Oysters: good or bad
Oysters live in the warm waters of the Black, Japanese, Mediterranean, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, prefer environments with low salt content. The Romans were the first to eat oysters. Now, shellfish are considered the pearl of French cuisine, and recipes for their preparation, of which there are innumerable, have spread throughout the globe.
Oyster meat is rich in protein and vitamins PP, A, D and group B. It contains minerals such as:
- iron,
- copper,
- calcium,
- iodine,
- phosphorus,
- zinc and others.
Calorie content of 100 grams of oysters is 72 kcal, of which proteins are 9 g, fats are 2 g, carbohydrates are 4.5 g.
The use of shellfish meat, due to its valuable chemical composition, tones the nervous system.
By right, this seafood is considered a good aphrodisiac. Scientists have found that shellfish meat contains a large amount of amino acids that increase the production of sex hormones and increase libido. Oysters contain a huge bouquet of nutrients that fill us with health.
However, today not everything is so smooth in the Danish kingdom. Oysters are contraindicated for people with poor health, with diseases of the digestive tract, allergies to seafood or individual intolerance. Oyster meat is also undesirable for pregnant or breastfeeding women.
How to eat oysters correctly and with what
Historians note that oysters were popular among the inhabitants of the sea coasts thousands of years ago. By the way, in ancient Rome for the first time laid the foundation for the cultivation of oysters in ostrea. They made up a large part of the diet of fishermen and high-ranking people. Then people already understood that it is best to eat live oysters. As before, today it is customary to eat clams raw, they began to be served with a dressing of lemon juice or vinegar marinade and other ingredients.
Oysters perfectly retain all their properties when cooked. Both raw, fried and boiled, they are combined with various sauces based on oil, onion, sweet pepper and spices. Note that the flavor combinations and the choice of spices are similar for some fish dishes, mussels and oysters.
The classic serving of oysters is as follows: shells with a delicacy are laid out on crushed ice to preserve freshness and sprinkled with lemon juice or vinegar water immediately before use. A live oyster will certainly stir from acid, which will be a confirmation of the good quality of the clams. But she does not make any sounds due to the lack of vocal abilities, and the joke about squealing oysters was invented by A.P. Chekhov. Seasoned with juice or vinegar, the oyster is eaten whole. Fresh oysters are perfect paired with white wine or champagne.
In some European countries, chilled clams are eaten spiced with black pepper or dipped in sauce, with the traditional addition of crispy bread and a few pieces of butter. In addition, oysters are fried, stewed in wine, boiled, baked, deep-fried or battered and served at the table – in any form, oysters excite the imagination of gourmets.
How to eat this delicacy? To open an oyster, it is necessary to have a special knife with a short, pointed blade and a guard on the handle. You also need a special chain mail glove or a dense fabric that can be wrapped around your left hand. These devices will help to avoid cuts on the sharp edges of the sink and appliances.
It will take due effort and a little skill to open the white shells in front of you. To open the oyster, it would be more correct to carefully move the knife blade along the perimeter of the shell, cutting the muscle at the points of fastening of two closed valves. This should be done very carefully so that small fragments do not get inside. At the end of these gentle steps, the blade of the knife is easily turned until it clicks, and the upper flat half of the shell is well separated.
In restaurants, oysters are usually served already in open shells, and they are offered to eat with a special three-pronged fork, without using a knife. Sprinkling with lemon juice, oyster meat is picked up with a fork, dipped in sauce and sent to the mouth.
There are also places where the waiter opens the shells of mollusks in front of your eyes, you just have to enjoy the taste of the sea by drinking the contents of the oyster shell. It should also be noted that establishments often serve large portions of oysters, but you should not eat more than a dozen at a time: the stomach may not be able to withstand such a loading dose of protein.
Which oysters taste better
Grown in a healthy environment and natural conditions, delivered according to the rules, oysters will be the main aristocratic dish, regardless of their size. Let us consider in detail what can be learned from the appearance of oysters.
There are types of mollusks in which the number of grams of meat in relation to the weight of the shell is much larger. Some species live from a couple of months to several years in ponds with special algae or clay to saturate oysters with special tastes. In Russia, the so-called “deep” species are popular, which can be grown on farms and caught in the wild. Khasan, Aniva, Posyet and Japanese species have a number of unique taste characteristics and impressive sizes. They are able to be on your table in a living form, as they remain fresh for a very long time. Therefore, they are easy to buy at any time of the year in online stores with prompt delivery.
In European countries, oysters of the “deep” type are divided into refined and special, with differences in taste, the ratio of useful properties and external qualities. The names of species often reflect the method of cultivation itself. So, the oyster “white pearl” has a softened outline of the form and a delicate color of the pulp. After a weed grain of sand gets inside it, the process of pearl formation begins.
Interesting Facts:
Some connoisseurs argue that the meat of small oysters has the brightest taste, pleasant structure and pronounced salty aroma of the ocean.
In the world there are more than fifty species grown for fishing in conditions close to natural. Their taste is not too different from the taste of oysters grown in the wild.
Not just a restaurant …
You can taste an exquisite oyster dish not only in a luxurious restaurant, but also at home, you just need to cook it correctly. If you follow a few simple rules for working with shellfish, you will get no worse than a chef.
To begin with, you should pay attention to the freshness of the product. When choosing it, you need to know that those oysters that floated in the sea in the morning will be the most delicious. An easy way to make sure your oysters are fresh is to keep all clam shells tightly closed. And in order to finally dispel all doubts, it is worth tapping lightly on the shell – a live oyster will squeeze the sash a little harder with a click sound, defending itself.
A dead oyster does not necessarily immediately emit unpleasant odors and does not stand out too much among the living, but almost immediately decay processes begin to take place inside, and its meat becomes unsuitable for human consumption. If the chef dares to prepare a dish from “yesterday’s” (not the first freshness) sea delicacy, his guests are in danger of being poisoned. Medical articles describe a number of cases of poisoning with paralytic, neurotoxic and other types of poisons inherent in low-quality mollusks.
If there is no opportunity to buy the freshest oysters, it’s okay. You can cook a dish from a frozen product. In this case, the oysters should be allowed to warm up naturally, it will be correct to defrost oysters without using a microwave oven. Re-freezing is strictly prohibited.
This seafood is eaten like this: an oyster, which is held in one hand, is cut into a muscle with a sharp knife, it is carefully opened and eaten without chewing. This is how oysters were consumed many centuries ago by people living on the coasts of the seas. Today, the aesthetics of eating oysters pleases with variability. A common dressing is in the form of lemon juice or vinegar.
Often the fishy taste of fresh shellfish meat is not to your liking, then you can safely choose any of the cooking methods. For lovers of grilled dishes, we advise you to try the oyster barbecue. Shellfish meat lends itself perfectly to frying right in the shells. To do this, thoroughly rinse the shells with a brush and dry with a towel, then open, carefully separate the shells and put one of the halves on the grill over the coals. After 5-10 minutes, the seafood is ready to eat.
Serve fried oysters while they are hot, accompanied by a hot sauce and a crust of melted cheese. Complement this recipe with a salad of fresh vegetables. Whatever method of cooking is chosen, the main thing is to remember that excessive heat treatment can ruin the dish.
Also, one should not forget about the traditional drink for oysters – a glass of dry white wine will enliven the marine taste of oyster meat. The wine list recommended for use with shellfish is rich in lively aromas of citrus notes, nutmeg and nutty tones. In all this variety, you can choose the best combinations to your own taste.
