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Are Oysters an Aphrodisiac?

Nobody’s ever gotten fat from eating Oysters.

Considering a single Oyster contains a mere 11 calories, about the same as a tablespoon of soy sauce, an average man would need to eat about 230 of them per day to maintain his weight. Yet calorie for calorie, Oysters continue to be one of the most expensive foodstuffs available and the oyster industry generates billions worldwide.

For many people, the appeal of an oyster lies in it’s reputation as an aphrodisiac. It’s effectiveness has been celebrated in literature, music and film. Casanova was said to gulp down fifty of them, while luxuriating in his bathtub with his mistress du jour.

But do oysters really rev the love machine? Or is it all just a myth?

History

One thing’s for sure. As popular as it is, the concept of oysters being aphrodisiacs is fairly new.

Right up until the 19th century, it was the Irish and Italian immigrants of New York, living in overcrowded misery in downtown Manhattan, who ate them practically as their staple diet. Only when disease, pollution and increased demand devastated the Hudson Bay’s natural stock of oysters did they begin to be considered a delicacy.

But a delicacy they became, and an enormous global industry. Some of the best in the world are to be found in New York City. James Bond, in Ian Fleming’s short story 007 in New York, dined on the finest of them at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station.

So if famous lovers like Casanova and James Bond enjoyed oysters, surely there must be some credibility to the aphrodisiac myth.

Nutrition

Despite their negligible calorific content, the average oyster is literally bursting with minerals and vitamins. They’re rich in phosphorus and iodine, said to increase stamina. They contain an abundance of mood enhancing Vitamin B12 and a single oyster, while containing less than half a percent of a man’s daily calories, supplies more than 100% of his recommended intake of zinc, said to increase sperm production.

So a regular intake of oysters certainly gives your body a nutritional boost. But does that effect your libido?

Sensation

Many people surmise that it’s the aesthetics of oysters that have led people to consider them aphrodisiacs. Crack open an oyster shell and the little mollusc swims in it’s own salty fluids. Tangy. Glutinous. Almost like semen, in fact. There can’t be a man alive who hasn’t watched a woman gulp down a fresh oyster and wondered what else she’d be willing to swallow.

As far as dining experiences go, gulping down raw shellfish like you would a shot of tequila remains something exotic and unusual. Most people would be horrified by the idea. So when a man and a woman dine on oysters together, they’ve already established that they’re willing to experiment.

Perhaps it’s that unspoken agreement that really sets the sexual sparks flying. Oysters are a taste of the exotic – something decadent and sensual. If a man and a woman are willing to share that together, who knows where the evening will lead them?

Practical Guide to Oysters

The most famous place to find oysters in Manhattan is the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station. Founded in 1913, the restaurant offers 29 different types of oysters. A half dozen extra large Bluepoints, fresh from Long Island, will set you back $13.50. Wash them down with a G. Millet 2004 Sancerre, at $36.00 a bottle. The Oyster Bar, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10017. Tel: 212-490-6650.

An alternative is Jack’s Luxury Oyster Bar, a tiny restaurant in the East Village. They have a constantly changing selection of oysters served on the half shell, generally costing about $2 each, or try their 5 course “tasting” menu for $75. Jack’s Luxury Oyster Bar, 246 E. 5th Street, New York NY 10079 Tel: 212-673-0338

Preparing Oysters At Home

There is nothing to stop you enjoying oysters fresh at home. Although many people get nervous about raw seafood, oysters are grown in sterile conditions and, as they’re served alive, are the freshest seafood available.

Purchase the same day you’re planning to eat them and keep them refrigerated. In New York, good recommendations are Bluepoints, from Long Island, which will tend to be the freshest.

Oysters are sold in their shells. They should generally be closed and have no smell. If an oyster smells strongly, or remains open once you’ve given it a tap, it’s dead. Discard it.

Although oysters live in the ocean, they should never be stored in water. Rinse them under the tap and give their shells a scrub before opening, to dislodge any loose flakes from their shell.

Oysters are very reluctant to open their shells. You’ll need an oyster knife or other short, sharp blade to shuck them. Wrap your hand in a cloth, cradle the oyster and gently force the blade into the ‘hinge’ on the narrowest end of the oyster.

Don’t use too much pressure. Gently, the hinge should give and then by twisting the blade back and forth, the shell will open and a gush of water will come pouring out.

Run the blade around the entire oyster shell, severing the muscle which the oyster uses to keep it’s shell closed. Then pull off the top half of the shell and the oyster is revealed.

You’ll need to sever the bottom muscle to free the oyster. Once you’ve done that, it’s ready to gulp down with a splash of lemon juice, pinch of pepper or squirt of Tabasco.

Serve oysters on a bed of crushed ice, with all the chosen ingredients to hand so each diner can prepare their oyster to individual taste. Serve with a chilled white Muscadet or Semillion.

Alternatively, freeze a bottle of quality vodka (such as Stolichnaya) and serve ice cold in shot glasses.

Conclusion

People continue to argue about whether or not oysters are aphrodisiacs. However a person’s attitude towards food is often their attitude towards sex. Somebody who enjoys oysters is doubtless adventurous, decadent and sophisticated – and those characteristics tend to be aphrodisiacs themselves.

How to Schuk (shell) an Oyster

During our week in France, Tina insisted we buy some oysters.


Now I love oysters - in the neat, twee bowl of crushed ice at a restaurant in La Rochelle. I wasn't quite sure about preparing them ourselves. But what was the worst that could happen? Apart from vomiting, stomach cramps etc...


Actually, none of that was likely to happen. Oyster farming is an incredibly well regulated industry in France and the fact that people buy thousands of the things in market stalls across France suggest that the dozen Tina and I blew five euros on were very unlikely to poison us.


Oysters are bivalve saltwater mollusks, who filter five litres of water through their shells every hour, gobbling up the plankton they find there. They used to be the foodstuff of the very poor and working class, who had to eat a lot of them considering that a dozen oysters contains only just over 100 calories!


About a hundred years ago, oysters became a delicacy due to pollution and overfarming and an industry preparing these shelly snacks cropped up. In France, it's possible to buy all sorts of oysters, of various grades, throughout the year. With trains, trucks and refrigeration, fresh oysters can hit the dinner tables of Paris within hours of being picked. However the famous rule - never eat an oyster unless there's an 'r' in the month (so May, June, July and August are excluded) holds fast. That's because this is the oyster breeding season, when the texture of the mollusks becomes milky and soft.


In my limited experience, oysters are bought fresh from the market, still tightly sealed in their shells. In order to enjoy them, they need to be taken home and served that day.



Scrub the shells under running water, to dislodge all the grit and flaky shells. Then, place a folded tea-towel in the palm of one hand and use an oyster knife (or other short, strong blade) to open them up.



You need to cup the oyster in the hand with the tea-towel, so the 'narrow' hinged end is pointing towards you. Carefully slide the knife into the 'hinge' and swivel it from side to side, applying a small amount of pressure. Don't push too hard - you're more likely to slip and stab yourself than prise open the shell. Eventually, you will feel it 'give' and the blade will sink in - followed by a gush of water out.


Keep the knife in the shell and scrap the top half. This will slice off the muscle the oyster will still be using to keep it's shell shut. Then, with a bit more pressure, you should be able to open up the shell and see your little grey snack peering sightlessly up at you.



Tip the water out of the shell and place on a plate of bed of crushed ice.



To enjoy an oyster, you need to first sever the same 'shell' muscle on the bottom of the shell as you did on the top half, when you first opened the shell. That will leave the mollusk floating about in the centre of the shell.


A squirt of lemon, Tabasco or pinch of salt can be added, depending on your taste. Then just lift the shell to your lips and let the oyster slip down your throat.

Delicious!


The oysters Tina and I bought (who kindly modelled for this post) came from the Ile de Oleron, near the Ile de Ré and only an hour's drive from my parent's place.