Little known facts about Oysters

Have you looked at your calendars lately and realized that every other weekend is filled with the words oyster and roast. Community Sailing Oyster Roast at Bowen's Island, Boone Hall Lowcountry Festival, Sullivan's Island Oyster Roast under the Big Tin. It seems like a lot of monotony, but I look forward to every one of them. It involves eating drinking and socializing so count me in. However, all of this led me to the question of why? Why do we attend all of these oyster roast and why in the months that end in "R"

I have included some little known facts to think about thanks to the research of www.charlestonlowcountry.com. I hope you enjoy and I look forward to seeing you at the next oyster roast and maybe we can share a bucket together and some beer of course or if you want to take home the festivities, stop by our yard and pick out a firepit to do it in your own backyard...

Oysters Male or Female

There is no way of telling male oysters from females by examining their shells. While oysters have separate sexes, they may change sex one or more times during their life span. The gonads, organs responsible for producing both eggs and sperm, surround the digestive organs and are made up of sex cells, branching tubules and connective tissue.

What is that tiny crab we see in an oyster?

It is a species of crab (Pinnotheres ostreum) that has evolved to live harmoniously inside an oyster's shell. These dime-sized crabs, much sought after by gourmands, are not abundant.

How do pearls end up inside of oysters?

An oyster produces a pearl when foreign material becomes trapped inside the shell. The oyster responds to the irritation by producing nacre, a combination of calcium and protein. The nacre coats the foreign material and over time produces a pearl.

The "R" Myth

Folklore says that oysters should be eaten only in months with "r's" in them -- September, October, etc. However, oysters can be eaten 12 months a year. The notion that oysters should not be eaten in "r"-less months -- that is, months that occur during warm weather -- may have started in the days when oysters where shipped without adequate refrigeration and could spoil. But today all that has changed and we can enjoy oysters twelve months a year.

Oysters and Their Nutritional Value

Oysters are not only delicious, but they're also one of the most nutritionally well balanced of foods, containing protein, carbohydrates and lipids. The National Heart and Lung Institute suggest oysters as an ideal food for inclusion in low-cholesterol diets. Oysters are an excellent source of vitamins A, B1(thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), C ( ascorbic acid) and D (calciferol). Four or five medium size oysters supply the recommended daily allowance of iron, copper, iodine, magnesium, calcium, zinc, manganese and phosphorus.

Health Tip

Because raw foods including oysters may carry bacteria, persons with chronic liver disease, impaired immune systems or cancer should avoid eating raw oysters.