Oysterland: A Journey to the Heart of Bivalve Country
“Nick Jones, a lanky and bespectacled 36-year-old, took me to the rocky bay where he farms his oysters. He explained that two species dominate the American market: Crassotrea virginicas, a.k.a. Easterns, native to the Atlantic coast but farmed on both coasts and the source of more than half of all oysters sold in the U.S.; and Crassotrea gigas, a.k.a. Pacifics, native to Japan but now the gold standard in American West Coast shellfish farming. Three more species occupy specialty niches in the U.S.: tiny Olympias, once endemic on the West Coast from San Diego to Alaska but now scarce; European Flats, the coppery-tasting French Belon oysters beloved by Hemingway and farmed on both coasts; and Kumamotos, the petite Japanese oysters prized for their mild, buttery flavor. Five oyster species are farmed in the U.S. That’s all.”