If you’ve ever heard the phrase “as tight-lipped as an oyster,” you know that oysters are thought to be mysterious. The flavors they hide inside their jagged shells can seem as murky as the waters they live in.
If you know how to read them, oysters (and how they taste) are like a book.
Chef Sheila Lucero is the Culinary Director of the Big Red F Restaurant Group, which runs restaurants like Jax Fish House.
Jax is famous for its raw bar. Its six restaurants are popular with oyster lovers because they serve a variety of oysters from both coasts and the servers know how to make each variety taste different.
Oysters are wildly popular for Colorado eaters. Lucero sees oysters fly onto the tables at Jax restaurants.
“We have to move our live seafood quickly, and typically order for the day. We have busy restaurants and move through it. ”.
You can also find oysters at area grocers to slurp at home. Luke Burhenn works on the seafood team at Whole Foods Market in Fort Collins. He says that the store often sells more oysters than any other in the country. They source from both coasts; look for varieties like Kusshi, Kumamoto, Wellfleet, Moondancer and more. They’ll even shuck ‘em for you.
NOCO Style talked with Lucero about everything oyster. Lucero provided a few guidelines to shuck your fears.
Oysters are one of the most popular shellfish around, cherished for their briny flavor and pearl-bearing potential. However, those who are new to eating oysters may be alarmed when they encounter a batch with cloudy, milky flesh instead of the expected clear consistency.
What causes this cloudiness, and is it safe to eat cloudy oysters? Let’s break it down.
What Causes Cloudiness in Oysters?
There are a few potential reasons an oyster’s flesh may turn cloudy
Spawning
The most common cause of cloudy oysters is spawning. As water temperatures rise in spring and summer, oysters enter their reproductive phase and begin to spawn.
This process leads to the development of a milky-colored sac in the oyster’s body that gives it a cloudy appearance. The sac results from the oyster diverting energy and nutrients towards reproduction and away from body maintenance.
During heavy spawning, the sac can overtake much of the oyster’s flesh. In the early stages it may appear as just a thin, cream-colored line, but it progressively becomes larger and cloudier as spawning continues.
Algal Consumption
Another potential cause of cloudy oysters is the consumption of a specific type of algae called Haslea ostrearia When oysters feed on this microalgae, their gills can take on a greenish tint that leads to an overall cloudy look in the body
This phenomenon occurs most notably with the Belon oyster native to France. The algae lend a highly desired green color and flavor to the oysters, dubbed “green oysters” or huîtres vertes.
Contamination
While rare, cloudiness in oysters can also signal contamination, illness, or spoilage. Toxins and pathogens like bacteria or viruses may infect the oyster and manifest as a cloudy appearance. Symptoms like an unpleasant odor or stringy texture often accompany contamination.
However, mild cloudiness alone does not necessarily indicate spoilage or danger. Always thoroughly inspect oysters before eating.
Is It Safe to Eat Cloudy Oysters?
In most cases, yes – cloudiness caused by natural processes like spawning or algal growth does not make oysters unsafe to eat. However, there are a few considerations:
-
Taste – Heavily clouded oysters, especially those spawning, tend to have a more milky, metallic flavor and soft, mealy texture. Many oyster aficionados find them less palatable.
-
Cooking – Cloudy oysters should always be cooked thoroughly to eliminate any potential harmful bacteria. Consuming raw or undercooked oysters poses safety risks.
-
Storage – Freshly harvested oysters that appear cloudy due to spawning are still fine to eat, but they have a shorter shelf life. Eat them within a couple days.
-
When in doubt, throw it out – If oysters have an unpleasant odor, strange coloring, stringy flesh, or you are uncertain about freshness, err on the side of caution. Cloudiness plus other red flags may indicate spoilage.
Identifying Cloudy vs. Fresh Oysters
Here are some tips for spotting the difference between fresh oysters and those with clouded flesh:
-
Appearance – Fresh oyster shells appear clean, smooth, and tightly closed. Cloudy/spoiled oyster shells may gap open, look dirty, or show cracking.
-
Odor – Fresh raw oysters have a mild, clean, briny sea scent. Foul odors like sulfurous eggs or fishiness signal spoilage.
-
Color – Healthy oyster flesh looks plump and glistening, with tan, cream, grey, or pale green hues. Bad oysters appear milky, yellow, or brown.
-
Liquor – The liquid inside the shell should be clear or slightly opalescent, not excessively cloudy or milky.
-
Texture – Firm, resilient texture indicates freshness. Mushy, slimy, or stringy oyster meat means spoilage.
When buying oysters, look for retailers keeping them chilled on ice or in refrigerated cases. Inspect each oyster thoroughly before shucking or cooking. If you see any questionable signs, play it safe and discard the oyster.
Health Benefits of Oysters
Beyond their delectable taste, oysters boast an impressive array of nutrients and health benefits:
-
Protein – Just 3 ounces of oysters contains over 6 grams of complete, high-quality protein. This supports muscle growth and satisfying meals.
-
Vitamin B12 – Oysters supply nearly 200% of your daily vitamin B12 needs in a 3-ounce serving. B12 aids nerve tissue health.
-
Zinc – With over 100% of your RDI of zinc per serving, oysters promote immune function, DNA synthesis, and wound healing.
-
Iron – The iron content of oysters enhances oxygen circulation and prevents anemia.
-
Omega-3s – These healthy fatty acids found in oysters reduce inflammation and promote heart health.
-
Antioxidants – Oysters contain antioxidants like carotenoids and selenium to combat free radicals and oxidative stress.
Just be sure to enjoy oysters fully cooked to get the most nutritional bang for your buck.
How to Cook and Serve Oysters
To safely unlock the full flavor and nutritional benefits of oysters, proper cooking is key. Here are some delicious ways to prepare oysters at home:
-
Roast oysters in a hot oven or over the grill until they pop open, about 5-10 minutes depending on size. Season with garlic butter, herbs, cheese, etc.
-
Pan-fry shucked oysters for 2-3 minutes per side until plump and lightly golden.
-
Steam or boil live oysters in a pot with aromatics like ginger, lemongrass, wine, and spices.
-
Bake oysters on the half-shell topped with breadcrumbs, parmesan, and parsley.
-
For raw oysters, dress with mignonette, horseradish, cocktail sauce, or lemon wedges.
Store any uneaten cooked oysters in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days max. Discard any raw oysters left over after 2 days.
So next time you encounter a new batch of cloudy oysters, no need to worry. With proper handling and preparation, you can safely reap their nutritious benefits and succulent brininess. Just follow these tips to shuck, store, cook, and serve oysters right every time.
Colorado is oyster central
Thanks to the friendly skies, Colorado draws oysters from both east and west coasts. If oysters are pulled from the water on Thursday, they should arrive (alive) in Colorado on Sunday.
How long an oyster survives depends on storage. Oysters are resilient when held properly, Lucero says. Jax rinses oysters with tap water to remove grit, sand and mud, although fresh water shortens their lifespan. At night, they’re covered with a damp cloth. If sealed in a plastic bin, they’ll suffocate; submerging in tap water will kill them.
Colorado’s aridity is one factor, but it’s also about time. While an oyster is being pulled from the ocean or bay water, its abductor muscles loosen up and get tired. This is true whether the oyster is wild or farmed.
And “if an oyster is dead, you’ll know it,” Lucero says. “It’s popped open, they’ve lost their liquor and it smells funky. ”.
The “r” rule: Is there rrrreally a best time of year toeat oysters?
People used to be told not to eat oysters in the summer, or in months that don’t start with “r,” like May through August. Oysters have been fished for at least 4,000 years; shells found off the coast of Georgia show that the fishing season ran from fall to spring.
It’s not because oysters spoil quicker in summer. Those months are hotter, so water temperatures are warmer, which encourages wild oysters to spawn, Lucero says.
Spawning causes hormonal and pH changes in bivalves—so called because of this mollusk species’ hinged shell. Oysters are usually full and firm. When they spawn, they get thin and flabby, and they taste like raw egg yolk or organ meat. You can think of their liquor as oyster juice without the alcohol. It’s usually clear and salty, but when they spawn, it turns milky. They won’t make you sick, and Lucero says some people like them spawny, but most people, like him, like them plump.
Because they’ve been eating lots of food, oysters in the wild are at their biggest in the winter. This gives them an ivory color. As nutrients wane into the spring, an oyster will become thinner, and its color will fade.
While many oysters grow naturally in the wild, others are farmed, offering opportunities to prevent spawning. Aquaculture technology has improved by breeding diploid oysters (which have two sexual chromosomes for reproduction) with oysters that have four chromosomes. This creates triploid oysters, which are unable to reproduce and do not spawn. Year-round farming produces non-spawning oysters to eat, with diploids producing baby oysters, aka spat.
Spat grow on farms in a system of floating rafts, buckets, and cages. When the oysters are ready, they are moved to bigger containers. Water circulates through the containers until they’re ready for harvest.
Oysters are farmed in or near their natural ecosystems, commonly oceans or bays. If the water is warm, could oysters be farmed? That was the idea behind a plan in the late 1980s to take oysters from the Gulf of Mexico and raise them until they were ready to eat near Rifle airport. The two-part goal was to bring good oysters closer to people in Colorado and use federal tax credits to build a co-generation power plant. It was innovative but flawed, and Colorado’s Rocky Mountain “oysters” today remain solely in the ranching arena.
Potential Health Risks of Eating Raw Oysters
FAQ
What does a milky oyster mean?
What does a creamy oyster mean?
Why are some oysters white?
When should you not eat oysters?
How do you know if oysters are bad?
Bad oysters are dry and withered with a cloudy appearance. Contaminated oysters tend to be gray, brown, black or pink in color. Smell the oyster meat. Healthy oysters smell fresh. Bad oysters have a strong, offensive, or pungent fishy smell. Fresh oysters that have been kept in the right conditions should feel ice-cold to the touch.
How do you know if an oyster is dead?
Discard any oysters with shell damage. The shell should also be glossy white in color, although a few pink or gray streaks is acceptable. Tap the shell with your finger. The shell should close tightly with no gaps. If the shell does not close, discard the oyster as the animal is likely dead and may harbor bacteria. Inspect the oyster meat.
Why is oyster season closed?
In many places, oyster season closed during that time period to give the oysters the opportunity to reproduce, yielding a more generous and sustainable harvest later in the year. Another factor is that spawning oysters are small, watery, and have unpleasant off-taste. No one wants to eat a flimsy, bitter oyster.
What happens if you eat raw oysters?
Oysters harvested from warm coastal areas might be contaminated with Vibrio vulnificus or Vibrio parahaemolyticus bacteria. In many cases, contamination with these specific bacteria does not cause changes to the oyster’s appearance and smell. If you become sick within a few days of consuming raw or undercooked oysters, contact your physician.