Table Of ContentC O
ockyrsotaerch
Rebecca Stott
Animal series
Oyster
Animal
Serieseditor:JonathanBurt
Alreadypublished
Crow Ant
BoriaSax CharlotteSleigh
Tortoise Dog
PeterYoung SusanMcHugh
Cockroach
MarionCopeland
Someforthcomingtitles
Wolf Bear
GarryMartin RobertE.Bieder
Tiger Spider
SusieGreen KatjaandSergiuszMichalski
Snake Parrot
DrakeStutesman PaulCarter
Bear Whale
RobertE.Bieder JosephRoman
Falcon Rat
HelenMacdonald JonathanBurt
Moose Hare
KevinJackson SimonCarnell
Fox Bee
MartinWallen ClairePreston
Oyster
RebeccaStott
reaktion books
ForJB
Publishedby
reaktionbooksltd
79FarringdonRoad
Londonec1m3ju,uk
www.reaktionbooks.co.uk
Firstpublished2004
Copyright©RebeccaStott2004
Allrightsreserved
Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrieval
systemortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,
mechanical,photocopying,recordingorotherwisewithouttheprior
permissionofthepublishers.
PrintedandboundinHongKong
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
Stott,Rebecca
Oyster.–(Animal)
1.Oysters 2.Animalsandcivilization
I.Title
594.4
isbn1861892217
Contents
Prologue:OnOystersandMemory 7
1 OysterBiographies 13
2 OysterCulture 34
3 TheRiseandFalloftheOyster 54
4 OystersandGluttony 83
5 OysterFlesh:DesireandAbjection 101
6 OysterPhilosophies 116
7 OysterArts 131
8 Oysters,SexandSeduction 155
9 Pearl 171
Epilogue:TonguingOysters 204
Timeline 210
References 212
Bibliography 220
Recipes 223
Restaurants 229
Acknowledgements 233
PhotoAcknowledgements 234
Index 237
Afive-yearoldshellfish-workerinBiloxi,Mississippi,in1911.
Prologue: On Oysters and
Memory
In 1929 journalist and food writer Hector Bolitho described
hisloveaffairwiththeoysterinadelightfulbookcalledThe
GloriousOyster.IncolonialNewZealand,wherehegrewupin
thelatenineteenthcentury,settlersimitatingEnglishwaysof
life ate roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, shortbread from
Edinburgh,turkeyandsteamedpuddingatChristmas.Food
washeavy,overcookedandrarelydiscussedorcontemplated,
for,Bolithoexplains,bythenineteenthcenturytalkingabout
foodhadbecomeataboo:‘SothegourmetofQueenVictoria’s
timebecameasinner.Hemethiskindinsecret...’.1Allthis
wastochangeforBolithowhen,attheageoffifteen,hewentto
stayinaboardinghouseinahotelona‘romantic’islandoff
thecoastofNewZealand,amileorsofromasettlementwhere
Maoris were reputed to have eaten oysters at their cannibal
feasts.HeretheboymetamysteriousEnglishtravelleratthe
diningtableandthetwodiscoveredamutualpleasureintalking
aboutfood–oystersinparticular.Eagertopleasetheyoung
man, Bolitho promised to take him to a rocky shore where
oystersgrewintheirthousands:
Wecameuponaplacewheretheoystersgrew,packed
together,ascloselyasgrapes.MyEnglishcompanionput
thebasketontheground.Hewasasmiling,good-looking
7
fellow,withashirtandcollarcutsowellthattheyfilled
mewithenvy.Heopenedthebasketandtookouttwo
bottles,twoglasses,twoplatesandtwoforks.Iproduced
nothingbutachisel.Ibroketheoystersoff,onebyone,
choosingthebigonesoftidyshape.Theoutsidesoftheir
shellswerestillwetfromthesea.Weprisedthemopen
and placed them, eighteen upon each plate. My friend
producedlemonandredpepperandIbegantoeat.
‘Wait,’hesaid.Hebroughtthetwobottlesfromaplace
behindtherock,wheretheyhadbeencoolinginapool.
Onewaschampagne,andtheotherwasstout.Andthus
was I introduced to the pleasure of eating oysters with
blackvelvet.Thedrinkwastwothirdsofstoutandoneof
champagne.
When I rush back over the years of my life, that
summer day stands out as vividly as any. The calm,
warmsea,thelogagainstwhichweleaned,theplateof
succulentfatoystersonmyknee,andthefirstglassof
this magic drink, which made the oysters more won-
derfulthananyIhadeatenbefore.Andthenmyfriend
talked aboutfood,of avocadopearsdressedwithvin-
egarandoilhehadeateninAfrica,ofstuffedlobsters–
I remember the pleasure with which he described the
colouroftheredshellagainsttheblueplate,ashehad
eatentheminParis.Hetalked,too,ofRussiansoups,
and fish stuffed with mushrooms, and duck dressed
withyellowtigerlilies,snailsperfectlycooked,brought
out of their houses with the aid of a slender two-
prongedsilverfork.
‘Buttheoysteristheloveliestofallfood’...hesaid...
‘Somedayyoumustwriteinpraiseoftheoyster.’
8
Description:As everybody knows, oysters are the ultimate aphrodisiac. Casanova famously ate 50 raw oysters every morning with his mistress of the moment, in a bathtub designed for two. As well as an aphrodisiac, since the earliest times, the oyster has been an inspiration to philosophers, artists, poets, chefs,
