My family has a four-generation long tradition of eating Olympia oysters on Christmas eve, so I for one am glad that people are trying to help get them back! Right now, they are so rare, that buying just a pint costs over 100 dollars! Back in the day of my great-great grandparents, there was no shortage of Olympia oysters. They could go down to the beach and be able to gather as many as they wanted. These oysters are special because they are very small (about the size of fifty-cent piece), but they have a big distinctive flavor. I have never tried them myself, but my dad says they have a smoky, coppery taste.
As you can see from their price tag, the Olympia oyster (Ostrea lorida) plays a very important role in the Puget Sound’s ecology and economy. Even though efforts have been made to clean up the water and stop commercial harvests, the Olympia oyster still hasn’t been able to reestablish itself. Researchers are trying to find out how the oyster seeds itself and other sites and how it exchanges larvae with other populations. They are using specific chemical signatures of seawater in different locations in order to determine what the connection is between different Olympia oyster populations.
Recently Bonnie Becker from the University of Washington, School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences wrote an article about the Olympia Oyster. The oyster was very important to the puget sound ecology and economy but sadly it hasn't been able to reestablish itself. There is a project that is under way that will come up with a system for tracking movement of larval oysters. There is also a reference map that shows the chemical signature of of shells gathered in the sound, this oysters and the see will help find the origin of the distance of the larvae!
Our old family recipe cooks these oysters in tomato sauce-based pan roast. Someday, if I am able to break away from that
particular recipe, I’d like to try the Olympia oyster raw, right out of the shell, because that’s the
way I think they should be eaten. Not drowned in tomato sauce. That doesn’t feel like it does this delicacy justice!
As you can see from their price tag, the Olympia oyster (Ostrea lorida) plays a very important role in the Puget Sound’s ecology and economy. Even though efforts have been made to clean up the water and stop commercial harvests, the Olympia oyster still hasn’t been able to reestablish itself. Researchers are trying to find out how the oyster seeds itself and other sites and how it exchanges larvae with other populations. They are using specific chemical signatures of seawater in different locations in order to determine what the connection is between different Olympia oyster populations.
Recently Bonnie Becker from the University of Washington, School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences wrote an article about the Olympia Oyster. The oyster was very important to the puget sound ecology and economy but sadly it hasn't been able to reestablish itself. There is a project that is under way that will come up with a system for tracking movement of larval oysters. There is also a reference map that shows the chemical signature of of shells gathered in the sound, this oysters and the see will help find the origin of the distance of the larvae!
Our old family recipe cooks these oysters in tomato sauce-based pan roast. Someday, if I am able to break away from that
particular recipe, I’d like to try the Olympia oyster raw, right out of the shell, because that’s the
way I think they should be eaten. Not drowned in tomato sauce. That doesn’t feel like it does this delicacy justice!