the Guinness record for shucking the most oysters,38 of them in a minute.

Galway though, has its own star in Micheal Moran. He was born on the day of the national oyster opening championship in 1983. Morans Oyster Cottage is his family business going back 250 years, seven generations and Micheal’s father before him was also a champion shucker.  Micheal is five time Irish oyster opening champion, twice European champion and World Champion 2006.  ‘Oysters and restaurants,’ he told Patrick McMurray ‘it’s in your blood.’

The Oyster Olympics

Shucking competitions

18 countries are competed in the 2013 World Oyster Opening Championship.

Each competitor will be required to open 30 oysters.

Each competitor must indicate that they are finished, by ringing the hand bell provided.

  1. The Judges will examine the trays of oysters with the following points in mind:
  • Good appearance, well opened, without flaws
  • Totally severed from shell
  • Mussel intact – not torn, cut, sliced, wounded, and without blood
  • Orderly and neat appearance

Points are awarded primarily for the speed of opening 30 oysters. Judges award bonus points for presentation of the tray of opened oysters.

So what do you think of all these Oyster Facts?

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