The More The Merroir

With myriad varieties spawning the market, slurping down an oyster has never been more of an adventure.

- Charlene Chow

We may know them as lobes of unctuous meat brimming with briny liquor. But oysters, a shellfish rich in protein, vitamins and minerals, and some say aphrodisiac qualities, are as varied as they come. Each is a product of its region and producer. Think names like Blue Pool, Sea Cow or Kelly Native that speak of the oyster as an individual.

The concept of merroir—the marine equivalent of terroir—largely accounts for this specificity. Like wine, oysters imbibe the characteristics of their environment. As filter-feeders, they draw water in and out of their gills, feeding on the phytoplankton that gets trapped in the process. Every detail, down to water temperature and salinity, affects the flavour of the final oyster. French poet Léon- Paul Fargue put it well when he said eating oysters was like "kissing the sea on the lips". 

Farming technique plays a role as well. Take the relatively recent method of tumbling oysters. As oysters tend to grow long and flat if left to themselves, farmers started rotating oysters intermittently in barrel tumbler machines. This helps to get their edges to chip off and ‘cup up’ and form deeper shells. The method has evolved to include tide tumbling, or placing the oysters in bags attached to floats in the sea. Due to the workout from the changing tides, deeper cups develop, the colour of the shell may become more polished, and the texture of the meat more supple. Hama Hama Oyster Company at Liliwaup, Washington, for instance uses this method, tumbling their Blue Pool oysters in bags on buoys. The result is a smooth cup and shell, depth of flavour, and a finish that hints of carrots or crisp lettuce.