THE ADORED OYSTER

Evening Star, Issue 21750, 19 June 1934, Page 7

THE ADORED OYSTER

WORLD-FAMGUS DELICACY

T. C. Roughley, B.Sc.. writes in the ' Sydney Morning Herald ’; —

I often wonder whether wo modern people adequately realise the value of the oyster as a diet. Right through the ages its virtues have been extolled. An extensive literature lias developed round it; poems innumerable have been written about it. odes have been written to it. and the most extravagant prose has been used to sing its praises. What a contrast is our modern outlook on oysters compared with that of the ancient Romans. Horace. Cicero. Pliny, and Juvenal all wrote tributes to it, and in the gastronomic era of Rome it was awarded the palm as the most excellent dish in the elaborate menus which characterised this period. The anonymous author of a hook published in 1861, and entitled ‘The Oyster: Where, Hon’, and When to Find. .Breed, Cook, and Eat It,’ thus describes an oyster banquet:—

“ Not far from these oyster beds was a palace hi which the wealthy Roman used to assemble his choicest friends and feast with them the whole day and night. Oyster* occupied the place of honour on the table of Sergius Grata; at every feast thousands of them were consumed. Satiated, but not yet satisfied, these gourmets were in the habit of adjourning to an adjoining room, where they relieved the stomach of its load by artificial means and then returned to 'indulge again their appetite with a fresh supply of oysters. Strange as it may appear to us in the nineteenth century, this custom was universal amongst the wealthy of Imperial Rome, Caesar himself often indulging in it when the repast was to his taste; and ladies, the cream of the cream of that luxurious period, carried about with them peacocks’ feathers and other dainty throat ticklers for the purpose when they anticipated a more luxurious feast than usual.”

Sergius Grata was the first Roman to cultivate oysters. He had them gathered at Brundisium and transported ta the Lucrine Lake, near Rome, where they fattened quickly and acquired a flavour which delighted the palates of the epicures. A rather ingenious fellow this Grata; he also invented the shower bath, which Valerius Maximus tells us “ begun on a small scale, grew until seas of hot water were confined aloft.”

A new passion was created amongst the gourmets of the great Roman Empire, when, after the Romans landed in Britain, they sent homo oysters gathered from the shores of Kent. This distant country was at once approved, for its oysters, called “ Rutupiaus ” by the Romans, were much richer than their own “ natives.” The noble Roman was an epicure of remarkable discrimination, for does not Juvenal state:

And in our days none understood so welj The science of good eating; he could tell, At the first relish, if his oysters ted On the Rutupiau or the Lucrine bed; And from a crab or lobster’s colour name

The country—nay, the district—when it came.

“ Poor Britons—there .is some good in them all—they oyster,” wrote Sallust in 50 B.c.

The Romans wore not alone, however, in their hero worship, lor the English language has been strained to its titmost adequately to describe the oyster's virtues. The anonymous writer above referred to must have taxed all his verbal resources to convey to us this exalted opinion: “The oyster! The mere writing of the word creatcst sensations of succulence—"astronomical pleasures, nutritive food, easy digestion, palatable indulgence— then go sleep in peace! . . . lint oysters, ye pleasant companions of the midnight hours, or the mid-day feast; is there a man, woman, or child in all Europe—ay, or in Asia, Africa, nr America—who does not owe you a debt of gratitude which they repay to the full by the enjoyment of your society tete-a-tete? You are eaten raw and alive, cooked, and scalloped, in sauce and without sauce. True, true, oh, 05'sterl Thou art the best beloved of the loved!’’

Quite recently Hector Bolitho, in his hook, ‘ The Glorious Oyster.’ states that " Oyster eating could almost be looked upon as a sign of civilisation. Indeed, it is almost a certain mark of taste, for I have never met a man of wit and intelligence .and charm whose eyes did not glow and whose, face did not take on a sprightly smile, when a plate of oysters was placed before him.’’ Every year at Colchester (England) splendid ceremonies are dedicated to the oyster. The season is opened by the mayor, who himself goes out in a boat (o help in the first catch. This is followed by a small feast, the merest incident compared with the great oyster luncheon which is given a little later in the season. For this occasion famous people are invited to the chamber in the Town Hall, the stained-glass windows of which are dedicated to the Roman Emperors and other Royal personages who have smiled on the oysters of Colchester. In 1929 first-class Colchester “ natives ” were sold in London restaurants as high as 15s a dozen! NUTRITIVE VALUE. An article of food such as this must have some unique qualities to have received such adoration through the ages. And modern scientific investigation shows that it lias. In the first place, when eaten raw it is one of the most easily digested of all foods, and this is itself a virtue not to be despised. It is extremely rich in iodine, and contains more than 200 times as much of this valuable substance as milk, eggs, or beef steak. Our bodies must have iodine, for without it oAr thyroid gland, which has been termed the “ personality ” gland, will sutler grave disorder, eventually leading to the development of goitre. H has been said, and T believe truly, that “ an oyster a day keeps goitre away.” Oysters contain considerable amounts of iron and copper, which are of great value in bloodbuilding; they contain also sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium* phosphorus. chlorine, and sulphur—essential salts in which many of our everyday foods are badly deficient. For these reasons, therefore, oysters are a food of great value, and should be eaten freely. Now, how does our Australian oyster compare with the famous “ Colchester ’’ of England, or the “ Blue Point ” of America? Many epicures are agreed that in delicacy of flavour it surpasses both. Moreover, its keeping qualities are probably unequalled by any oyster in the world; it will live out of water for about ten days in summer, and up to three weeks in winter. Shipments have been sent cool, but not frozen, from Sydney to Honolulu with a very small percentage of loss. Unlike the English oyster, the Australian oyster may be eaten freely all the year round. The letter “r ’’ has no significance to it. Although usually designated a “ rock ” oyster, it is equally good to eat when grown on wood; indeed, a large proportion of the oysters

marketed in New South Wales is grown attached to the black mangrove. The oyster is a clean feeder, and those cultivated for market in New South Wales arc grown in situations where pollution does not occur, so that the minds of those nervous persons who have a lurking suspicion that their oysters may be contaminated should be set at rest. J would scarcely go so fains to advocate a revival of the “ ticklers ’’ of ancient Rome, but at least after partaking of our oysters.; wo can “go sleep in peace.'’