If youve ever eaten raw oysters lying open on a bed of ice with a fresh wedge of lemon, or Tabasco or vinegar to drizzle over them, those oysters will have been alive.
Those salty little (supposed) aphrodisiacs were living and breathing organisms when you snapped them for Instagram and tipped their shells towards your lips… and thats a good thing.
Dead oysters cannot be eaten raw, because they contain bacteria that can be very dangerous for humans. If you eat a dead oyster raw, youre probably going to get poorly (fever/chills, vomiting, diarrhoea – among other symptoms).
But if you want to enjoy your oysters raw (and alive), are you causing them pain?
Seafish, a non-departmental public body set up to improve efficiency and raise standards across the seafood industry, say that whether or not oysters feel pain is still up for debate.
Advertisement Advertisement
Unfortunately theres no definitive proof either way. There are groups that argue oysters might feel pain, and others who say because they dont have a central nervous system then they dont feel pain in the way other seafood species might. We currently dont have research in this area.
As for when they actually die, this is likely to happen when they are shucked, rather than when they are chewed or swallowed.
Shucking is when the two shells of an oyster are levered apart and fully opened.
So oysters probably arent alive when you bite into them or when they hit your stomach if you choose to swallow them whole.
If youve bought oysters to open and eat raw at home, you can tell whether an oyster is safe to eat raw quite easily.
Is the shell completely closed? If so, the oyster inside should be alive.
If the shell is slightly open, flick it with your finger. The shell should close.
More: Food
If it doesnt, that means the oyster inside is dead and should only be eaten cooked.
Bruce Rennie of chef and owner of The Shore, Penzance told Metro.co.uk: You really want to eat the oysters when the lid is tightly closed and shuck them yourself to guarantee freshness.
Advertisement Advertisement
Also its best to store them in the fridge with the deep part of the shell downwards to retain the moisture before preparing them, they should easily live 5-7 days in a properly chilled fridge like this.
The reason for eating them alive is simply for freshness and flavour as they still have most of their iron/sea flavoured juices within the meat.
Personally, I love the iron flavour. They are far more versatile than most people give credit for. Currently I have Porthilly oysters on poached with mackerel, cucumber, sesame and wasabi…but they are also great breaded and fried or tempura as an easy introduction to them.
They were classically paired with meat dishes due to the strong iron flavour and used to be cheaper than most meat.
Remember that if you buy shell-less oysters in a bag or jar, theyre absolutely not intended to be eaten raw. You must cook them.
MORE: This man will eat anything the people of the internet ask him to
MORE: The straw ban might cut down plastic waste but its not fair on disabled people
MORE: Couple save a fortune by serving wedding guests food destined for the bin
Advertisement Advertisement
