May 5th: Oyster Day

Today is Oyster Day - so here are a few things you might not know about oysters.

1. Oysters are good for the environment. One oyster can filter 50 gallons of water a day. They feed by drawing Water over their gills and extracting nutrients and algae.
2. Some oysters can quite literally grow on trees. All oysters will attach themselves to something as they approach adulthood. Usually a rock or another oyster. In tropical regions they attach themselves to the roots of the mangrove tree.
3. Although the idea that oysters should only be eaten when there is an "R" in the month dates back to the days before fridges and food safety, so they should be as safe to eat in June as in December, connoisseurs will say that oysters taste better when the water is cold. When the temperature rises, the oysters are spawning and this adversely affects the taste.
4. Oysters have been around for 180 million years. Neolithic man is known to have eaten them five thousand years ago. In more recent history, to the Romans oysters were literally "worth their weight in Gold". They imported oysters to Italy from England and the Emperors paid for them by their weight in gold. Casanova is said to have eaten 50-60 oysters everyday while Henry VIII thought nothing of scoffing as many as 300. As a starter.
5. Manhattan used to be covered in oyster beds in the 17th century. The Dutch settlers soon discovered these. By the 19th century it was possible to get raw oysters from stalls in the streets of New York. There were oyster saloons which specialised in cooking oysters in any number of ways. Needless to say, oysters were so popular that the oyster beds were eventually wiped out.
6. It's largely a myth that oysters are an aphrodisiac, according to scientists, although they are high in zinc, which is good for your immune system, and also provide calcium, Vitamin C, omega 3 fatty acids, Iron, and protein. 6 oysters would also more than meet the daily recommended intake of iron, Copper, iodine, magnesium, calcium, Zinc, manganese and phosphorous. They're also low in cholesterol.
7. Because they feed by filtering water, the taste of them is affected by the levels of Salt and nutrients in the water around them. Therefore, they have as many different flavours as fine wines. Connoisseurs can, therefore, detect a whole range of flavours such as briny, buttery, sweet, metallic, mild, melon, Cucumber, Mushrooms and more. Although Champagne is the traditional drink to accompany them, experts say that the best possible tipple to have with oysters is Absinthe.
8. Although all oysters (and also mussels) can produce Pearls, edible oysters tend not to. The oysters we get pearls from belong to a different family which lives in much deeper waters. A pearl is formed when an irritant, such as a grain of sand, gets inside the oyster's shell. The oyster covers it in nacre, or mother-of-pearl, the same substance that the inside lining of the shell is made of. They're not necessarily white. Pearls can be Yellow, Pink or Black. Cultured pearls are produced by placing a polished piece of mussel shell inside the oyster. They take 3-6 years to reach a commercial size.
9. Oysters are bisexual. They can change gender. They start off as males, producing sperm and later change into egg producing females. Once they've become female, they tend to stay that way, but are capable of turning back into males if they choose, say if there was a shortage of males.
10. Oyster shells have their uses, too. The Chinese used to use crushed oyster shells in medicine. The shells are rich in calcium, so can be used as fertilizer. In ancient Greece they had an even more inventive use for oyster shells. They used them as ballot papers. They'd vote for or against the banishment of unpopular people using oyster shells. This is how we get the word “ostracise” - from the Greek astrakeon, meaning oyster shell.

For facts about the Transport for London variety of Oyster, see Oyster Cards.

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