| Oysters
Famed for both their exquisite taste and mythical aphrodisiac qualities, oysters were in  such demand in Rome about 100 A.D. that on their journey from the shores of England, the oysters were packed in ice and transported by elephants, across the Alps!Oysters are still very popular, though nowadays their journey to the local restaurants and markets is not too long. West Marin is a major source of the oysters on the half-shell eaten in the Bay Area. They are farmed in the pristine waters of Tomales Bay and Drakes Estero. Native to Tomales Bay is the Olympia oyster or ostrea lurida. Popular in the 1800’s when the oysters in San Francisco Bay were eaten almost to extinction, the Olympia is now not usually considered commercially viable, as it is both small and slow growing. Eastern or Pacific oysters were introduced to San Francisco Bay in 1896 by Mr. M. B. Moraghan when he planted an over-supply of oysters he had imported. The oysters grew and multiplied and a new local business was born. Mr. Moraghan also planted oyster beds in Tomales Bay in 1906 and founded the Tomales Bay Oyster Company. He obtained a permit for harvesting oysters from Tomales Bay in 1909. These oysters became increasingly important as San Francisco grew more populated and its bay became polluted. In 1936 the last commercial oysters were harvested from San Francisco Bay. The Tomales Bay Oyster Company,now owned by Gretchen and Drew Alden and their partners, is still in the business of farming Pacific oysters. Japanese oysters were introduced to Tomales Bay in 1928. Four years later they were planted in Drakes Estero, which proved to be an ideal growing environment. The water in both Tomales Bay and Drakes Estero is too cold to allow natural spawning of oysters other than those native to the area. Farmers buy seed oysters and grow them using methods that vary depending on the desired end product. If the oyster will be sold shucked, it does not matter if it is grown in a cluster. In this case the oyster larvae are introduced into tanks containing oyster or clam shells and water from the bay. After a week, the new oysters are small black dots attached to a mother shell. These shells are hung on racks in the bay either in mesh bags or on strings of 100 shells. Two months later, they are taken from the bay and strung, 14 shells to eight feet of wire, and again hung on the racks in the bay. After 18 to 24 months, they are harvested and sold as shucked bottled oysters or as oysters in the shell. Johnson’s Oyster Company has been farming Pacific oysters in this way in Drakes Estero. They lease more than 1100 acres from the Department of Fish and Game. To produce oysters on the half shell, another approach is needed to avoid growing clusters. The farmer buys seed from a hatchery, which grinds the oyster shell into 300 micron chips so there is only room for one larvae on each chip. The hatchery grows them for one or two months until the oysters are about 1/4 inch long. Then they are sold to the farmer, who places the single seed oysters in fine plastic mesh screen trays suspended in water. When the oysters reach an inch in size, they are transferred into heavy plastic mesh bags, tied to metal racks that keep the bags floating free in the tidal waters of the bay. Eighteen months later they are harvested. Four other types of oysters are grown in Tomales Bay: kumamoto, euroflat, atlantic or eastern, and olympia. These oysters prefer to grow lying in the mud and mature in three years. Oysters feed on plankton and other nutrients and play an important part in keeping Tomales Bay clean .The Eating of Oysters The best introduction to shucking oysters is observing a professional oyster shucker so you can learn their tricks. Failing that, follow our tips. First of all, protect your hands with heavy gloves or a cloth so that you don’t cause yourself a mortal injury - the danger is the knife slipping and stabbing you in the hand. Use a good oyster knife, never a kitchen knife. Slip and pry the oyster knife into the beak or deep end of the oyster while holding the shell with the other hand. Cut the muscle that holds the oyster closed by inserting the oyster knife about 2/3 of the way to the other end of the oyster and sliding the blade back and forth until the shell opens. Then cut the oyster free of the shell by cutting the muscle on the other side. Rinse any shell fragments. If you have no luck, putting the oyster in a microwave oven for a short time will help.
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