Oysters - Variants

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Gillardeau Oysters, Marennes

(Voluptuous, almost crunchy flesh. Subtle and refined. )

Gillardeau oysters are a brand of edible oysters that are produced by the Gillardeau family and their small private company, which was founded in 1898 in Bourcefranc-le-Chapus near La Rochelle and the Île d'Oléron in western France. 

[$5.50 each at Culina's]

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Belon Oysters 

Belon is a river in France famed for succulent oysters. Belon, you will point out with a pinch of Gallic disgust, is not in Maine. No, but the oyster that made Belon famous—The European Flat—is.

These wild oysters are as powerful as any on the planet, redolent of fish and zinc and umami—not for the faint of heart. A minuscule 5,000 Belon a year are pulled in Maine and sold, making them one of the rarest oysters in the world.

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Perle Blanche Oysters, Normandy

(A sweet deep sea oyster with a creamy texture.) 

This producer from the Charente region chose a cautious production to give birth to a great special, La Perle Blanche. Farmed between the Normandie and Charente-Maritime, La Perle Blanche come from the marriage of these two traditions.

To make its shell, it grasps a stick called ‘naissain’. After 11 months, the shell becomes harsher. Then it is time to remove these small oysters from the "collecteur", tricky operation called "détroquage". The Perle Blanche is then put into pockets and transported in Normandie in breeding pools located next to the Channel. This area is perfect for breeding the Perle Blanche thanks to its richness in planktons, which constitue the food of oysters. "Tied onto iron tables, the pockets are turned around regularly.

From six months to a year are necessary for the oyster to grow, which, to this point, is an oyster of deep sea with a taste of iodine.

So, the Perle Blanche comes back in Charente-Maritime, in the pools of Marennes. There, the weak salinity, the quality of sea water, the sweetness of climate allows the Perle Blanche to finish with its maturation in three weeks or more. It is during this step that the Perle Blanche becomes thiner, sweeter, and adopts this taste so typical.

[$7.50 each at Culina's]

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Black Perle Oysters, Brittany

(Sweet and creamy, with hints of iodine and hazelnut.)

[$6 each at Culina's]

Fines de Claire, Marennes N3 $4 

(Delicate with good salt balance and a slight nutty flavour)

Royal Oyster, Marennes N2 $6.5 

(Deep-cupped, iodised with a sweet finish)

Wild Big Oyster, Britanny N2 $5.5

(Raised on the Atlantic Coast, tasting of the ocean. )

St Vaast, Normandy N2 $5

(Plump, smooth, salty, with a distinct nutty flavour)

To be continued...