Food Menu Flashcards
West Coast Oysters
West coast oysters will range in salinity and brininess from high to low and will tend to have more notes of seaweed, fresh cut grass, cucumber, watermelon and overall, more sweetness.
East Coast Oysters
East coast oysters tend to have a higher salinity (saltiness), higher brininess, and more mineral notes
Oyster Liquor
Oyster liquor is the natural juice inside the oyster that keeps it alive once it’s out of the water. It is unacceptable to rinse or dump that juice out of the oyster before consuming it raw. That juice is precious and should taste amazing, and that’s why it’s referred to as liquor. It should be clear, not cloudy.
Terroir
It’s a French word that you may have heard used with wine. Terroir (pronounced “tehr-wahr”) means the characteristics of a place—its climate, geology, and wildlife, for example—that impact food produced there.
Oysters take on the exact same salt level or whatever water they’re in. So ocean oysters will be much saltier than oysters from the northern Chesapeake, for example. Other terroir elements that affect flavor include the algae in the water (because oysters eat algae) and the water’s minerality.
Briny/Salty
They mean the same thing except briny is “salty the way sea water is salty.”
Sweet (Oysters)
When the oyster is kind of mild and sweet instead of so salty, and often these come from the Pacific Northwest. Kumamotos are super sweet.
Melon (Oysters)
Washington oysters, often. Goes hand in hand with sweet in the case of Kumamotos.
Creamy (Oysters)
When the oyster is buttery and not as firm, and often happens with Pacific Northwest oysters. Kusshis are super creamy.
Fresh Biscuits (Oysters)
Beginners oysters that don’t have a super-strong briny flavor, like Beausolais.
Cucumber (Oysters)
British columbia oysters, often. Fanny Bays have a cucumber finish.
Plump (Oysters)
Usually due to slow growth in nutrient/algae-rich water.
Springy (Oysters)
Usually due to cold, deep water like you find on the east coast.
Copper (Oysters)
When oysters have a very strong, acidic or rusty flavor.
Atlantic Oysters
The ones that occur naturally from Canada all the way down the East coast and across the Gulf. Think Bluepoints, Wellfleets, Malpeques, Beausolais. Native to North America.
How to spot them: Smooth shell ridges, uniform in color tear-drop shape. Generally crisper, brinier, and savory (not sweet) finish.
Pacific Oysters
Most farm-raised oysters in the Pacific Northwest are Pacific oysters. They’re Native to Pacific coast of Asia and were introduced to the US from Asia in the early 1900s.
How to spot them: They’ve got fluted, pointed shells that are usually rough and jagged. They’re creamy and finish with fruit or vegetal flavors.
Kumamoto Oysters
This oyster used to be lumped in with Pacifics, but it was discovered that they are their own species. Introduced from Japan in 1947.
How to spot them: They are small and deep, like a little cup. Everyone loves them.
Olympia Oysters
The only oyster species native to the Pacific Northwest. Almost wiped out during the Gold Rush in San Francisco.
How to spot them: Tiny — even smaller than kumamotos and more shallow — with more intense flavor. A little coppery.
Belons Oysters
Named after the river in France that was famous for them and also called European flats.
How to spot them: They have a sharp intense metallic almost anchovy flavor that some people don’t like, and like most things that are weird and rare, they are costly. Also their flavor really lingers.
