Tasting raw oysters for the first time is an unforgettable experience. With a gulp the briny sensation is down your gullet, slithering along with a wriggle. Fresh, salty and delicious. Some people are never the same again.
As one writer puts it "there is a shock of freshness to it. Intimations of the ages of man, some piercing intuition of the sea and all its weeds and breezes shiver you in a split second from that little stimulus on the palate."
Oysters are hermaphrodites. They begin their life as males. Then they gradually change to females and after the release of the eggs they revert to males again. They draw their nutrition from the seawater they filter. They may filter anything from one to six litres in an hour. They can work through the contents of a large public swimming pool in one day.
What does "des huitres" mean, this writer wondered last summer. Not wanting to lose face in a fancy restaurant near Auray in Brittany, having taken on the role of group interpreter, I bluffed, the way you do. The unhelpful waitress stood by, glowering at us, almost tapping her foot with impatience.
As the pressure to choose from the French menu grew, I advised my party to have des huitres as a starter. They would not regret it, I told them. It would be a good choice. And so two of our party ended up ordering oysters. I had to eat my eight huitres as if to the manor born. The first taste was shiver-inducing. The taste-buds weren't used to that visceral saltwater zesty shock. It tasted like sex. Sort of primordial and familiar . . . Let's just say I was hooked after the second huitre.
France was successful in the cultivation of oyster beds once scientists had pinned down the bizarre sexuality and breeding patterns of the oyster. Following France's lead, oyster farming in Ireland has developed in the past 20 years.
At the Foyle Oyster Festival in Co Donegal earlier this year, I was able to indulge this new-found passion to my heart's delight. A lesser-known festival is Feile na nOisiri, which takes place in August in the Ring Gaeltacht of Co Waterford each year to celebrate the oysters that are farmed in the warm waters of Dungarvan Bay throughout the year.
It's difficult to believe that at one time oysters were synonymous with poverty. But they were highly prized as a dish in Greece. The Romans were also great lovers of oysters. It is also accepted that this delicacy was eaten with gusto by the Celts and American Indians. And of course today, they are viewed as the food of love. The oyster is the prince among shellfish. It is traditionally believed to be an aphrodisiac.
Although once a common food, found widely around the coast, overfishing of oysters at the turn of the century resulted in them becoming a little-known luxury. But Ireland is one of the few European countries where there are still wild, self-sustaining, native oyster beds.
We produce two types of oysters. The flat or native one and the Pacific or gigas or rock oysters which are distinguished by their long, oval frilly shells. The Pacific oyster was introduced to Ireland in the early 1970s because it was easier and faster to cultivate than the native oyster. The flat oysters are seasonal, spawning during the summer months, when they are not for sale, as the flesh tends to be milky and not at its best. The Pacific oysters do not spawn in our colder Irish waters and so they are available all year round.
Raw oysters are full of vitamins and contain a high proportion of iodine. Eleven coastal counties in Ireland produce oysters, and last year yielded 3,500 tonnes of Pacific oysters. At the end of the 1980s we were producing just 320 tonnes, but our production has grown and grown. Up to 70 per cent of our oysters are exported to France, with only three per cent being consumed in Ireland.
Excellence in oysters has also been fostered by the introduction of an award. The BIM-Guinness Quality Oyster Award, launched by BIM in June 1996, is viewed as an important quality barometer within Ireland's oyster-growing industry. It promotes a quality code of practice and encourages oyster farmers to produce quality oysters. It carries a total prize fund of £6,000. The judging criteria include shape, appearance, meat content, ease of opening, taste, site management, record-keeping and environmental awareness.
CONNOISSEURS of oysters claim the best way to enjoy their distinctive delicate flavour is to eat them raw. But there are plenty of ideas for cooking oysters too. You can do them Chinese style, - where the oysters are steamed open, seasoned with an oriental sauce and served as a starter. Alternatively, go for oyster po-boy, the Louisiana sandwich, which is packed with any number of fillings including soft-shelled crab and oysters, or try John McKenna's suggestion for oysters with sausages, in In Season, below. Grilling, sauteing, steaming or stewing are all suitable methods of cooking oysters.
Native oysters are generally eaten raw, served on the half shell, simply seasoned with lemon juice, pepper or tabasco sauce or with chopped shallot seasoned with vinegar. But whatever the method, cooks are advised to keep cooking time brief, just until the edges start to curl. And when you eat them your toes will start to curl. Bon appetit!