Raw Oysters: Love it or hate it?

Muahahaha · 12-01-2021 3:17pm

Purgative wrote: »

One of my odd passions is whelks - love them. Can't get them here. I have to get someone to bring them over (not these days with Covid and Brexit) but where are they caught
Donegal
.

There was a guy on the Late Late who's thing was whelks and Tubs had to admit that though they'd tried they couldn't source them here.

This site Irish fishmongers site has an incredible range of fish and shellfish, about 60+ different species there, including the whelks you love

https://eatmorefish.ie/?s=whelks&post_type=product

Purgative · 12-01-2021 5:00pm

Thanks Muahahaha, just put an order in and it arrived next Wednesday - just warned herself we'll be eating fish for a couple of days

Hellotonever · 13-01-2021 2:44am

yeppydeppy wrote: »

A friend of mine grows and sells them: https://achilloysters.com/

Yes thats my go-to. The smoked salmon is also phenomenal

John_Rambo · 24-01-2021 1:19am

murpho999 wrote: »

As an island, the fish culture here is very poor.

Go to a shop and they'd have a small selection and good shellfish is hard to get.

I'm always amazed when I go to places like Spain and even in the normal supermarkets you can get fresh squid, octopus, swordfish, oysters etc.

Wish it was like that here.

If you're in Dublin Kish Fish in Coolock and Howth have the best Irish caught selection from my experience. I think they have two big trawlers they deal directly along with good buyers from the Med. Lots and lots of locally caught fish on the counter. They have a place in the city centre too, it's near Smithfield and another in Kildare. I think they do delivery if you spend over €30.

Aongus Von Bismarck · 24-01-2021 1:57am

My cousin runs an oyster harvesting business in Galway. Brexit is already having a huge impact. The majority of their business involved shipping oysters to England for consumption in London restaurants. A premium product charging premium prices. Covid and Brexit has had a pretty devastating impact. The oysters can wait in their beds, but trying to keep a few people employed cannot.

There's going to be a glut of world class shellfish looking for a market in Ireland this year. Make the most of it. A Clarinbridge oyster is €5 a pop in a restaurant in Germany.

Beechwoodspark · 24-01-2021 8:25pm

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

My cousin runs an oyster harvesting business in Galway. Brexit is already having a huge impact. The majority of their business involved shipping oysters to England for consumption in London restaurants. A premium product charging premium prices. Covid and Brexit has had a pretty devastating impact. The oysters can wait in their beds, but trying to keep a few people employed cannot.

There's going to be a glut of world class shellfish looking for a market in Ireland this year. Make the most of it. A Clarinbridge oyster is €5 a pop in a restaurant in Germany.

Oysters are completely over rated.

The market knows this. They are more of a hyped up status symbol than anything.

There’s a reason why they are not popular in Ireland. Ppl dislike the taste, texture and hassle of them.

Ppl will NOT pay much for them.

Beechwoodspark · 24-01-2021 8:34pm

IAMAMORON wrote: »

I blame a society of demand to be honest. The reality is that the only genuine fresh fish you are getting on your plate in Ireland is fish that is coming off our own trawlers. Nitpick at that all you like.

We have excellent frozen fish here also - Lidl in particular.

I bought a bag of frozen Alaskan Pollock from Lidl a couple of months ago - it was divine.

Supply chains are a reality. The reason why we eat fish on Friday has phuck all got to do with it being a religious thing ... it is because the Trawlers would traditionally get back to harbour Wednesday night/ Thursday morning. Freon was only developed for widespread use in the 1930's.

Don't eat Calamari unless you are in a fishing village on the Med. In fact if you are ask them for the fresh house special. Don't make any enquiries about their eldest daughter either.

You are incorrect regarding the reason for friday being a fish day. That harkens back to the Middle Ages church calendar and has nothing to do with supply chains

Beechwoodspark · 24-01-2021 8:41pm

murpho999 wrote: »

As an island, the fish culture here is very poor.

Go to a shop and they'd have a small selection and good shellfish is hard to get.

I'm always amazed when I go to places like Spain and even in the normal supermarkets you can get fresh squid, octopus, swordfish, oysters etc.

Wish it was like that here.

As some who works in the wholesale food industry my two cents below.

The reason is Irish consumers are not into the taste, texture, or hassle of fish and certainly not shell fish oysters mussels whelks etc - this explains the tiny niche demand for it

Beechwoodspark · 24-01-2021 8:47pm

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

like mussels they're a great source of protein from our own back yard. It's mad how these things aren't really popular here compared to other countries, we do produce a hell of a lot of these things organically too, rope mussels and oysters are one of the cleaner ways to produce protein, environmentally.

The reason is ppl can’t be arsed with the hassle when they taste them first and go “is that it?”

Dramatik · 24-01-2021 8:52pm

Salty, slimey and cold... I don't know how anyone could enjoy this texture

Purgative · 24-01-2021 8:52pm

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

As some who works in the wholesale food industry my two cents below.

The reason is Irish consumers are not into the taste, texture, or hassle of fish and certainly not shell fish oysters mussels whelks etc - this explains the tiny niche demand for it

Nah. They have no history of eating fish and don't know about eating fish.

- Taste - there is a lot of fish that is very mild in flavour
- Texture - again there's fish that resembles the texture of meat, Monkfish John Dory. Chunks of Monkfish in a Masala sauce would be very hard to tell.
- Hassle - fillets in the pan, simples.

They don't know.

Beechwoodspark · 24-01-2021 8:53pm

Purgative wrote: »

Nah. They have no history of eating fish and don't know about eating fish.

- Taste - there is a lot of fish that is very mild in flavour
- Texture - again there's fish that resembles the texture of meat, Monkfish John Dory. Chunks of Monkfish in a Masala sauce would be very hard to tell.
- Hassle - fillets in the pan, simples.

They don't know.

Maybe but I can tell you there’s v v little demand so maybe it is “don’t know, don’t care”.

Purgative · 24-01-2021 9:01pm

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

Maybe but I can tell you there’s v v little demand so maybe it is “don’t know, don’t care”.

OK, but in tough times, and I think we're probably headed for them, fish is a cheap, healthy source of nutrition.

Beechwoodspark · 24-01-2021 9:01pm

Purgative wrote: »

OK, but in tough times, and I think we're probably headed for them, fish is a cheap, healthy source of nutrition.

I’m sure it is. But in my experience there’s v little interest in fish and certainly not shell fish among Irish consumers

I’d liken oysters to caviar or lobster. Status symbol food that very few ppl have on a regular basis

John_Rambo · 24-01-2021 11:04pm

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

I’m sure it is. But in my experience there’s v little interest in fish and certainly not shell fish among Irish consumers

That's in your peer group. Most of my family and friends eat fish very regularly including shellfish.

ShatterAlan · 25-01-2021 2:49am

whisky_galore wrote: »

Like swallowing a giant gob of cold snot.

What's wrong with that?

smellyoldboot · 25-01-2021 2:53am

Snotty slimy creepy ****e. You'd want to be some dirty self deluded pretentious baxtard to even pretend you liked that ****e FFS.

25-01-2021 4:35am

IAMAMORON wrote: »

I will probably be labelled a heathen by the Oyster purists, but I love a few dashes of Tabasco on one myself?

Nothing wrong with that at all. When I get oysters delivered, a blob of Franks hot sauce is delicious.

My favourite oyster restaurant only has tabasco, but they also serve cold Guinness to have with it, so its just perfect.

the beer revolu · 25-01-2021 10:25am

Purgative wrote: »

OK, but in tough times, and I think we're probably headed for them, fish is a cheap, healthy source of nutrition.

Fresh fish is generally priced at a premium.
Not really cheap, at all.

CruelCoin · 25-01-2021 10:28am

I love shellfish, but Oysters can **** right off.

A big slimy snot, that's all it is. It has no redeeming features.
People pretending to enjoy it to look "cultured"

the beer revolu · 25-01-2021 10:29am

smellyoldboot wrote: »

Snotty slimy creepy ****e. You'd want to be some dirty self deluded pretentious baxtard to even pretend you liked that ****e FFS.

Ah, the old, "I don't like it so anyone who does is a gob****e and only pretending ", attitude.
Of course.

the beer revolu · 25-01-2021 10:29am

CruelCoin wrote: »

I love shellfish, but Oysters can **** right off.

A big slimy snot, that's all it is. It has no redeeming features.
People pretending to enjoy it to look "cultured"

And again.

Beechwoodspark · 25-01-2021 10:30am

John_Rambo wrote: »

That's in your peer group. Most of my family and friends eat fish very regularly including shellfish.

No it’s in my professional experience as someone involved in wholesale to supermarkets/convenience stores throughout Ireland

I personally am a fan of fish, shellfish i can take or leave. But my comments are about the Irish market for fish and shellfish.

John_Rambo · 25-01-2021 1:09pm

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

No it’s in my professional experience as someone involved in wholesale to supermarkets/convenience stores throughout Ireland

I personally am a fan of fish, shellfish i can take or leave. But my comments are about the Irish market for fish and shellfish.

OK, I gotcha.. you actually have a overall view. it's a new thing to me, people that don't eat fish.

John_Rambo · 25-01-2021 1:11pm

CruelCoin wrote: »

I love shellfish, but Oysters can **** right off.

A big slimy snot, that's all it is. It has no redeeming features.
People pretending to enjoy it to look "cultured"

They're eaten all over the world, it's perfectly normal to eat them. People eat them cause they like them, not to look like anything. What world do you live in where people eat things to look like something???

whomadewho · 25-01-2021 3:27pm

Love them, I would eat as many as I can. 6 in one go is the most I've done though.

deisemum · 25-01-2021 9:28pm

I love oysters and have eaten them since I was a child though haven't had them in a while, nothing to do with looking cultured but they were readily available in my family home when in season as I grew up in Clarinbridge.

I usually just have them raw but I remember my mother making a stew with them.
I love fish and would have it about 3-4 times per week. I'm fortunate to have a very good fishmongers near me.

Aongus Von Bismarck · 25-01-2021 10:43pm

Carlingford Oyster Company were selling 12 oysters with a shucking knife for €12 in Dunnes at Christmas. Shucking is not a difficult task - requiring only the knife, a tea towel, and a little bit of elbow grease.

East and South coast oysters aren't a patch on our native West coast oysters in my humble opinion, but it's an opportunity to try out a premium, homegrown and sustainable food for the same price as some of you pay for a kebab tray from your local chipper.

Thelonious Monk · 25-01-2021 11:13pm

John_Rambo wrote: »

OK, I gotcha.. you actually have a overall view. it's a new thing to me, people that don't eat fish.

I've always found Irish people to be weird about fish, I know loads who don't eat it. My Dad thinks it's because it was traditionally a poor people's food years ago, or something.

murpho999 · 25-01-2021 11:51pm

CruelCoin wrote: »

I love shellfish, but Oysters can **** right off.

A big slimy snot, that's all it is. It has no redeeming features.
People pretending to enjoy it to look "cultured"

Have you actually tried them?

How can something that is very populat be eaten by millions of people to look "cultured".

I have eaten oysters many a time and they're delicious Very tasty.

I ate them for that reason and didn't care what what I looked.

I hate how people judge people for eating something they don't like themselves.

CruelCoin · 26-01-2021 1:23am

murpho999 wrote: »

Have you actually tried them?

How can something that is very populat be eaten by millions of people to look "cultured".

I have eaten oysters many a time and they're delicious Very tasty.

I ate them for that reason and didn't care what what I looked.

I hate how people judge people for eating something they don't like themselves.

I've had them a few times, cheap and expensive, and it's the texture, not the visuals that put me off.
As for judging people; i'll also judge people who eat at places that deconstruct your food on a clothesline and a shoehorn and make you pay through the ass for the privilege.
You're not enjoying the experience, not really. But you're there to be seen as the kind of person to go to that trendy spot.

It's the cold slimey snot and the pretentiousness that does it for me.

EmmetSpiceland · 26-01-2021 1:28am

CruelCoin wrote: »

It's the cold slimey snot and the pretentiousness that does it for me.

Again, snot. Very generous.

trashcan · 26-01-2021 1:36am

The chan chan man wrote: »

Absolutely delicious on ice with some tabasco and lemon.

I’m not sure why they’re meant to be an aphrodisiac however. I got poisoned from them one day and the smell coming off my burps was worse than the already foul smell leaving my hole every 2 minutes... It lasted for days and I destroyed 2 pairs of jocks on a long trip home from the romantic weekend in Cork.. I still love them though.

Yeah, thanks for sharing. :eek: You’ve certainly converted me. !

murpho999 · 26-01-2021 10:17am

CruelCoin wrote: »

I've had them a few times, cheap and expensive, and it's the texture, not the visuals that put me off.
As for judging people; i'll also judge people who eat at places that deconstruct your food on a clothesline and a shoehorn and make you pay through the ass for the privilege.
You're not enjoying the experience, not really. But you're there to be seen as the kind of person to go to that trendy spot.

It's the cold slimey snot and the pretentiousness that does it for me.

You say you don't like the texture and then compare it to snot but then also say you've had them several times so that's completely contradictory.

As for your pretentiousness comments I don't know what you're getting at.

Oysters are never deconstructed and usually served untouched on a bad of ice and optional lemon and tabasco. It's one of the least deconstructed foods out there.
Last time I had them was a lovely pub in Carlingford 6 oysters for €12 washed down with a lovely pint of Guinness. Delicious and nothing pretentious about it all.

You're just complaining about posh restaurants which is nothing to do with oysters.

W123-80's · 26-01-2021 11:31am

Spent my summers in secondary school in the West of Ireland working on an Oyster farm.
Turning & shaking bags on the tressels. Back breaking work trying to beat the tide. Also did weekends in autumn and winter when they were harvesting them. Loading the bags onto trailers out the tide, bring them in for grading, bagging and pelleting for shipping to France.
Looking back they were great summers!
Still hate oysters though, salty snot.
I will eat pretty much every other kind of seafood apart from Oysters. I just don't understand the attraction. Each to their own though

gozunda · 26-01-2021 11:45am

On the daft argument that we dont eat oysters here because of Irish and poverty etc. Yeah have heard that one trotted out many times but it doesn't really stand up to scrutiny.

Thing is in Ireland oysters as a food stuff were hugely popular from late Mesolithic right up to the 19 century and was a staple food in many areas especially coastal regions.

That said many archaeological digs on inland sites have been found to have large deposits of oyster shells

All kinda went a pear shaped due to various presures on native stocks .

Continued overharvesting of the shellfish in the 19th century along with heavy pollution, harsh winters and the disease Bonamia ostrea led to a dramatic decline of the native oyster in Ireland and threatened to wipe out its stock altogether.

http://www.mooregroup.ie/2011/02/cockles-and-piseogs/

https://www.tcd.ie/tceh/projects/foodsmartdublin/recipes/Sept_Oyster/HistoryEcology_oyster.php

Ash.J.Williams · 26-01-2021 11:52am

haven't had any recently but used to eat them a lot....

however

i was talking to a chap rencently that nearly died after standing on one in the sea...mad altogether, some sort of ridiculous infection

CruelCoin · 26-01-2021 11:57am

murpho999 wrote: »

You say you don't like the texture and then compare it to snot but then also say you've had them several times so that's completely contradictory.

How do you think i came to the idea that that was the texure i derived from it?

You think someone just described it to me?

Try everything once, or twice.

murpho999 · 26-01-2021 12:58pm

CruelCoin wrote: »

How do you think i came to the idea that that was the texure i derived from it?

You think someone just described it to me?

Try everything once, or twice.

Of course you need to try something to decide if you like it but several times is more than once or twice to me.

EmmetSpiceland · 26-01-2021 1:02pm

murpho999 wrote: »

Of course you need to try something to decide if you like it but several times is more than once or twice to me.

Once is once. Twice is twice. Three times is a few and four, or more, is several.

Potatoeman · 26-01-2021 1:08pm

Oysters are prefect for a first date. If she’ll swallow that she’ll swallow anything.

CruelCoin · 26-01-2021 1:10pm

murpho999 wrote: »

Of course you need to try something to decide if you like it but several times is more than once or twice to me.

I apologise profusely for using the wrong word, sorry.

I have tried it, several, times, and from those several tastings, I can confirm it is indeed cold slimy salty snot.

gozunda · 26-01-2021 1:16pm

CruelCoin wrote: »

I apologise profusely for using the wrong word, sorry.

I have tried it, several, times, and from those several tastings, I can confirm it is indeed cold slimy salty snot.

Traditionally they were often cooked. Added to seafood and meat based dishes etc. Theres even an oyster stout although that's using the shells. Might help avoid the snot factor.

CruelCoin · 26-01-2021 1:44pm

gozunda wrote: »

Traditionally they were often cooked. Added to seafood and meat based dishes etc. Theres even an oyster stout although that's using the shells. Might help avoid the snot factor.

Aye. We don't eat mussels raw, and I love me some mussels.

murpho999 · 26-01-2021 2:02pm

CruelCoin wrote: »

I apologise profusely for using the wrong word, sorry.

I have tried it, several, times, and from those several tastings, I can confirm it is indeed cold slimy salty snot.

You seem to know an awful lot about the taste of snot.:D

Well for me Oysters are one of the tastiest things I've ever eaten and those from Ireland, particularly Galway are regarded as some of the best oysters in the world.

Might go online and buy some for the weekend.

the beer revolu · 28-01-2021 11:12am

I'm not really a fan. Cooked are quite nice.

But people who insist that other people don't actually enjoy things that they get profound enjoyment from, just because that don't share that enjoyment or are unwilling to spend the money are miserable, small minded, ignorant snobs (yes inverse snobbery is just as bad). Be that oysters, fine dining, wine, coffee, whatever.

Boils my piss, that attitude.

John_Rambo · 29-01-2021 9:10pm

the beer revolu wrote: »

I'm not really a fan. Cooked are quite nice.

But people who insist that other people don't actually enjoy things that they get profound enjoyment from, just because that don't share that enjoyment or are unwilling to spend the money are miserable, small minded, ignorant snobs (yes inverse snobbery is just as bad). Be that oysters, fine dining, wine, coffee, whatever.

Boils my piss, that attitude.

You're right. I'm a bit guilty of that when it comes to people not ever eating fish. Ever. I just don't get it. I'll have to temper my judgement!!

Raw Oysters: Love it or hate it?

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