7 Robert Grant, ‘Observations and Experiments on the Structure and Functions of the Sponge’, Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, XIV/27 (1826), p. 123.
8 ‘The Poet, the Oyster and the Sensitive Plant’, in The Works of William Cowper (London, 1835–7), pp. 348–50.
9 Cited in J. R. Philpotts, Oysters and All about Them (London, 1890), pp. 221–2.
10 Chauncey M. Depew, My Memories of Eighty Years (New York and London, 1922), chapter 23.
11 Julia Kristeva, Powers of Horror, trans. Leon S. Roudiez (Columbia, NY 1982), pp. 1, 2 and 4.
12 Kristeva, Powers of Horror, p. 75.
13 Anne Stevenson, ‘Oysters’ from Granny Scarecrow (London, 2000), p. 53.
6 OYSTER PHILOSOPHIES
1 A. Fishe Shelly, Esq. [James Watson Gerard], Ostrea; or, The Loves of Oysters (New York, 1857), p. 15.
2 Cited in Hector Bolitho, The Glorious Oyster (London and New York, 1929), p. 115.
3 Cited in Bolitho, Glorious Oyster, p. 60. The poet was a member of the Preston ‘Oyster and Parched Pea Club’ and the poem was published in 1816.
4 Edward Forbes, ‘Shellfish: Their Ways and Works’, Westminster Review, LVII (January 1852), pp. 44–5.
5 ‘The Happy Fishing-Ground’, All the Year Round, XI/161 (26 November 1859).
6 Revd Charles Williams, Silver-Shell; or, The Adventures of an Oyster (London, 1856), p. 159.
7 Jane Welsh Carlyle, Letters and Memorials of Jane Welsh Carlyle, ed. James Anthony Froude (London, 1883), vol. III, p. 21. I am grateful to Ellen Jordan of the University of Newcastle, Australia, for this reference.
8 E. Ray Lankester, Degeneration: A Chapter in Darwinism (London, 1880), p. 33.
7 OYSTER ARTS
1 Liana de Girolami Cheney, ‘The Oyster in Dutch Genre Paintings: Moral or Erotic Symbolism?’, Artibus et Historiae, XV (1987), pp. 135–58.
2 Svetlana Alpers, The Art of Describing: Dutch Art in the Seventeenth Century (London, 1983), p. 91.
3 Francis Bacon, Works, ed. James Spedding, Robert Leslie and Douglas Denon Heath (London, 1996), vol. IV, p. 13.
4 Norman Bryson, Looking at the Overlooked (London, 1990), p. 61.
5 Mark Doty, Still Life with Oysters and Lemon (Boston, MA, 2001), p. 15.
6 Doty, Still Life with Oysters and Lemon, p. 16
7 Doty, Still Life with Oysters and Lemon, p. 8.
8 Doty, Still Life with Oysters and Lemon, p. 67.
9 Nancy Princenthal, ‘Bianca Sforni at Paul Kasmin’, Art in America, LXXXIV (June 1996), pp. 97–8.
10 Paul Hill’s work can be seen at his website: http://www.absolutearts.com/metalforms/
11 http://www.acfnewsource.org/art/art_on_half_shell.html
8 OYSTERS, SEX AND SEDUCTION
1 M.F.K. Fisher, Consider the Oyster (New York, 1941), p. 64.
2 Cited in An Account of the Grand Oyster Demonstration at the Theatre Royal Preston and the Celebrated Oration by Professor Blezard (London, 1862), p. 16.
3 Michael Ondaatje, Coming through Slaughter (London, 1979), p. 9.
4 Anon., Lucullus; or, Palatable Essays, 2 vols (London, 1878), p. 20.
5 William Makepeace Thackeray, ‘Ottilia’, in The Fitz-boodle Papers, vol. IV of the Oxford Thackeray (1908).
6 A. Fishe Shelly [James Watson Gerard], Ostrea; or, The Loves of Oysters (New York, 1857), pp. 22, 23, 26 and 35.
7 Sarah Waters, Tipping the Velvet (London, 1999), p. 4.
8 Bertrand Davis, ‘Mine Oyster and the Story of Its Pearl’, Harmondsworth Magazine, III (August 1999), pp. 53–8.
9 Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (London, 2000), pp. 16–17.
9 PEARL
1 Walter Liedtke, Vermeer and the School of Delft (New Haven, CT, 2002), p. 166.
2 M.F.K. Fisher, Consider the Oyster (New York, 1941), p. 49.
3 H. Martyn Hart, The World of the Sea (London, 1869), p. 40.
4 Cited in George Frederick Kunz and Charles Hugh Stevenson, The Book of the Pearl: The History, Art, Science and Industry of the Queen of Gems (1908; New York, 1993), p. 158.
5 Pliny the Elder, Natural History, ed. and trans. R. Rackham, W.H.S. Jones and D. E. Eichholz (London, 1961–8), vol. III, pp. 235–7.
6 Richard Pulteney, General View of the Writings of Linnaeus (London, 1805), p. 47.
7 Cited in Kristin Joyce and Shellei Addison, Pearls: Ornament and Obsession (London, 1992), p. 36.
8 ‘Transmigrations’ (1839) in James Montgomery: The Poetical Works (London, 1850), p. 363.
9 Cited in Joyce and Addison, Pearls, p. 86.
10 Cited in Joyce and Addison, Pearls, p. 94.
11 Montaigne, Essays, trans. John Florio (1603), ed. J.I.M. Stewart (London, 1931), p. 314.
12 Cited in Kunz and Stevenson, The Book of the Pearl, p. 454.
13 Johann Georg Kohl, Reisen in Südrussland (Leipzig, 1846), vol. I, p. 15.
14 Cited in Joyce and Addison, Pearls, p. 115.
15 Kunz and Stevenson, The Book of the Pearl, p. 109.
16 Revd Charles Williams, Silver-Shell; or, The Adventures of an Oyster (London, 1856), p. 90.
17 Williams, Silver-Shell, pp. 91–2.
EPILOGUE
1 Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast (New York, 1964), p. 13.
2 Seamus Heaney, ‘Oysters’, from Field Work (London, 1979), p. 3.
3 From Francis Ponge, Selected Poems (London, 1998), p. 26, copyright Gallimard (1942). Le partis pris des choses (Siding with Things), trans. C. K. Williams and Wake Forest University Press (Winston-Salem, 1994).
Bibliography
Bergstrom, Ingvar, Dutch Still-Life Painting in the Seventeenth Century, trans. Christina Hedstrom and Gerald Taylor (London, 1956)
Bleazard, Robert, An Account of the Oyster Demonstration at the Theatre Royal, Preston (London, 1862)
Bolitho, Hector, The Glorious Oyster (London and New York, 1929)
Brooks, William K., The Oyster: A Popular Summary of a Scientific Study (Baltimore, 1905, reprinted 1996)
Clark, Eleanor, The Oysters of Locmariaquer (London, 1965)
Collard, Allen Ovenden, The Oyster & Dredgers of Whitstable (London, 1902).
Cook, Joseph J., The Changeable World of the Oyster (New York, 1974)
Dakin W. J., Pearls (New York, 1913)
Donkin, R. A., Beyond Price: Pearls and Pearl Fishing: Origins to the Age of Discoveries (Philadelphia, 1998)
Doty, Mark, Still Life with Oysters and Lemon (Boston, MA, 2001)
Figuer, G. L., The Ocean World; Being a Descriptive History of the Sea and its Inhabitants (London, 1868)
Fishe Shelly A. [James Watson Gerard], Ostrea; or, The Love of Oysters (New York, 1857)
Fisher, Mary Frances Kennedy, Consider the Oyster (New York, 1941)
Forbes, Edward, ‘Shell-fish: Their Ways and Works’, Westminster Review, LVII (January 1852), pp. 42–61
Freeman, Sarah, Mutton and Oysters: The Victorians and their Food (London, 1989)
Gordon, David G., Nancy E. Blanton and Terry Y. Nosho, Heaven on the Half Shell: The Story of the NorthWest’s Love Affair with the Oyster (Washington, DC, 2001)
Hall, Herbert Byng, The Oyster; Where, How, and When to Find, Breed, Cook and Eat It (London, 1861)
Joyce, Kristin, and Shellei Addison, Pearls: Ornament & Obsession, introduction by Sumiko Mikimoto (London, 1992)
Kunz, George Frederick, and Charles Hugh Stevenson, The Book of the Pearl: The History, Art, Science and Industry of the Queen of Gems (New York, 1908; reprinted 1993)
Line, Shirley, A Passion for Oysters: The Art of Eating and Enjoying (London, 1995)
Neild, Robert, The English, The French and the Oyster (London, 1995)
Pankow, F.H.E., The Mollusc Paramount: Being Valuable & Interesting Information about Oysters (London and Dunstable, 1909)
Philpotts, John Richard, Oysters and All about Them: A Complete History of the Titular Subject Exhaustive on All Points of Necessary and Curious Information f
rom the Earliest Writers to Those of the Present Time, with Numerous Additions, Facts and Notes (London, 1890)
Pike, Geoffrey, John Cann and Roger Lambert, Oysters and Dredgermen (Whistable, 1992)
Pinney, Richard, Smoked Salmon and Oysters: A Feast of Suffolk Memories (Orford, 1984)
Ponge, Francis ‘The Oyster’ from Selected Poems (London, 1998)
Romero, Aldemaro, Susanna Chilbert and M. G. Eisenhart, ‘Cubagua’s Pearl-Oyster Beds: The First Depletion of a Natural Resource Caused by Europeans in the American Continent’, Journal of Political Ecology, VI (1999), pp. 57–78
Rydon, John, Oysters with Love with Drawings by Don Roberts (London, 1968)
Wennerster, John R., The Oyster Wars of Chesapeake Bay (Centreville, 1981)
Wilkins, Noel P., Squires, Spalpeens and Spats: Oysters and Oystering in Galway Bay (Galway, 2001)
Williams, Revd Charles, Silver-Shell; or, the Adventures of an Oyster (London, 1856)
Yonge, Charles Maurice, Oysters (London, 1960)
Oyster Recipes
There are many oyster recipes from different periods of history and from round the world. This is a selection of some of the more famous or unusual ones.
OYSTERS EN BROCHETTE
1½ tablespoons salt
1½ teaspoons garlic powder
1½ teaspoons sweet paprika
1¼ teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
¾ teaspoon white pepper
¾ teaspoon onion powder
¾ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon dried basil
¾ pound (approx.) sliced bacon, cut into 2½ inch pieces
12 mushrooms
5 dozen medium to large shucked oysters (about 2¾ pounds)
¾ cup of all-purpose flour
vegetable oil for frying
Combine salt, seasonings and pepper in a bowl. Set aside. Blanch bacon pieces in boiling water about 4 minutes. Rinse in cold water and drain. Place ingredients on 9- to 10-inch metal or wooden skewers as follows: one mushroom cap, then one piece of bacon and one oyster. Mix the seasonings with the flour. Heat oil in a heavy frying pan. Just before frying, dredge each skewer well in seasoned flour, shaking off excess. Fry each skewer in hot oil until golden brown and crispy, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Drain before serving. Makes 6 servings.
OYSTER STEW
¼ pint of cold water
3 dozen small to medium oysters
¼ pound unsalted butter
1 handful of finely chopped celery
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon white pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
1 finely chopped green onion
1 small pot of double cream
Add water to the oysters and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Strain and reserve oysters and oyster water. Refrigerate until ready to use. In a large frying pan, combine butter, celery, peppers, salt and quarter of a pint of the oyster water. Cook over high heat for 3 minutes, shaking the pan almost constantly. Add remaining ½ cup of oyster water and continue cooking and shaking the pan for 1 minute. Stir in green onions. Gradually add cream, whisking constantly. Bring the mixture to the boil, whisking almost constantly. Add oysters and cook just until they curl, about 2 to 4 minutes, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and serve, stirring as you ladle portions. Makes 4 main course or 8 appetizer servings.
BROILED OYSTERS IN CHAMPAGNE SAUCE
24 shucked oysters on the half shell
2 tablespoons butter
1½ tablespoons flour
pint of champagne or dry white wine
Pinch of cayenne pepper
salt, to taste
coarse salt or seaweed
Strain oyster liquor through cheesecloth and reserve ½ cup. Discard the rest. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour, stir and cook, stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly add oyster liquor, stirring to remove lumps. Add champagne and stir. Add cayenne and salt and stir until thickened and blended. Cool slightly. Preheat broiler/grill. Nestle opened oysters on bed of seaweed or coarse salt on cookie sheet or baking pan. Top each oyster with a spoonful of sauce. Broil/grill about 4 to 6 inches from heat source just until sauce begins to colour, about 2 minutes. Makes 4 to 6 appetizer servings.
ANGELS ON HORSEBACK
This recipe was popular in the nineteenth century. Open as many oysters as you will need, reserving the liquid. Wrap each oyster in a slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Cook under a grill or on the barbecue, turning until the bacon is crispy. Remove from the heat and roll in fine fried breadcrumbs. Serve on toast with a garnish of watercress.
OYSTERS KILPATRICK
24 large oysters
4 rashers of rindless streaky bacon, very finely chopped
Worcestershire sauce
Line a baking tray with coarse salt. Carefully open the oysters, leaving them on the half-shell. Nestle them into the salt. Scatter bacon onto each oyster, and sprinkle with a few drops of Worcestershire sauce. Grill just until the oysters are hot and the bacon is crisp. Serve immediately. Serves 4.
OYSTERS A L’INDIENNE
24 oysters
bacon
cloves
2 tablespoons of chutney sauce
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced parsley
6 olives
½ teaspoon of paprika
Drain large oysters, wipe them dry, wrap each in a slice of bacon, fastened with a toothpick, and stick two cloves in each oyster. Mix the chutney sauce, Worcestershire sauce, minced parsley, olives cut fine, and paprika. Put the oysters in the pan and cook until the bacon is crisp and the oysters plump. Pour the sauce mixture over the oysters, stirring it thoroughly into the gravy. This will serve 3 or 4.
OYSTERS ROCKEFELLER
1 pound of fresh spinach
12 oysters, opened with juice reserved
6 finely chopped shallots
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons of butter
1 heaped tablespoon of heavy cream
1 tablespoon of Pernod
a pinch of hot-pepper flakes or teaspoon of hot pepper
sauce
a handful of grated Gruyère cheese
ground black pepper
Wash the fresh spinach and steam for 3 to 4 minutes until just cooked. Drain and squeeze out the liquid. Chop finely. Arrange the oysters on a flat, non-stick baking dish. Sauté the shallots and garlic in the butter, add the spinach, oyster juice and pepper. Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Purée the mixture in a blender. Return to a clean pan. Add the Pernod and pepper flakes or sauce. Heat gently, stirring occasionally. Spoon the mixture over each oyster and then sprinkle with the cheese. Place under a grill until the cheese sizzles. Serve immediately. Serves 2.
CARPET-BAG STEAK
Steak filled with oysters spilling out of a pocket cut into the Steak filled with oysters spilling out of a pocket cut into the flesh was said to resemble a carpet bag. This recipe is from Louis Diat, Cooking à la Ritz (New York: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1941).
Using steak cut from the sirloin 1½ to 2 inches thick, cut through the centre to make a pocket. Stuff the pocket with raw oysters, seasoned with salt and pepper. Sew the edges of the pocket together. Broil/grill for about 15 minutes on each side. Serve with potatoes.
A Selection of Oyster Bars and Restaurants
ENGLAND
Kent
Wheeler’s Oyster Bar
8 High Street
Whitstable
01227-273311
Whistable Oyster Fishery Restaurant
17–20 Sea Street
Whitstable
01227-276856
Denny’s Lobster and Oyster Bar
3 Station Approach
Chislehurst
020-8467-5612
Suffolk
The Butley-Orford Oysterage
Market Hill
Woodbridge
01394-450277
London
Bibendum Oyster Bar
Michelin Building
81 Fulham Road, SW3
020-7589-1480
Green’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar
36 Duke Street, SW1
020-7930-4566
Randall & Aubin
16 Brewer Street, W1
020-7287-4447
J. Sheekey
28–32 St Martin’s Court, WC2
020-7240-2565
The Rib Room and Oyster Bar
Hyatt Carlton Tower
Cadogan Place, SW1
020-7858-7053
Wheeler’s
12a Duke of York Street, SW1
020-7930-2460
Loch Fyne Oyster Restaurants
Head Office
175 Hampton Road
Twickenham
Middlesex
020-8404-6686
Branches in London at Chalk Farm, Covent
Garden, Fulham Road, Barnet, Egham,
Elton, Loughton, Twickenham; elsewhere
in England at Bath, Beaconsfield, Brighton,
Bristol, Cambridge, Harrogate, Henley-on-
Thames, Knowle, Norwich, Nottingham,
Oxford, Portsmouth, Reading, Sevenoaks,
Tunbridge Wells, Winchester
SCOTLAND
Café Royal Oyster Bar Restaurant
17–17a West Register Street
Edinburgh
0131-556-4124
The Loch Fyne Oyster Bar
Cairndow
Argyll
01499-600236
IRELAND
Oyster Restaurant
Strand Road
Rosslare
County Wexford
053-32439
Oyster Tavern
The Spa
Tralee
County Kerry
066-7136102
The Whistling Oyster
Main Street
Bundoran
County Donegal
353-7241490
USA
New York City
Aquagrill
210 Spring Street
Manhattan
212-274-0505
Balthazar,
80 Spring Street
Manhattan
212-965-1414
Oyster Page 14