Oyster Blog — Oyster World

Several years ago Cait and John stopped by our farm and collected oyster shells, saying they were going to use them in their wedding at the nearby Alderbrook Resort. At the time we didn't think anything of it, but now we think they're geniuses. Turns out that they turned the oyster shells into keepsake wedding ornaments. Yesterday they dropped off one of their creations and gave us the recipe. First they printed clear decals on their computer, then they attached them to the oyster shell, and then they double dipped the shells in a clear polyurethane. Easy.

The Nature Conservancy has just released the first ever report on the state of the world's oyster populations. The prognosis is bad: 85% of the global oyster habitat has been destroyed by development, pollution, and destructive fishing practices. Read the report here. Short on time or attention span? Read a newspaper account of the report  here. Update: Check out The Economist's take on the report.

Domestic oyster stout is alive and well at the Oyster House Brewing Company in Asheville! The brewery, located in The Lobster Trap restaurant, adds oysters to its signature Moonstone Stout. According to headbrewer Billy Klingel, Moonstone is characterized by "delightful roasted malty notes, a hint of brine and a deliciously dry finish." We were surprised to learn that Klingel adds whole (shells and all!) Prince Edward Island Malpeque oysters directly to the wort: "The shells offer calcium and minerality to the wort and the oyster meat adds somes fresh salinity and brininess."

Some people get really into oyster plates. And you can love oyster plates without loving oysters. As this site put it: In the Pacific Northwest, oysters are still a popular seafood choice; however, even if you shudder to think of eating such a slimy creature you can still create a lovely display of oyster plates from such famous makers as Haviland/Limoges, Wedgwood and Minton. In fact, the collecting of oyster plates seems to be escalating as their use diminishes. They obviously sell plates, not oysters. But, the plates are really cool. All photos above from this site, and they generally...

We've heard rumors and murmurings about oyster ice cream for several years. Apparently it's big in Japan, and was popular with Dolley Madison (wife of President James). But we tip our hats to Lorraine Eaton, a reporter with The Virginian-Pilot, for actually making the stuff. Lorraine made an oyster soup out of cream, oyster liquor, ham, flour, and onions, and then chilled it overnight and put it in an ice cream maker. She reports that it looked like coffee ice cream, but she wasn't brave enough to taste it herself. Instead she fed it to her coworkers, who gave it...