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