We all know that the flavor of an oyster is impacted by where it is raised. But did you know that an oyster can sometimes be a different color based on where it is raised? This isn’t very common, but there are some areas where oysters will regularly take on some coloration because of the cycle of local algae. North Carolina and France both have areas where an oyster’s gills will turn green over winter because of the presence of a blue-green algae called Halsea Ostrearia. This ecological event is celebrated in France, but North Carolina is still coming to terms with it. These oysters used to be sold at a discount because people did not like the color and...
Around this time of year, the rumors start up about aphrodisiacs. Chocolate, strawberries, spicy peppers, and of course, oysters, just to name a few. So is an oyster an aphrodisiac? Well, it’s both simple and complicated.
We received a copy of a study to be published in the March 2021 issue of Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology finds that oyster aquaculture provides habitats that are equal or in some cases better than oyster reefs in terms of creating active, healthy aquatic ecosystems. In other words, eating farmed oysters helps provide a place to live and eat for juvenile fish, blue crabs, eels, grass shrimp and all the other sea creatures in the Rappahannock River.
