CATDOLL : CATDOLL: What is the salt content and water temperature of oysters in seafood ponds?

What is the salt ratio and water temperature for raising oysters in seafood ponds?

Salinity 25, temperature 9

How to judge whether oysters are delicious?

Napoleon said: "Oysters are my best way to conquer women and enemies."

This sentence is often interpreted by later generations as a golden sentence about the aphrodisiac effect of oysters. However, an obvious logical paradox is that how could a hero like Napoleon, who thought highly of himself, admit that he needed external help to show his prowess?

A more reliable explanation is that the French way of eating oysters alive gave Napoleon the Great a lofty ambition to look down on the world at that moment: he would open an oyster, squeeze two drops of lemon juice, tilt his head at a 45-degree angle, and let the plump and juicy oyster meat fall into his throat due to gravity. Before he could savour the aftertaste, he could feel the cool Atlantic breeze blowing out of his mouth.

Among all the high-end French cuisine that is exquisite and has complicated rituals, eating oysters alive is probably the only food that makes people feel its primitive and rough beauty.

Without any cooking skills, the experience of eating oysters raw is directly related to the quality of the oysters. Although the French were the initiators of eating oysters raw, France is indeed not the only high-quality oyster producing area, nor is it the best place to eat oysters raw.

Global distribution of oysters

01

Water temperature

/ Why are oysters not delicious in summer/

There is a saying in the coastal areas of China: "Cold water oysters, hot water clams", which means that when the weather is cold and the sea water temperature is low, oysters, or raw mussels, will be particularly delicious; when the weather is hot and the sea water temperature is high, you should eat clams instead.

This is actually similar to the rule in Western culture that oysters cannot be eaten in months without an R in the word (except in the Southern Hemisphere): in short, oysters are not delicious from May to August in the summer.

Oysters are hermaphrodites. In warm waters, where microorganisms and algae are abundant, oysters usually become females, focusing on feeding and reproduction. When the water temperature drops, the growth rate of oysters slows down and they turn male again.

This gender change not only means a change in organs, but also a change in meat quality - in fact, just like human secondary sexual characteristics, female oysters have soft and plump meat, while male oysters have crisp and chewy meat. In addition, male oysters grow slower, are larger in size, and are more likely to accumulate flavor substances in their bodies, all of which are important factors that contribute to the quality of oysters.

Unfortunately, due to the warm Atlantic current and the Mediterranean climate, most of the French seas have a relatively high temperature all year round. This means that French oysters, including Girardot and Belon, will not have a crisp flavor. Although some people prefer the soft, tender and smooth taste of French oysters, for most people, the soft taste is not top-notch after all.

The French may also have self-awareness. They describe their own oysters as "milk from the sea." It sounds delicious, but if you think about it carefully, it always has a bit of the magical color of dark cuisine.

02

salinity

/ The saltier the sea water, the fresher the oysters/

But are cold-water oysters necessarily tastier than warm-water oysters? I’m afraid not.

Most people who have eaten domestic oysters will feel that the "sea oysters" produced in northern China, such as Liaoning and Shandong, are not as rich and delicious as Guangdong oysters.

This brings us to another factor that affects the taste of oysters: seawater salinity.

Like other shellfish, oysters must accumulate enough amino acids in their bodies to survive in order to fight against the saltiness of seawater. The most important of these amino acids is the source of umami substances, so the umami flavor of oysters from different seas varies. Generally speaking, the saltier the seawater, the tastier the oysters.

Salinity and temperature are actually the paradox of the taste of oysters: in subtropical areas with high temperatures, evaporation is large, and the seawater is naturally salty; while in cold temperate areas, evaporation is small and the salinity of the seawater is lower. For example, the Japanese Kumamoto oyster, which lives in high-latitude areas, has a crisp texture, but because of the low salinity of the sea, the taste is also light. The Japanese food view respects the fresh taste, and the Kumamoto oyster meets their aesthetic taste; most Western gourmets follow the rule from light to strong, and use Kumamoto oysters as an introductory course to learn how to eat oysters.

This is also the reason why warm regions such as southern France, Portugal, Italy, and the Gulf of Mexico can still produce high-quality oysters - because the sea water is salty.

03

tasty

/ Extremely personal and subjective raw food experience /

In fact, in the Southern Hemisphere, the temperature and salinity of oyster producing areas can, to some extent, have the best of both worlds.

Because the sea area in the Southern Hemisphere is much larger than the land area, the influx of freshwater rivers from the continent is relatively small, and the huge Antarctic ice sheet actually absorbs a considerable amount of fresh water. Therefore, even in the colder high-latitude areas of the Southern Hemisphere, the seawater can still maintain its salinity.

This gives the oysters a perfect balance of flavor, texture, and body.

The best oysters I've tried are the Sydney Rock oysters on the east coast of Australia, which are large and strong, and the Bluff oysters on the South Island of New Zealand, which are small and sweet.

If I must describe it in words, the salty and fresh taste of Sydney Rock Oysters is more concentrated than ordinary oysters after being roasted over fire. It tastes like a small piece of salted butter added naturally, and the breeze from the South Pacific fills your mouth.

Bluff oysters clearly have the "sweetness" that Cantonese people pursue when cooking seafood. This type of oyster, which lives at the southernmost tip of New Zealand, has the coolness and refreshing taste of the Antarctic continent. If paired with a glass of chilled sweet white wine, the cooling feeling it brings to the esophagus is far greater than that of mint water.

The West has a complete system for judging raw oysters. When tasting oysters, masters can taste the flavors of cream, nut, mineral, melon, and cucumber just like tasting wine. But I think that eating raw oysters is an extremely personal and subjective eating habit. If you follow others and say that you can taste the flavors of cream, nut, and melon, then so what? Why not just eat cream, nut, and melon?

The best way is to keep tasting and comparing. Don't use the citrus soy sauce, red wine vinegar, onion juice, or even lemon that restaurants offer. Stick to eating them raw, chewing the original flavor of the oysters carefully, and remember the best oyster that suits your tongue.

However, if the oyster meat looks plump, then the oyster must be delicious. Secondly, you should also smell the oyster. If it is no longer fresh, it will not taste good.

From the appearance, the oysters are full and the shells are not damaged. You need to taste it yourself to know whether it tastes good.

You can tap its shell with your fingers, if it closes slightly, it is delicious.

How to judge whether oysters are delicious? See if you can enjoy them.