1 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:11,239 Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to food Stuff. I'm Annie Reeves and 2 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:14,840 Speaker 1: I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, and today we are talking about oysters. 3 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:20,239 Speaker 1: Checks oh right away. And there's so much to talk about, 4 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 1: so we're gonna dive right in. So an article I 5 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:27,880 Speaker 1: read on MPR called oysters the sea's version of fine wine, 6 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 1: and that's partially because the flavor of them is kind 7 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:33,480 Speaker 1: of determined by the water they're in, and it's called 8 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:37,800 Speaker 1: mur are wow, like there are for wine, but with 9 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:40,839 Speaker 1: water and oysters. Yeah, the flavors that you get from 10 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:43,360 Speaker 1: oysters come from the the salts and minerals in the 11 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:47,160 Speaker 1: water where they grow, and from what they eat. But oysters, 12 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:49,839 Speaker 1: what are they? I don't know. Why don't you tell me? 13 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:53,880 Speaker 1: I'm gonna so. Yeah. Oysters are bi valve that means 14 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:58,120 Speaker 1: two shelled mollusk and they live in shallow salt water. 15 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:00,640 Speaker 1: They are related to the oysters that make pearls that 16 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 1: are used in jewelry and other decorations and food. Oysters 17 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:06,920 Speaker 1: can make pearls, but but they're too they're two different species, 18 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:10,600 Speaker 1: I see. And oysters are filter feeders that means that 19 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:13,240 Speaker 1: they suck in water and strain out like plankton and 20 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:16,279 Speaker 1: algae and bacteria and and we particles of planted animal 21 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 1: matter for consumption. They grow their shells by taking in 22 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:23,760 Speaker 1: calcium carbonate from the water around them and kind of 23 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:27,039 Speaker 1: forming it up into micro structures that they add layers two. 24 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: Over time, calcium carbonate particles get into water when certain 25 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:35,160 Speaker 1: types of rock or old oyster shells erode those shells 26 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:39,320 Speaker 1: a k. A. Valves, the by valve by shell thing. Yeah, 27 00:01:39,319 --> 00:01:42,319 Speaker 1: the shell where the oyster sits. It's called the left valve. 28 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:45,679 Speaker 1: I don't know why that's it is. Um, it's the 29 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:48,320 Speaker 1: longer and rounder of the two, and the right valve 30 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 1: and contrast is shorter and flatter and acts sort of 31 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 1: like a lid. Um. They're hinged with a ligament, and 32 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:56,040 Speaker 1: the oyster can keep its shell closed with with a 33 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: a ductor muscle, which which is a really strong little muscle. 34 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 1: It's like they're one single sustle that they've got basically, 35 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: uh for for stuff other than like pumping their blood, 36 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: which is an important thing to do as well, I suppose. Um, 37 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:09,359 Speaker 1: but yeah, this this a ductor muscle. Um. If you've 38 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:11,880 Speaker 1: ever seen an oyster in its shell, the ductor muscle 39 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: is the is the tough circular bit that's more firmly 40 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:16,320 Speaker 1: attached to the shell than the rest of the oyster. 41 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:20,360 Speaker 1: Oh yes, yeah, I mean I've eaten many an oyster 42 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:25,440 Speaker 1: in my day, so I know exactly what you're talking about. Um. Oh, well, 43 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: while we're here, Um, oysters are basically still alive when 44 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:31,119 Speaker 1: the when we eat them raw or when we start 45 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 1: cooking them. Uh, go ahead and take a second to 46 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:37,680 Speaker 1: feel bad about that if you weren't aware. I know 47 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 1: I did. That's heavy stuff because I also have eaten 48 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: a lot of oysters in my time. And suddenly the 49 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: walrus and the carpenter, it's just it's thrown into a 50 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 1: whole new horrific light. It was already bad, but this 51 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:55,800 Speaker 1: is like the gritty d C reboot, like exactly when 52 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:58,920 Speaker 1: you know that they're still alive. But okay, UM, the 53 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 1: reason that we do this is not that humans are 54 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:04,280 Speaker 1: terrible monsters. Um, well we might be, but not about this. 55 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:07,640 Speaker 1: Is it Oysters can harbor some really pretty nasty bacteria 56 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: after they die, so you want to eat them as 57 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:12,880 Speaker 1: fresh as possible, which in this case means as close 58 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:15,960 Speaker 1: to living as possible. And I mentioned this here because 59 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:18,760 Speaker 1: you can tell a healthy, live oyster from a sick 60 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 1: or a dead one, because that a ductor muscle stops 61 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: working and their shell will crack up an all on 62 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:25,840 Speaker 1: its own, if it makes you feel any better. They 63 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:28,120 Speaker 1: don't have like a central nervous system or anything like that. 64 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:35,360 Speaker 1: So oh yeah, I mean, I guess, I guess a 65 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 1: tiny bit. Uh. They're they're real tasty though, but so um. 66 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 1: In order for oysters to grow to a point where 67 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:45,360 Speaker 1: you can eat them and feel bad about it later, first, 68 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: an adult oyster has to reproduce by sending their their 69 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:51,240 Speaker 1: sperm or their eggs out into the water to find 70 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: each other. Oh romantic is it? No? No, not at all, um. 71 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:00,640 Speaker 1: And then the wee baby oyster larva that that result 72 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,880 Speaker 1: from from those watery unions um, spend a few weeks 73 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:07,920 Speaker 1: swimming around and eating stuff um, which seems like a 74 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 1: pretty good life. But eventually the weight of their developing 75 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:14,640 Speaker 1: shell makes them sink down to the sea floor, upon 76 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:18,039 Speaker 1: which they kind of find a place to settle down. Um. Meanwhile, 77 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:20,640 Speaker 1: they've grown a foot to help them crawl to a 78 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:24,320 Speaker 1: good spot, which they do um and and and a 79 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:26,520 Speaker 1: good spot is someplace it's hard and solid with a 80 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 1: good water current running across it, and then the anchor 81 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:34,240 Speaker 1: to that reabsorb their foot and and move into and 82 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:37,360 Speaker 1: move into their kind of teenage stage. What we're upon 83 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:40,479 Speaker 1: there are called spats since they have different organs at 84 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:43,160 Speaker 1: all of these different stages. Oyster's growth to maturity is 85 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:49,119 Speaker 1: considered a metamorphosis, like like a butterfly in reverse. Sure. Yeah, 86 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:51,280 Speaker 1: I have to say, I was not expecting the phrase 87 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:56,359 Speaker 1: reabsorbed their foot. It's a good one, it is. Yeah, 88 00:04:56,400 --> 00:04:58,440 Speaker 1: at this point they take another three or four years 89 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:01,159 Speaker 1: to reach maturity. There can that are tastiest when they're 90 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 1: eaten before the age of five, specifically right before winter 91 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:06,640 Speaker 1: when they've stored up some fat for the cold months, 92 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:09,360 Speaker 1: so like October September kind of kind of area. Um. 93 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 1: But they can live up to thirty to fifty years 94 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 1: in the wild. Yeah, stuff, man, I this this is 95 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:18,279 Speaker 1: an episode where I learned a lot and I'm really 96 00:05:18,279 --> 00:05:21,520 Speaker 1: excited about most of it in slightly horrifying ways. So 97 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 1: all of this definitely happens on its own in nature, 98 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:27,440 Speaker 1: and you can harvest wild oysters depending on the laws 99 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:29,000 Speaker 1: in your area and whether or not you have a 100 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:31,599 Speaker 1: hammer that you feel like going out into the water 101 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:35,719 Speaker 1: and you know, pounding off some oysters with but you 102 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:38,960 Speaker 1: can also farm them and oyster farmers all work a 103 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:41,880 Speaker 1: little bit differently depending on their local conditions, but but 104 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:44,720 Speaker 1: generally the process is, you know, you select a few 105 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:48,080 Speaker 1: oysters with good looking shells as breeders, set up tanks 106 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:51,840 Speaker 1: that are ideal for spawning, move the resulting dust sized 107 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:56,200 Speaker 1: like dust particle sized larva into hatchery tanks. Then in 108 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:58,799 Speaker 1: a couple of weeks, move the pepper flake sized babies 109 00:05:58,839 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 1: into these screen did boxes and open water called upwellers. 110 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:07,000 Speaker 1: Then move the spat ready quarter inch kiddos into nursery cages. 111 00:06:07,279 --> 00:06:10,080 Speaker 1: And then finally, when when when the little buggers are 112 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:12,760 Speaker 1: a couple inches long, you just scatter them free range 113 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 1: a little bit out from the shoreline and let them 114 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:18,080 Speaker 1: let them settle in. And moving them around like this 115 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:20,360 Speaker 1: at all of their different growth stages lets you control 116 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:23,039 Speaker 1: that the temperature, the salinity, the flow of water, and 117 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:25,560 Speaker 1: exposure to to all kinds of different nutrients at their 118 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:29,120 Speaker 1: various stages of growth. It also encourages them to develop 119 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:33,400 Speaker 1: the ideal shell shape, which is that the left valve 120 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:36,000 Speaker 1: should be should be deep and very rounded to allow 121 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:38,560 Speaker 1: for a good bodily growth. And and also these methods 122 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:40,880 Speaker 1: make it easier to harvest the oysters later, they're not 123 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: going to be as firmly attached to the bottom of 124 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:47,200 Speaker 1: the of the water surface or the bottom of the 125 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:50,600 Speaker 1: stuff that the water is on top of. A wild oysters, 126 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:53,599 Speaker 1: by the way, usually root themselves to the shells of 127 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:55,960 Speaker 1: other oysters because that's a really easy way to get 128 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:59,559 Speaker 1: calcium carbonate out of the water. Over time, this winds 129 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:03,400 Speaker 1: up create these vast reefs of oyster shells that are 130 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:06,280 Speaker 1: really great for the environment. They provide structures for other 131 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:09,560 Speaker 1: aquatic critters to to live in and around. Uh. They 132 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:13,040 Speaker 1: filter and clarify the water like one to eight gallons 133 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:17,600 Speaker 1: of water per hour per oyster. Yeah um, as they 134 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:20,320 Speaker 1: suck it into, you know, breathe and find food. And 135 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:23,960 Speaker 1: they even prevent shoreline erosion by acting as wave breakers. 136 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:27,880 Speaker 1: So giant reefs of oysters. If you've never seen an 137 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: image of this, go stop what you're doing. I mean, 138 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:33,480 Speaker 1: unless you're like driving or something, don't do that. Go 139 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:35,760 Speaker 1: go look it up and then come back. Yes, it's 140 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:39,480 Speaker 1: pretty incredible. I feel like we've become a marine biology 141 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:43,640 Speaker 1: podcast all of a sudden, it's it's okay, but bring 142 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:46,000 Speaker 1: us back to two sayings, back to some kind of 143 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:50,480 Speaker 1: financial number. Okay, here we go. In the US produced 144 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:54,040 Speaker 1: an estimated forty four million pounds of oyster meat, with 145 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:57,800 Speaker 1: Louisiana being the largest producer. That same year, the US 146 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:04,440 Speaker 1: oyster industry made something like one point six million a year. Yeah. Um, 147 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:06,480 Speaker 1: and in the US we ate about two point five 148 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:13,160 Speaker 1: billion oysters. Of those came from the Atlantic coast. Yeah. 149 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:17,640 Speaker 1: So that's kind of the state of where we are 150 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:21,280 Speaker 1: and what oysters are. So let's look at how we 151 00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:24,560 Speaker 1: got here. But first let's take a quick break for 152 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:38,520 Speaker 1: a word from our sponsor, and we're back. Thank you sponsor. Yes, oh, 153 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:41,200 Speaker 1: and I wanted to mention before we get deep into 154 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:45,240 Speaker 1: this history here that uh, most of most of our 155 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:49,319 Speaker 1: our research was based in European and American uh culture 156 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:52,640 Speaker 1: and history of oysters, because that's where we live and 157 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:55,599 Speaker 1: that's what we were able to find. Perhaps in the 158 00:08:55,679 --> 00:08:58,440 Speaker 1: future will have an opportunity to to go into some 159 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:01,439 Speaker 1: of the history from the the Asian side of things, 160 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:04,520 Speaker 1: the Eastern side of things, but but for now, let's 161 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:09,680 Speaker 1: hear mostly about the West. So eighteenth century satirists Jonathan 162 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:12,839 Speaker 1: Swift wrote he was a bold man that first ate 163 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:16,439 Speaker 1: an oyster. True, but actually, according to food timeline dot or, 164 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:19,719 Speaker 1: people have been eating oysters since the dawn of humanity 165 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:24,079 Speaker 1: forwards that quote. Food historians think this is because oysters 166 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:28,080 Speaker 1: are relatively easy to collect and preserve, they're versatile, and 167 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:30,880 Speaker 1: they're nurshing. I'm sure the fact that you could eat 168 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:33,040 Speaker 1: them raw was a big selling point in earliest days 169 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:35,400 Speaker 1: of eating things as well. Yeah, and also you could 170 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:39,000 Speaker 1: use the shells for spoons, so practical. Yeah, good tools. 171 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:43,680 Speaker 1: We can't pin down exactly when ancient humans first started 172 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:46,880 Speaker 1: cultivating oysters, but in two thousand and seven, a group 173 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:50,360 Speaker 1: of scientists found one seventy four thousand year old evidence 174 00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:54,880 Speaker 1: of humans enjoying shellfish dinners in South Africa. Shell Fish 175 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:59,160 Speaker 1: is such a fun word to sh shellfish. Archaeologists have 176 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:02,400 Speaker 1: discovered anti at middens and these are like big shell 177 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:06,360 Speaker 1: heaps dating back to two thousand BC along the coast 178 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:10,079 Speaker 1: of Japan, and ten thousand year old middens have been 179 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:15,040 Speaker 1: found along Australia's coastline. Yeah. Middens dating back to one 180 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:17,360 Speaker 1: thousand years can be found along the east and west 181 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:21,720 Speaker 1: coast of North America. Yes, and going back two thousand years, 182 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:24,520 Speaker 1: we have evidence of the Romans, who were like huge 183 00:10:24,559 --> 00:10:28,720 Speaker 1: oyster fans called big into it oh Man, collecting oyster 184 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:31,520 Speaker 1: seed grows near the mouth of the Adriatic Sea and 185 00:10:31,559 --> 00:10:34,120 Speaker 1: bringing them back to Italy for growth. They did this 186 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:38,600 Speaker 1: by um moving tiny little oysters with twigs and placing 187 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 1: them somewhere calmer with higher salinity, and this resulted in 188 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:46,040 Speaker 1: a fatter taste your in product. And the Romans weren't 189 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:48,280 Speaker 1: the only ones doing this either. The Japanese used bamboo 190 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:51,120 Speaker 1: to do the same thing, and the Greeks used pieces 191 00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:55,040 Speaker 1: of pottery. Uh. Side note here about the Greeks and oysters. 192 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:57,760 Speaker 1: The Greeks used oyster shells and part of their democratic 193 00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:00,920 Speaker 1: process for for for a little while in ancient athens 194 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:05,680 Speaker 1: Um circa four BC, if there's like someone that you 195 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:09,000 Speaker 1: thought was really detrimental to society hanging out, you could 196 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: write their name on on a flat piece of oyster 197 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:16,120 Speaker 1: shell called an ostracon, and if that person's name turned 198 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:20,480 Speaker 1: up often enough on these ostracons, then then then be 199 00:11:20,559 --> 00:11:23,800 Speaker 1: kicked out of town for ten years years ted years. 200 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:26,960 Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, baby, nice to your fellow neighbors. Um, 201 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:29,960 Speaker 1: this is where we get the word ostracized from. That's 202 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:32,640 Speaker 1: so great. Eventually they switched from shells to bits of 203 00:11:32,679 --> 00:11:35,760 Speaker 1: pottery for ease of use, but the name stuck. I 204 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:40,920 Speaker 1: love it. They're so useful, these oyster shells, they really 205 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:45,280 Speaker 1: are the Romans getting back to them. They imported oysters 206 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:49,080 Speaker 1: from all over the Mediterranean and the European coast, wherever 207 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:51,839 Speaker 1: they could find them. Really, they just were so in love. Um. 208 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:54,880 Speaker 1: And there's evidence of the Romans importing British oysters from Kent, 209 00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:58,640 Speaker 1: which means they must have been preserving are brining them 210 00:11:58,679 --> 00:12:01,320 Speaker 1: so that they'd survived the journing. Yeah. I think pickled 211 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:03,520 Speaker 1: oysters were a really big thing for a very long time. 212 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:10,440 Speaker 1: I've never had one pickled. I haven't either. It's also 213 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:13,520 Speaker 1: probably important to note that these they were eating, um 214 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:16,400 Speaker 1: much thinner. The oysters they were eating were much thinner 215 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:20,240 Speaker 1: than the ones we know now, just because uh, they 216 00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:22,160 Speaker 1: didn't have all the they didn't have all the knowledge 217 00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:23,880 Speaker 1: of the techniques of how to get them to be 218 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:28,000 Speaker 1: so plump fat. Anyway, it was around this time that 219 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:31,520 Speaker 1: writers like Pliny Are Good Buddy and the poet Assnos 220 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:35,640 Speaker 1: wrote just tons and tons about different oysters from different regions, 221 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:39,400 Speaker 1: comparing and contrasting their their qualities and their flavors. And 222 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:42,440 Speaker 1: it was also around us this time that the whole 223 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:46,480 Speaker 1: oysters are an aphrodisiac thing popped up in Greek mythology, 224 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:49,559 Speaker 1: the goddess of love Aphrodite, sprung out of an oyster 225 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:55,360 Speaker 1: shell and moments later gave birth to arrows that startling moments, 226 00:12:55,840 --> 00:13:00,800 Speaker 1: thus the word aphrodisiac. Yeah, and people believed it too. Casanova, 227 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:06,040 Speaker 1: famous eighteenth century lover movers Shaker allegedly would eat around 228 00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:09,760 Speaker 1: fifty for breakfast with the oysters. Uh, talk about the 229 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:13,319 Speaker 1: breakfast of champions. And we're going to talk about more 230 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:16,760 Speaker 1: of the actual science of that or lack thereof the 231 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:19,240 Speaker 1: aphrodisic thing, not the goddess of love thing. Oh yeah, 232 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:22,440 Speaker 1: yeah later. Yes, by the time of their heyday and 233 00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:25,760 Speaker 1: Roman civilization, you showed off just how much money you 234 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:29,800 Speaker 1: had by stuffing as many oysters in your face as 235 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:33,360 Speaker 1: quickly as possible. This was especially the case for the 236 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:37,120 Speaker 1: inland elete, since the cost of transport drove up the 237 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:40,200 Speaker 1: cost of oysters. Yeah. But in places clost to water 238 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:44,280 Speaker 1: like London, oysters were plentiful, very popular and on the 239 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:49,960 Speaker 1: whole inexpensive. Yes. To prevent spoilage, oysters were often fried 240 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:53,480 Speaker 1: and enjoyed immediately after harvest. Oh that sounds so good. 241 00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:55,760 Speaker 1: I'm so glad that people have been frying them forever 242 00:13:55,840 --> 00:14:00,839 Speaker 1: to That's that's terrific. I know. Roman entrepreneur or Sergius 243 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:04,160 Speaker 1: Rata looked to profit off of his countryman's love of oysters, 244 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:07,400 Speaker 1: and he did so by making local oyster beds that 245 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:10,679 Speaker 1: were fed into by these channels and dams he created 246 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:14,120 Speaker 1: so you can control the flow of sea water, and 247 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:17,160 Speaker 1: he then tow died his water source as home to 248 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:22,120 Speaker 1: the tastiest oysters. Folks were blown away by this, like 249 00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:25,080 Speaker 1: people came to study it. Uh. And then he went 250 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:29,200 Speaker 1: on to invent heated swimming pools. So yeah, we have 251 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:34,000 Speaker 1: this fellow and oysters to thank for that. Oh my goodness. Okay, yeah, yeah, 252 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:36,200 Speaker 1: that's that's one of the that's basically the first time 253 00:14:36,280 --> 00:14:39,080 Speaker 1: in in a in western civilization anyway, that we have 254 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:42,440 Speaker 1: a solid record of someone really doing the oyster farming 255 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:45,880 Speaker 1: thing and doing it successfully right. The French were also 256 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:48,720 Speaker 1: in on this oyster game, and their coastline boasted many 257 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:52,440 Speaker 1: natural oyster beds. Yeah, by the time of the Roman 258 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:57,600 Speaker 1: occupation in fourth century ce poet Asnos his description of 259 00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:01,200 Speaker 1: the technical aspect of oyster farming and France, which is 260 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:03,080 Speaker 1: not exactly what we have today, was similar. It was 261 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:06,040 Speaker 1: so detailed and advanced for the time at least that 262 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:08,640 Speaker 1: it most likely had been practiced for quite a while. 263 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:12,640 Speaker 1: And like like we kind of mentioned earlier, oyster shells 264 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:16,320 Speaker 1: had a lot of uses. Because they have lime, they 265 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:19,120 Speaker 1: were ground up and used in cement or as fertilizer. 266 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:22,440 Speaker 1: Some of the limestone used to build towns along the 267 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:26,000 Speaker 1: south coast of France existed thanks to millennia oyster populations, 268 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:30,600 Speaker 1: fossilizing and jumping way ahead. In Australia around about the 269 00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:33,760 Speaker 1: eighteen sixties, the use of oyster shells and cement production 270 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:37,360 Speaker 1: led to a major depletion of the oyster beds, so 271 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:39,640 Speaker 1: that the government had to step in and set up 272 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:44,040 Speaker 1: cultivation practices based off what the French were doing. Yeah, 273 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:48,640 Speaker 1: oysters enjoyed this huge popularity in Paris during the sixteen hundreds. 274 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:52,000 Speaker 1: There may have been over two thousand oyster sellers there 275 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:56,480 Speaker 1: during the reign of Louis as they are today, folks, 276 00:15:56,480 --> 00:15:59,200 Speaker 1: eight oysters, either cooked or raw and when eating raw, 277 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:01,960 Speaker 1: usually with a bit of lemon, juice or vinegar. However, 278 00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:05,840 Speaker 1: Alexandre duma Uh, famous author of Count of Monte Cristo 279 00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:10,240 Speaker 1: and other other things, wrote that quote. The true connoisseurs 280 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:14,520 Speaker 1: swallow them without lemon, vinegar, pepper, or anything else, just 281 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:18,280 Speaker 1: straight up, straight up. Recipes for cooked oysters around that 282 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:22,360 Speaker 1: time in France included oyster stews and fritters and broth 283 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:25,440 Speaker 1: made by not quite boiling oysters to be used in 284 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:30,120 Speaker 1: basically anything and or everything which sounds delicious. Um. Our 285 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:33,520 Speaker 1: buddy Francois Pierre Lavarenne wrote in his book Liquis ineur 286 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:36,640 Speaker 1: Francois that you should open up your oysters and save 287 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:39,000 Speaker 1: the nicest to be eaten raw, and then take the rest, 288 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:42,400 Speaker 1: add butter, bread crumbs and a sprinkle of nutmeg, and 289 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:44,680 Speaker 1: then roast them in their shells on an iron griddle. 290 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:47,440 Speaker 1: And now that I've read that, I really can't stop 291 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:50,120 Speaker 1: thinking about it. I want it so much. That sounds 292 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:54,560 Speaker 1: so good. Oh um. There's a legend that a steward 293 00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:57,640 Speaker 1: to the Royal House of Conde, a man by the 294 00:16:57,720 --> 00:17:01,200 Speaker 1: name of Attel, was once in char A feeding Louis 295 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:05,119 Speaker 1: the fourteenth and his traveling party, and by traveling party, 296 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:08,159 Speaker 1: I mean like five thousand people. And the pressure was 297 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:10,399 Speaker 1: so great that when a shipment of oysters from the 298 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:14,119 Speaker 1: coast failed to arrive on time, Battel committed suicide by 299 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:16,840 Speaker 1: falling on his own sword rather than face the wrath 300 00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:22,520 Speaker 1: of the bougie aristocracy. They were serious about their oysters, 301 00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:31,160 Speaker 1: very very serious. Okay, wow. Moving on to North America. 302 00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:37,280 Speaker 1: Before Columbus arrived Columbus, again, Native American women harvested and 303 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:40,359 Speaker 1: prepared oysters, sometimes preserving them to last through the winter. 304 00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:45,760 Speaker 1: And when the Dutch first colonized what was then New 305 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:48,919 Speaker 1: Amsterdam what we know today as New York City in 306 00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:53,960 Speaker 1: the six hundreds, they discovered just so many oyster beibs. 307 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:57,280 Speaker 1: Oh yeah. Some biologists estimate that over half of the 308 00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:00,520 Speaker 1: world's oyster population may have once lived in York, harber 309 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:05,520 Speaker 1: covering twenty two thousand acres over half. And this meant 310 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:08,679 Speaker 1: that they were cheaper than pretty much all other livestock, 311 00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:12,560 Speaker 1: and that meant that people ate a lot of them. 312 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:15,080 Speaker 1: You could get them from street vendors. The oyster shells 313 00:18:15,080 --> 00:18:17,359 Speaker 1: were used to pay Pearl Street and the foundations of 314 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:22,160 Speaker 1: buildings um to prevent over harvesting. There were rules put 315 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:24,879 Speaker 1: in place about when and where you could harvest oysters, 316 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:28,359 Speaker 1: but at one point in the eighteenth century the diet 317 00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:30,720 Speaker 1: of the poor living in cities was pretty much just 318 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:35,040 Speaker 1: bread and oysters. The average New Yorker had two oyster 319 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:39,719 Speaker 1: based meals a week. Wow, I'll ask. Those regulations they 320 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:42,360 Speaker 1: put in place didn't work, And today they're pretty much 321 00:18:42,359 --> 00:18:45,320 Speaker 1: extinct from New York Harbor. But there is a pretty serious, 322 00:18:45,359 --> 00:18:49,920 Speaker 1: concerted effort to bring them back to boost the oyster population. Yea, 323 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:54,960 Speaker 1: perhaps not as big as it once was. Yeah, yeah, 324 00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:58,160 Speaker 1: revitalize it a bit. And New York is also thought 325 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:01,680 Speaker 1: to be where the first oysters were canned in eighteen nineteen, 326 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:05,440 Speaker 1: and it is also also most likely the birthplace of 327 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:10,200 Speaker 1: the oyster alcohol pairing. Yeah. From New York taverns pairing 328 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:13,960 Speaker 1: oysters with booze spread eventually arriving to New Orleans, which 329 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:18,760 Speaker 1: was home to much of America's absentthe yes and the 330 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:22,280 Speaker 1: discovery of the absent oyster combo followed soon after, and 331 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:24,400 Speaker 1: of course that the French immigrants to New Orleans would 332 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:27,359 Speaker 1: have brought with them their their appreciation for oysters. Yes 333 00:19:28,359 --> 00:19:33,000 Speaker 1: um and Charles McKay's e book Life Liberty in America, 334 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:37,320 Speaker 1: he wrote, the rich consume oysters and champagne. The poorer 335 00:19:37,359 --> 00:19:40,520 Speaker 1: classes consume oysters and large beer. And that is one 336 00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:43,320 Speaker 1: of the principal social differences between the two sections of 337 00:19:43,359 --> 00:19:49,960 Speaker 1: the community, which I kind of love. Yeah, But I 338 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:54,440 Speaker 1: mean today we still like, there's a restaurant indicator near 339 00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:58,320 Speaker 1: Atlanta that does oysters and absent and oysters and champagne, 340 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:01,520 Speaker 1: oysters and beer still do it. I think I've had 341 00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:04,199 Speaker 1: all of these combinations. In fact, I believe I have 342 00:20:04,280 --> 00:20:07,000 Speaker 1: as well. None of them would none of them suck. No, 343 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:11,199 Speaker 1: They're all pretty pretty solid. Oysters weren't just big in 344 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:15,440 Speaker 1: New York. The US went through something called the oyster 345 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:19,760 Speaker 1: craze in the mid to late eighteen hundreds. During peak 346 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:24,080 Speaker 1: production from eighteen eighty to nineteen ten, the US produced 347 00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:27,800 Speaker 1: one hundred sixty million pounds a year, more than all 348 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:32,200 Speaker 1: other countries put together. By the nineteenth century, these things 349 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:35,240 Speaker 1: called oyster saloons started popping up where you could indulge 350 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:38,800 Speaker 1: on some fresh oysters, like real quick. And these might 351 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:43,440 Speaker 1: have been some of America's first restaurants, like outside of inns. Yeah, 352 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:46,080 Speaker 1: and they were marked by these big circular red and 353 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:50,080 Speaker 1: white signs and you could get it was a go 354 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:53,879 Speaker 1: to lunch option for working men in coastal cities, but 355 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:57,480 Speaker 1: it was also frequented by politicians. New York City had 356 00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:04,280 Speaker 1: eight and some even curtain booce for women. The ladies 357 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:09,520 Speaker 1: could get some oysters. I know, women in public. Oh 358 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:16,040 Speaker 1: my goodness. You could get oysters pretty much anyway you wanted. 359 00:21:16,119 --> 00:21:18,200 Speaker 1: You could get them stewed scalut, fried in a pie 360 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:21,840 Speaker 1: and soup and patties in the fall, and I love this. 361 00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:24,760 Speaker 1: Some people would mix some damp sea sand with some 362 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:28,160 Speaker 1: corn meal in a corner in their cellar and burry 363 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:30,720 Speaker 1: oysters in there so they wouldn't run out in the winter, 364 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:33,920 Speaker 1: and they'd water this little oyster bed twice a week 365 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:38,119 Speaker 1: or so like a plant. And when you wanted some oysters, 366 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:40,480 Speaker 1: you just went digging in there. And they were called 367 00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:44,399 Speaker 1: cellar oysters. They were popular and things like oyster pie 368 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:47,840 Speaker 1: or stew. Since they weren't as fresh and no host 369 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:51,240 Speaker 1: worked their salt would neglect to have these luscious fivalves, 370 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:54,399 Speaker 1: as they were called, and you could serve them. Around 371 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:59,160 Speaker 1: this time, ultra fancy oyster plates started coming out the purchase. Yeah, 372 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:02,040 Speaker 1: the many hundreds is also where we get oyster crackers 373 00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:04,640 Speaker 1: from um and no they are not made with oysters. 374 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:07,400 Speaker 1: They were they were served with oyster stews in New England. 375 00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:10,120 Speaker 1: And you know they slightly resemble oysters with their kind 376 00:22:10,119 --> 00:22:12,960 Speaker 1: of circular shape that consists of two rounded sides top 377 00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:15,600 Speaker 1: and bottom that can crack apart from one another. Yeah, 378 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:19,919 Speaker 1: I see it. Yeah. This crazy demand for oysters also 379 00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:24,520 Speaker 1: resulted in the Oyster Wars, a series of violent skirmishes 380 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:29,160 Speaker 1: between oyster pirates and oystermen operating in the Chesapeake Bay 381 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:35,040 Speaker 1: and Potomac River from five to nineteen fifty nine. What 382 00:22:35,359 --> 00:22:38,959 Speaker 1: that is pretty recent. That's almost a hundred years of 383 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:44,160 Speaker 1: oyster piracy. Also oyster piracy. I know, there's so many 384 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:49,240 Speaker 1: exclamation points in that line. Well deserved the oysters from 385 00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:54,000 Speaker 1: this area. They grew to be up to a foot long. Yeah, 386 00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:57,560 Speaker 1: they were very plentiful. Ships would sometimes run a ground 387 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:00,760 Speaker 1: on them. Goodness, and records exist off being enjoyed by 388 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:03,720 Speaker 1: John Smith and they were a favorite of George Washington. 389 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:08,080 Speaker 1: As the early eighteen hundred saw depletion of New England's oysters, 390 00:23:08,359 --> 00:23:11,480 Speaker 1: boats from up north started coming further and further south 391 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:15,720 Speaker 1: looking for some oysters, and the locals didn't like that. 392 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:20,119 Speaker 1: Both Virginia and Maryland pass laws that made oyster fishing 393 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:25,320 Speaker 1: illegal for non residents. Baltimore became the hub of oyster 394 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:27,760 Speaker 1: canning and shipping. And I think we've said before just 395 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:31,640 Speaker 1: canning in general. Um, first with the oyster line, that's 396 00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:34,840 Speaker 1: what it was called to Ohio, and then expanding out 397 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:38,120 Speaker 1: so that Chesapeake Bay oysters could be enjoyed pretty much 398 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:42,159 Speaker 1: anywhere in the US. As technology develops and it was 399 00:23:42,240 --> 00:23:45,879 Speaker 1: discovered that if esteemed them, um, it's sped up the 400 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:50,280 Speaker 1: shucking process, more and more were canned and shipped. Seventeen 401 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:54,400 Speaker 1: million bushels of Chesapeake oysters had been harvested by eighteen 402 00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:58,199 Speaker 1: seventy five, and by the production peak of the eighteen eighties, 403 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:04,200 Speaker 1: twenty million bushels of Chesapeake oysters for being harvested a year. Yeah, 404 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:08,119 Speaker 1: and there were two main ways used to harvest oysters 405 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:11,440 Speaker 1: a hand using wooden wooden tongs to lift the catch 406 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:15,480 Speaker 1: out of the water, are by dredging. Maryland only permitted 407 00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:18,560 Speaker 1: dredging in deep waters, but of course the dredgers didn't 408 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:24,320 Speaker 1: always abide, and this sometimes resulted in gunfights. Oh, you know, 409 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:28,600 Speaker 1: oyster gunfights. Absolutely, that seems like the best way to 410 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:32,639 Speaker 1: resolve the situation. Not helping things at all was the 411 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:36,560 Speaker 1: not so well defined border between Maryland and Virginia. So 412 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:40,399 Speaker 1: Virginia orshermen would come into Maryland's waters looking for oysters, yeah, 413 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:42,879 Speaker 1: thinking they had a claim to them, and Maryland oysterermen 414 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:46,760 Speaker 1: were not cool with that. Things got so bad that 415 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:50,760 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty eight the Maryland Oyster Police Force was formed. 416 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:57,000 Speaker 1: Oyster Police Force. They only had one steamboat for that 417 00:24:57,000 --> 00:24:59,560 Speaker 1: whole area, though, so they were they were pretty limited 418 00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:03,560 Speaker 1: in what they could accomplish. By the twenties, oyster production 419 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:05,919 Speaker 1: in the area dropped to three million bushels a year, 420 00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:09,280 Speaker 1: which is pretty substantial um. And the discovery of a 421 00:25:09,359 --> 00:25:12,120 Speaker 1: new oyster bed and the Potomac in the nineteen forties 422 00:25:13,080 --> 00:25:18,159 Speaker 1: reunited the oyster wars. Yeah, with Virginia oyster pirates and 423 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:23,240 Speaker 1: dredgers called the Mosquito Fleet getting into chases and gunfights 424 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:26,439 Speaker 1: with the oryster police. Why have I never seen a 425 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:30,960 Speaker 1: big action movie about this? I mean, come on, Hollywood, 426 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:33,280 Speaker 1: get on it. Yeah, Like you could do special screenings 427 00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:36,720 Speaker 1: and in places with oysters for dinner, it would be. 428 00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:40,720 Speaker 1: It would be such a hit, get it together, Come on. 429 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:44,440 Speaker 1: All of this came to a head in nine when 430 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:48,679 Speaker 1: Virginian Berkeley muse what a name, went dredging for some 431 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:52,760 Speaker 1: Maryland oysters, was spotted by the oyster police and shot 432 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:56,800 Speaker 1: while attempting to flee. He bled to death on his boat, 433 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:01,000 Speaker 1: and the two states involved past so much inslation that 434 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:05,560 Speaker 1: finally brought an end to the oyster wars. Yes for 435 00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:09,320 Speaker 1: further listening our sister podcast Stuff You Missed in History 436 00:26:09,359 --> 00:26:14,840 Speaker 1: Class as a whole episode on this. Yeah. Meanwhile, over 437 00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:18,000 Speaker 1: in Europe there were other oyster troubles to contend with. 438 00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:22,359 Speaker 1: Native oysters, called flat or European oysters were susceptible to 439 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:26,000 Speaker 1: a lot of parasites and and other species would become invasive, 440 00:26:26,119 --> 00:26:30,080 Speaker 1: particularly Portuguese oysters which had actually stowed away from India 441 00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:33,880 Speaker 1: as barnacles on trading ships. You know, the Portuguese ships 442 00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:35,920 Speaker 1: would arrive home and they would chuck the barnacles off, 443 00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:38,240 Speaker 1: which were oysters, and then the oysters would just be like, oh, 444 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:41,720 Speaker 1: this is chill to set up shop here. This is yeah. Um. 445 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:46,760 Speaker 1: A series of laws and livestock diseases affected oyster populations 446 00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:49,720 Speaker 1: of both types though, and eventually a whole other species 447 00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:51,880 Speaker 1: had to be imported from Japan in order to keep 448 00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:58,919 Speaker 1: numbers up. And Apart from you know, the war, oyster 449 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:03,680 Speaker 1: producers and US did suffer some other setbacks, the first 450 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:08,000 Speaker 1: being related to the pure food hysteria of the early 451 00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:10,840 Speaker 1: nineteen hundreds. That's what it was called. People started to 452 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:14,959 Speaker 1: link outbreaks of typhoid and g I disorders to oysters. 453 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:21,320 Speaker 1: Newspapers ran sensationalist headlines and stories about this connection pretty frequently, 454 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:26,800 Speaker 1: so people started switching to more expensive beef. Yeah, and 455 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:29,200 Speaker 1: kind of side note. In nineteen o seven, oyster grower 456 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:33,560 Speaker 1: Henry c Row formed the Oyster Growers and Dealers of 457 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:37,880 Speaker 1: North America to help better the oyster's image, with little success, 458 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:42,320 Speaker 1: but this organization later renamed itself the Shellfish Institute of 459 00:27:42,359 --> 00:27:49,479 Speaker 1: North America and is one of America's oldest trade associations. Yeah. Anyway, 460 00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:53,440 Speaker 1: getting back to the pure food hysteria, tougher oyster packing 461 00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:56,280 Speaker 1: and handling rules were introduced in nineteen o nine, which 462 00:27:56,359 --> 00:28:01,600 Speaker 1: increased operating cost in. Several people, mostly in Chicago, got 463 00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:05,520 Speaker 1: typhoid after eating oysters, and some of them died. Um 464 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:12,159 Speaker 1: and the oyster demand dropped fifty eight what. Yeah, it 465 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:15,720 Speaker 1: was called quote the greatest disaster, which ever befell the 466 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:21,399 Speaker 1: industry goodness, very dark times for oysters. And speaking of 467 00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:25,800 Speaker 1: prohibition didn't help either, since alcohol and oysters go together 468 00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:27,960 Speaker 1: like birds of a feather, and a lot of places 469 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:32,639 Speaker 1: where oysters were enjoyed got shut down because they had alcohol. Yeah. 470 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:36,520 Speaker 1: And then in the nineteen fifties, a new disease called 471 00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:40,719 Speaker 1: ms X decimated oyster beds and Delaware and Chesapeake Bay 472 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:47,120 Speaker 1: we're talking loss. Yeah, these problems persisted, not quite on 473 00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:52,080 Speaker 1: that scale, all the way up to the mid nineteen nineties. Yeah. 474 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:58,160 Speaker 1: And another problem I just found this very surprising. Starfish 475 00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:02,400 Speaker 1: our oyster predators. Yeah, they love an oyster. Yeah. Some fishermen, 476 00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:05,959 Speaker 1: you see these things called oyster mops to collect starfish 477 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,840 Speaker 1: and drop them into a tub of boiling water to 478 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:13,600 Speaker 1: kill them. Yeah. That's a that's a very ultimate answer 479 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:17,240 Speaker 1: to that problem. Okay. Starfish, by the way, are such 480 00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:22,320 Speaker 1: good oyster predators. Uh. They produce a paralyzing agent that 481 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:25,560 Speaker 1: once they've pried opened the oyster's shell with their with 482 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:28,840 Speaker 1: their thick media arms, they squirt this paralyzing agent in 483 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:31,000 Speaker 1: at the oyster so that it can't use it's it's 484 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:34,080 Speaker 1: a ductor muscle to close the shell up again. And 485 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:36,840 Speaker 1: then they then they squirt their their stomach, their their 486 00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:39,320 Speaker 1: stomach out through their mouth and they digest the oyster 487 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:42,120 Speaker 1: in its shell. I saw some videos of this on 488 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:49,640 Speaker 1: YouTube and it was both horrifying and impressive, as much 489 00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:55,680 Speaker 1: of nature is absolutely in the e p A started 490 00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:58,760 Speaker 1: a clean up effort in chess Peake Bay that helped 491 00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:03,720 Speaker 1: restore consumer confidence in oyster consumption safety. The program is 492 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:06,760 Speaker 1: ongoing UM but the new proposed budget would do away 493 00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:10,880 Speaker 1: with it. Virginia sold sixteen million dollars of oysters and 494 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:15,040 Speaker 1: they have a Virginia oyster trail like a wine trail. 495 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:19,520 Speaker 1: What I want to do that? Okay, alright? Field trip 496 00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:25,200 Speaker 1: another problem. The Gulf oyster industry took a huge hit 497 00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:29,200 Speaker 1: in with the BP oil spill, but it started to 498 00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:32,520 Speaker 1: bounce back. In fact, the South traditionally has been unable 499 00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:35,000 Speaker 1: or they have a difficult time selling their oysters because 500 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:37,440 Speaker 1: they grow in these really big clusters, so you can't 501 00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:43,280 Speaker 1: sell like individual oysters. Yeah, and the adoption of aquacultures 502 00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:45,840 Speaker 1: and hatcheries in the region has changed that and we're 503 00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:48,880 Speaker 1: hopefully going to visit one of these. It's gonna be 504 00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:53,520 Speaker 1: pretty big for the Southern oyster industry. Yeah. Um, random 505 00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:57,040 Speaker 1: fact murder point. Oysters are so named because one guy 506 00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:00,280 Speaker 1: killed another guy in an oyster territory dispute where these 507 00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:05,440 Speaker 1: oysters are formed. I just thought that was interesting. Okay, 508 00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:09,200 Speaker 1: so much so much murder in this oyster episode. Who knew? 509 00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:17,200 Speaker 1: H That is oyster history in the shell some kind 510 00:31:17,240 --> 00:31:20,920 Speaker 1: of pun there. Yeah, so let's talk about some oyster science. 511 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:23,560 Speaker 1: But first, let's pause for another quick break for a 512 00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:37,080 Speaker 1: word from our sponsor, and we're back, Thank you, sponsor. Yes, okay, So, 513 00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:42,680 Speaker 1: so science and health and weather. Oysters are an aphrodisiac. First, nutrition, 514 00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:46,800 Speaker 1: oysters are high in protein, good fats, iron, calcium, a 515 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:48,840 Speaker 1: few other vitamins and minerals, and they're really pretty good 516 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:52,240 Speaker 1: for you. They're feeling without being too heavy. Uh, eat 517 00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:56,720 Speaker 1: more oysters? Yeah? Okay. However, if you're immunocompromised or have 518 00:31:56,840 --> 00:31:59,600 Speaker 1: a liver disease, you probably shouldn't eat them raw due 519 00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:01,560 Speaker 1: to day jear of infection with a few types of 520 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:05,840 Speaker 1: bacteria that can cause serious problems in humans. Um that 521 00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:08,680 Speaker 1: they're in the same genus as a as a cholera um. 522 00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:13,479 Speaker 1: It's the vibrio genus. Yes. Uh. Well, related to that, 523 00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:16,520 Speaker 1: is it actually dangerous to eat oysters in month that 524 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:19,160 Speaker 1: don't contain the letter ARE in their name. I have 525 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:21,640 Speaker 1: never heard this before, and now I'm seeing it all 526 00:32:21,720 --> 00:32:24,880 Speaker 1: over like just randomly. Yeah, it's probably because I've been 527 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:27,680 Speaker 1: researching oysters. That's that could be. That could be absolutely 528 00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:30,400 Speaker 1: what it is. Yes, it's an old saying, and there 529 00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:32,120 Speaker 1: is a little bit of truth to it in the 530 00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:35,640 Speaker 1: Northern Hemisphere at any rate, because months without the letter 531 00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:40,160 Speaker 1: are are May, June, July, and August, which are the 532 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:44,840 Speaker 1: height of summer, and these potentially dangerous Fibrio bacteria thrive 533 00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:47,640 Speaker 1: in warmer weather. So there is a slightly higher risk 534 00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:50,240 Speaker 1: of infection when you eat raw oysters during the summer months, 535 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:53,360 Speaker 1: especially if they're from warmer areas like the Gulf of Mexico, 536 00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:57,600 Speaker 1: but infection is pretty rare. According to the CDC, vibe 537 00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:01,360 Speaker 1: vibriosis causes about eighty tho illnesses and a hundred deaths 538 00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:04,360 Speaker 1: every year in the United States, which is nothing compared 539 00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:06,840 Speaker 1: to like say, sale manella, which causes one point two 540 00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:11,200 Speaker 1: million illnesses and four fifty deaths every year. So don't 541 00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:14,040 Speaker 1: be too scared, but do do use your best judgment 542 00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:17,720 Speaker 1: along the aphrodisiac lines. Now that I've talked about the 543 00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:22,280 Speaker 1: terrifying disease lines. Um, so there's no evidence that oysters 544 00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:26,200 Speaker 1: are an aphrodisia. What And I know you've heard this 545 00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:29,040 Speaker 1: science news story from like a decade ago that said 546 00:33:29,160 --> 00:33:32,040 Speaker 1: that there was that there was evidence along those lines, um, 547 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:34,680 Speaker 1: which was a case of poor science journalism. Oh no, 548 00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:37,880 Speaker 1: that never happens, never ever, know, which means our jobs 549 00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:41,480 Speaker 1: are dead. Yeah, we could all go home goodbye. Oh no, okay. 550 00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:43,200 Speaker 1: So so, so what happened in this particular case was 551 00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:47,520 Speaker 1: there was an undergraduate study into the chemical makeup of muscles, 552 00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:50,760 Speaker 1: which are of course related to oysters. Um, where the 553 00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:55,080 Speaker 1: researchers found this amino acid called D S partic. I 554 00:33:55,120 --> 00:33:57,280 Speaker 1: think I'm saying that right, I'm going to move forward, um, 555 00:33:57,400 --> 00:34:00,480 Speaker 1: and that amano acid has been found to increase the 556 00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:03,600 Speaker 1: levels of sex hormones in lab rats. But they did 557 00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:07,920 Speaker 1: not test oysters. They did not test anything in humans. However, 558 00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:12,120 Speaker 1: the funny thing about rumored aphrodisiacs is that they're really 559 00:34:12,239 --> 00:34:15,640 Speaker 1: placebo compatible, which means that if you believe that they're 560 00:34:15,640 --> 00:34:18,000 Speaker 1: going to work. It's basically a coin flip of a 561 00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:22,839 Speaker 1: chance that they'll totally work. I feel like, yeah, if 562 00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:26,320 Speaker 1: you want something to work in that situation, you're already 563 00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:29,360 Speaker 1: kind of you're right there, you're already kind of there. Yeah. 564 00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:32,520 Speaker 1: So so much of so much of arousal is is 565 00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:35,719 Speaker 1: in your brain that yeah, if you if you're into it, 566 00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:38,160 Speaker 1: I mean, I mean, eats oysters and have fun. Oh 567 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:42,360 Speaker 1: yeah yeah, but the science wise and oh back to 568 00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:47,200 Speaker 1: scary things, okay, so so so pollution Oysters are bottom 569 00:34:47,239 --> 00:34:49,680 Speaker 1: feeders in shallow areas, which means that they're usually right 570 00:34:49,680 --> 00:34:53,719 Speaker 1: by an ocean coastline, right along with any pollutants that 571 00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:57,040 Speaker 1: dump out from local waterways or the groundwater. Plus, like 572 00:34:57,080 --> 00:34:59,680 Speaker 1: lots of sea creatures, they can wind up storing harmful 573 00:34:59,719 --> 00:35:03,279 Speaker 1: stuff in their bodies, and researchers have found traces of 574 00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:08,480 Speaker 1: stuff like mercury, arsenic, and human medications in oysters. But 575 00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:12,319 Speaker 1: but again, probably not enough to worry about unless you're 576 00:35:12,360 --> 00:35:18,160 Speaker 1: either immunocompromised or eating like a lot of oysters. How 577 00:35:18,239 --> 00:35:21,200 Speaker 1: much is a lot which I mean, I mean if 578 00:35:21,280 --> 00:35:24,120 Speaker 1: you binge on like a couple dozen every once, in 579 00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:26,560 Speaker 1: a while. I think you're fine. I've been known to 580 00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:30,359 Speaker 1: get into some trouble at Oyster Fest if you if 581 00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:33,640 Speaker 1: like Casanova, you're eating like fifty every morning, then I 582 00:35:33,719 --> 00:35:37,360 Speaker 1: might cut that out. I can't afford that. So excellent, 583 00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:42,279 Speaker 1: Well good, I'm gonna be fine. Oh back back to 584 00:35:42,360 --> 00:35:47,919 Speaker 1: back to sexuality though, Uh oysters, oysters reproductive lives are 585 00:35:47,960 --> 00:35:51,560 Speaker 1: really interesting. I mean from from a human perspective anyway. 586 00:35:51,560 --> 00:35:54,080 Speaker 1: I mean for them, it's feeling normal everyday kind of stuff. 587 00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:58,080 Speaker 1: Uh Oysters change their sex at least once during their lifetimes, 588 00:35:58,320 --> 00:36:01,279 Speaker 1: at least once they're hermaphroditic. They tend to be male 589 00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:04,440 Speaker 1: and produced sperm early on in their lives. Um sperm 590 00:36:04,440 --> 00:36:07,920 Speaker 1: production requires fewer resources, and they're really busy bulking up 591 00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:09,959 Speaker 1: their shells. At that point. When they get a little 592 00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:12,319 Speaker 1: bit older, they tend to switch to female sex and 593 00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:15,280 Speaker 1: egg production, and they can switch back and forth depending 594 00:36:15,320 --> 00:36:20,799 Speaker 1: on the conditions in their environment. So I love that 595 00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:27,600 Speaker 1: you wrote bulking up the shell for the male oyster. Like, yeah, 596 00:36:30,440 --> 00:36:35,040 Speaker 1: that's pretty great. Okay, let's talk about some popular some 597 00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:39,319 Speaker 1: popular oyster recipes. So the first one I thought of 598 00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:45,600 Speaker 1: as Oyster's Rockefeller and This is supposedly allegedly New Orleans 599 00:36:45,719 --> 00:36:50,239 Speaker 1: chef Jewels AlSi a tour. I wanted to say it 600 00:36:50,560 --> 00:36:53,040 Speaker 1: in an Italian way, but I looked up a video 601 00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:57,759 Speaker 1: and it's AlSi a tour of Antoine's restaurant. Um supposedly 602 00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:00,279 Speaker 1: lays claims to this recipe and the story as he 603 00:37:00,280 --> 00:37:04,080 Speaker 1: created it in eighteen eighty nine. The original recipe is 604 00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:07,920 Speaker 1: kind of a culinary secret. Oh yeah, but it involves 605 00:37:07,960 --> 00:37:12,080 Speaker 1: baking oysters with parsley shallots, tabasco sauce and butter, and 606 00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:14,680 Speaker 1: they are quite delicious if you've never had them prepared 607 00:37:14,719 --> 00:37:19,239 Speaker 1: this way, I recommend it. Pigs in a blanket. What's 608 00:37:19,800 --> 00:37:21,920 Speaker 1: that's a hot dog wrapped in dough? That's what I 609 00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:25,719 Speaker 1: thought too, But apparently this used to refer to broiled 610 00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:29,120 Speaker 1: oysters wrapped in bacon. Oh my goodness, I know. Going 611 00:37:29,200 --> 00:37:32,480 Speaker 1: all the way back to four. It also goes by 612 00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:36,120 Speaker 1: the name Angels on Horseback and yeah, we should try this, 613 00:37:36,400 --> 00:37:41,680 Speaker 1: yes soon. Another one. I've never heard of this oysters, Kirkpatrick. 614 00:37:41,719 --> 00:37:44,479 Speaker 1: Have you heard of this more? I have not. So 615 00:37:44,640 --> 00:37:46,960 Speaker 1: this probably first appeared on a menu sometime in the 616 00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:51,840 Speaker 1: nineteen twenties at San Francisco's Palace Hotel. According to the hotel, 617 00:37:51,960 --> 00:37:56,320 Speaker 1: it's broiled oysters topped with ketchup, bacon and green peppers, 618 00:37:56,360 --> 00:38:01,080 Speaker 1: sometimes with cheese. Huh it It kept popping up in 619 00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:04,520 Speaker 1: search results, So, I mean, I believe it's delicious because 620 00:38:04,520 --> 00:38:07,880 Speaker 1: it's made with oysters, and Hatchup is kind of throwing 621 00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:10,759 Speaker 1: me and I love ketchup, but I would definitely give 622 00:38:10,800 --> 00:38:12,920 Speaker 1: it a go. I mean, it's got a little bit 623 00:38:12,920 --> 00:38:15,799 Speaker 1: of a vinegar component, so I suppose that's true, like 624 00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:20,799 Speaker 1: cocktail sauce is yeah, sure, okay, Um. There's the Thanksgiving 625 00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:24,480 Speaker 1: tradition of using oysters and stuffing in New England. Oh, 626 00:38:24,920 --> 00:38:28,399 Speaker 1: which of course makes perfect sense. It does. I've never 627 00:38:28,480 --> 00:38:31,880 Speaker 1: had this, but people still do it. I hear. It 628 00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:34,560 Speaker 1: goes back pretty far to the first written recipe, appearing 629 00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:39,839 Speaker 1: in a cookbook out of London called The Accomplished cook. Yeah, 630 00:38:39,880 --> 00:38:41,680 Speaker 1: not not with an e D on the end of accomplished, 631 00:38:41,680 --> 00:38:46,160 Speaker 1: but a T rather just for flavor. It would make 632 00:38:46,239 --> 00:38:48,520 Speaker 1: sense that it would make the journey in North America, 633 00:38:48,800 --> 00:38:52,600 Speaker 1: and since oysters were so plentiful and popular in New England, 634 00:38:53,200 --> 00:38:54,640 Speaker 1: it would make sense that they would be out of 635 00:38:54,680 --> 00:38:58,000 Speaker 1: two stepping yeah, I'd like to try that as well. 636 00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:01,520 Speaker 1: Just things I want to try. Also, we can't in 637 00:39:01,600 --> 00:39:05,480 Speaker 1: this episode without mentioning oyster vending machines. This is a 638 00:39:05,560 --> 00:39:09,640 Speaker 1: thing I need. This in my life. Exists, but it 639 00:39:09,719 --> 00:39:13,960 Speaker 1: only exists in France currently and it's twenty four seven. 640 00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:17,200 Speaker 1: What just you know, whenever you have your oyster craving, 641 00:39:17,680 --> 00:39:21,240 Speaker 1: there's a vending machine. They're kept refrigerated and restocked daily, 642 00:39:21,719 --> 00:39:25,200 Speaker 1: and they're sold clothes to prevent food poisoning. And they're 643 00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:30,200 Speaker 1: actually pretty inexpensive for oysters. For oysters, they cost about 644 00:39:30,200 --> 00:39:32,520 Speaker 1: eight dollars for a dozen. Oh yeah, that's a totally 645 00:39:32,560 --> 00:39:35,279 Speaker 1: good price for an oyster. So you have to shuck 646 00:39:35,320 --> 00:39:38,200 Speaker 1: them yourself, like on the street. Oh that's true. What 647 00:39:38,239 --> 00:39:41,600 Speaker 1: if you because I imagine if you're going it three am, say, 648 00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:45,600 Speaker 1: you might be a little inebriated possibly, and then you 649 00:39:45,680 --> 00:39:48,719 Speaker 1: get you get this, get your oyster craving, you get 650 00:39:48,719 --> 00:39:53,440 Speaker 1: your oyster at the vending machine. M there's possibility for 651 00:39:53,560 --> 00:39:56,960 Speaker 1: injury there. Chucking oysters is not the easiest thing in 652 00:39:56,960 --> 00:40:00,160 Speaker 1: the world. I've never tried it. I've watched care really 653 00:40:00,239 --> 00:40:04,879 Speaker 1: while other people do it, it's it can be very 654 00:40:04,880 --> 00:40:07,279 Speaker 1: difficult there's a there's definitely a method to it. You 655 00:40:07,360 --> 00:40:09,600 Speaker 1: want to go in right at the knuckle. But if 656 00:40:09,640 --> 00:40:13,480 Speaker 1: there's alcohol involved, that's that's the thing. Like by the 657 00:40:13,480 --> 00:40:17,520 Speaker 1: time anyone ever gets around to shucking an oyster around me, like, yeah, 658 00:40:17,760 --> 00:40:20,479 Speaker 1: I feel like my time for shucking his path. Yes, 659 00:40:21,360 --> 00:40:23,760 Speaker 1: it's a limited there's a small window when you should 660 00:40:23,760 --> 00:40:26,279 Speaker 1: be doing it. Really yeah. Um oh, And I wanted 661 00:40:26,320 --> 00:40:29,280 Speaker 1: to mention that if you'd like to hear more about oysters, 662 00:40:29,360 --> 00:40:32,680 Speaker 1: the gas Troopod podcast has a really great episode where 663 00:40:32,719 --> 00:40:36,160 Speaker 1: they interview Rowan Jacobson, who's the author of The Essential 664 00:40:36,200 --> 00:40:40,719 Speaker 1: Oyster and uh, I found it enlightening and you might too. Yes, 665 00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:44,200 Speaker 1: it was very enlightening. Other things that we found lightning 666 00:40:44,480 --> 00:40:52,360 Speaker 1: or these pieces of listener mad yes Um Florian wrote 667 00:40:52,400 --> 00:40:55,880 Speaker 1: in response to our butter beer episode, your latest episode 668 00:40:55,960 --> 00:40:58,040 Speaker 1: was about fictional food and it reminded me of my 669 00:40:58,160 --> 00:41:01,239 Speaker 1: youth about twenty years ago, when I was obsessed about 670 00:41:01,320 --> 00:41:05,800 Speaker 1: bringing another fictional food into our world, Limbus the Elven 671 00:41:05,840 --> 00:41:08,640 Speaker 1: bread from the Lord of the Rings. I read the 672 00:41:08,640 --> 00:41:11,400 Speaker 1: passages describing it several times and went to town with 673 00:41:11,440 --> 00:41:14,600 Speaker 1: different sorts of flour, spices and honeys. The results were 674 00:41:14,640 --> 00:41:18,320 Speaker 1: always edible and sometimes even pleasant, but they never fully 675 00:41:18,360 --> 00:41:22,240 Speaker 1: achieved to taste quote better than any man made food, 676 00:41:23,080 --> 00:41:25,839 Speaker 1: or to be something that you would never grow tired 677 00:41:25,880 --> 00:41:29,760 Speaker 1: of eating. Another fictional food I apparently created by accident. 678 00:41:30,360 --> 00:41:33,920 Speaker 1: When I was experimenting with old recipes for Sailor's hardtack, 679 00:41:34,040 --> 00:41:36,680 Speaker 1: I ended up with something that must have closely resembled 680 00:41:36,760 --> 00:41:40,719 Speaker 1: dwarf and bread from Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld the Universe. 681 00:41:41,440 --> 00:41:45,600 Speaker 1: It turned out almost as inedible as indestructible, and would 682 00:41:45,600 --> 00:41:49,080 Speaker 1: have been deadly when flung in anchor. Yes, a lot 683 00:41:49,160 --> 00:41:53,080 Speaker 1: of people have requested limbus bread. Yeah, a lot of people, 684 00:41:53,160 --> 00:41:56,120 Speaker 1: So absolutely, I guess I guess that's I guess that's 685 00:41:56,200 --> 00:41:59,040 Speaker 1: next fictional food. We will come back to that. Yeah, absolutely. 686 00:41:59,560 --> 00:42:04,040 Speaker 1: Um Uh. Samantha also Uh also wrote in after our 687 00:42:04,239 --> 00:42:08,000 Speaker 1: episode about tofu and said, you mentioned how the Chinese 688 00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:11,000 Speaker 1: word for luck is similar to tofu. In Japan, their 689 00:42:11,040 --> 00:42:14,800 Speaker 1: phrase ko katsu, which means you will surely win, sounds 690 00:42:14,920 --> 00:42:18,120 Speaker 1: very similar to kit cat. Students like to use them 691 00:42:18,120 --> 00:42:20,440 Speaker 1: as good luck charms before a test or something. As 692 00:42:20,480 --> 00:42:23,560 Speaker 1: a result, there are kit cats everywhere, and in unusual 693 00:42:23,560 --> 00:42:26,000 Speaker 1: flavors too. Some flavors my husband and I found in 694 00:42:26,080 --> 00:42:30,400 Speaker 1: Japan where Macha green tea, cherry blossom was sabi strawberry 695 00:42:30,440 --> 00:42:35,640 Speaker 1: cheesecake and caramel apple, which is so fabulous. I've had 696 00:42:35,680 --> 00:42:38,560 Speaker 1: I've had the Macha ones. Um. I never knew that 697 00:42:38,719 --> 00:42:41,920 Speaker 1: was why. Yeah, and they have a space for messages 698 00:42:41,920 --> 00:42:46,160 Speaker 1: on the back that you're right like block um, I 699 00:42:46,200 --> 00:42:48,160 Speaker 1: like like I always thought that it was curious that 700 00:42:48,120 --> 00:42:50,480 Speaker 1: the Japanese had such a thing for kit Cat bars, 701 00:42:50,480 --> 00:42:54,800 Speaker 1: but they have croissants filled with like kit Cat feeling filling. 702 00:42:54,880 --> 00:42:57,200 Speaker 1: What I know, I am going I think, I said, 703 00:42:57,239 --> 00:43:00,920 Speaker 1: I'm going to Japan soon and I love kit Cats, 704 00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:03,520 Speaker 1: Like there are three candies that I just love and 705 00:43:03,560 --> 00:43:05,160 Speaker 1: I'm not that big and candy, but there are three 706 00:43:05,400 --> 00:43:07,680 Speaker 1: and kit Cat is one of them. So I'm definitely 707 00:43:08,360 --> 00:43:12,520 Speaker 1: going to get a quick slunt and some of these flavors. Yeah, 708 00:43:12,520 --> 00:43:15,560 Speaker 1: it's gonna be bring bring some back will Okay? Yes, 709 00:43:15,719 --> 00:43:18,360 Speaker 1: all right? Uh yeah. So So that's that's our episode 710 00:43:18,360 --> 00:43:20,759 Speaker 1: for today. Thank you so much for for listening. Thank 711 00:43:20,800 --> 00:43:23,719 Speaker 1: you to Florian and Samantha for writing in. If you 712 00:43:23,719 --> 00:43:26,520 Speaker 1: would like to write us, you can do so as well. Yes, 713 00:43:26,680 --> 00:43:30,480 Speaker 1: our email is food Stuff at how stuff works dot com. 714 00:43:30,640 --> 00:43:33,120 Speaker 1: We are also on social media. You can find us 715 00:43:33,160 --> 00:43:37,680 Speaker 1: on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, Google, food stuff and those 716 00:43:37,719 --> 00:43:39,560 Speaker 1: things you'll you'll find us. I have faith in you. 717 00:43:40,040 --> 00:43:43,280 Speaker 1: Oh and further thanks to our amazing and very patient 718 00:43:43,400 --> 00:43:47,680 Speaker 1: sound engineer Alexander Williams, whose name I will remember one 719 00:43:47,680 --> 00:43:50,160 Speaker 1: of these weeks without having to pause and ask him 720 00:43:50,200 --> 00:43:52,200 Speaker 1: what it is. I think we should just change his 721 00:43:52,280 --> 00:43:56,920 Speaker 1: last name every episode. If you have any ideas, dear listeners, 722 00:43:57,000 --> 00:44:00,880 Speaker 1: for for new names for our audio producer, Alex, then 723 00:44:01,520 --> 00:44:03,440 Speaker 1: right in. Let us know. We hope that we'll hear 724 00:44:03,480 --> 00:44:05,719 Speaker 1: from you, and we hope that lots more good things 725 00:44:05,800 --> 00:44:10,080 Speaker 1: are coming your way