Bedeque
Strict regulations on the wild fishery limit one person per boat and the oysters must be harvested by hand, using only long, rake-like tongs. The fishers carry a small gauge that allows them to quickly determine if the oysters are of harvestable size. Those too small are tossed back. Buyers arrive in the afternoon with refrigerated trucks to purchase the oysters as the tongers come to shore.
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Cascumpec
Unregulated harvesting eventually exhausted the natural oyster beds and by the early twentieth century, the fishery had lost much of its value.
The introduction of oyster farming over the last few decades, along with enhancement programs that revitalized the natural oyster beds, has allowed Cascumpec to re-emerge as one of PEI’s most fertile oyster-producing regions.
Farmed oysters from this region are easily identified by their deep, cocoa-brown, shells. The wild catch, with equally dark brown shells, has a hint of emerald green to them. Both offer full-bodied meats with rich, nutty flavours.
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Flavours
The foremost factor affecting an oyster’s flavour is the season.
PEI is subject to mighty big seasonal changes and these directly reflect the oyster’s flavour. Remember that most oysters are harvested and then brought to market alive. As such, they will convey the water conditions from which they were plucked.
Melting snow and heavy rainfalls flood the river systems in the spring, making for oysters that are usually less salty. The same oyster that has been feeding all summer and is ready to spawn in the fall will exhibit more of the rich, earthy notes characteristic of these conditions.
Oysters that have been dormant under the thick ice of winter will have a different taste, often revealing more of their delicate mineral flavours.
Another key factor to account for is how the oysters are handled and served. It is incredibly important that oysters are properly stored and shucked. If the utmost care is not taken, the delicacy and delicious qualities of a live oyster will be greatly diminished.
Proper handling requires that the oysters be stored in a damp and cold environment. They also need to be carefully opened, avoiding any excessive destruction of the flesh or the forcing of bits of shell and dirt into the meat.
Learning to identify a properly shucked oyster will enhance your appreciation of its flavours and help you discern which restaurants are best for oyster feasting.
To dress or not to dress? That’s always a point of consideration when it comes to oyster flavours and condiments.
Many people enjoy a condiment or topping on their oyster, ranging from a simple squeeze of lemon or splash of flavoured vinegar to some concoction of sauces and shavings that’s well-intentioned but often overpowering.
Even the slightest of these will greatly alter the flavour of an oyster. Often, the careful addition of a condiment will augment the flavour, lifting the taste of the mollusk from its salty enclave. We refer to this as being properly dressed.
Even with the sometimes happy effect of a dressing, it should be understood that any critical approach to oyster tasting is best done without any additions to its delicate flesh.
Oysters enjoyed unadorned are usually referred to as being neat or naked. This is the only way that most of the subtle nuances of flavour can be tasted. Plus, it’s just fun to say… “oysters are best eaten naked!”
There is a longstanding belief that the proper way to eat an oyster is to swallow it whole. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Where this maxim originated is unclear, but rest assured that to do so would be akin to shooting a well-aged whisky.
In order to properly taste even the broadest flavour profiles, the oyster should be chewed a few times before swallowing. Chewing it will reveal any of the flavours that linger within the flesh beyond the easily apparent saltiness of the liquid in the shell.
In your oyster forrays, you are likely to happen upon flavour descriptions that use complex and convoluted charts. These are mostly borrowed from the sophisticated wine-tasting community. While they may offer some direction,
there is a much simpler formula to identify and express the essential flavours present in oysters.
There are five broad flavour categories present, to one degree or another, in all PEI oysters. These can be used as clear signposts on the journey of discovery into an oyster’s flavours. They are as follows:
Salty: The initial flavour and usually most apparent. The liquid or “liquor” in the shell is the principal source but there is a degree of saltines within the flesh as well. This varies greatly depending upon when the oyster is harvested.
Earthy: An earthy or umami flavour is the principal profile of the flesh of a PEI oyster. The slow-moving tidal rivers where the oysters grow contain a variety of microscopic particles. The oyster ingests these and takes on their flavour. The easiest flavour comparison is to that of a raw mushroom.
Grassy: Some of the microscopic particles ingested by the oyster are plants that contain chlorophyll and these can lend a somewhat herbaceous flavour to the oyster. These crisper tones are less common in most PEI oysters and more prevalent in the spring and summer.
Metallic: Oysters will ingest and retain any number of minerals in the water. These elements add greatly to the nutritional value of the food. Often subtle, these complex flavours are what most distinguish one variety of PEI oyster from another.
Sweet: A sweet sensation will sometimes occur in a properly chewed oyster and this is derived from the glycogens in the flesh. The sweetest part is usually the more solid adductor muscle that is attached to the shells and cut during shucking. Large PEI oysters with big adductors will often have the sweetest flavour.
Using these five signposts of flavour along your PEI oyster tasting journey should allow
you to develop a ready reference to what you enjoy more in one variety over another.
Keep in mind that the most dominant flavours will have some seasonal variations
but that the more subtle mineral and sweet flavours can remain more constant
between one variety of oysters and another.
It is most important to be open-minded and try different varieties of PEI oysters in
different seasons. In this way, you’ll create the memories that define your oyster
journey.
Malpeque and The Narrows
The Narrows, as it’s known locally, is a thin waterway protected from the open waters of the Gulf by long, often-shifting dunes. The shores of Malpeque Bay are dotted with working farms while the shores of the Narrows are mostly coastal marsh and forest.
The region is home to a number of the most established oyster processing companies on the island. Traditionally they would buy oysters harvested from public beds across the Island and then grade and pack them for distribution worldwide. Today, these same processors also source oysters from independent growers and manage extensive farms of their own..
Many of the oysters packed in the region are sourced from elsewhere and then relayed into the private leases of processors in the region. After a nice long bath, they are pulled up, packed and sold as Malpeques. The region’s oysters come in every size and shape but all have the famous Malpeque flavour.
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of family members involved in operating this renowned company.
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Murray River
The region’s namesake, the Murray River, drains the region due west while the Greek and Fox Rivers flow in from the north and south respectively. All the rivers have deep, sandy shores with numerous spits jutting out at regular intervals.
There has also been increased activity from the public fishery in recent years. As the market for PEI oysters has increased and many of the traditional harvesting tracts have waned in quality, wild fishers have sought out fresh sources in Murray River.
New London
The extensive surface culturing that occurs throughout the region has developed over the last twenty years. These well-kept oyster farms employ the latest technology and allow near-maximum production.
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Orwell Cove
Despite the extensive aquaculture, the region has received renewed interest from the public fishery. The Pinette River system in particular has been offering substantial yields of well-formed specimens.
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Rustico
This diverse region produces a range of shell colours but a light brown hue is the most common. The steady flow of creeks and rivers into the salty bays helps give the Rustico oysters their distinctly savoury flavour.
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Savage Harbour
Fresh water enters the harbour through a number of creeks. The French and MacIntyres flow in from the west and MacDougals and MacEwens drain the east. The broad marram grass-covered dunes and the stunted pines give the pale landscape a somewhat otherworldly feel.
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The East Bays
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The Rivers
The Rivers remain an important source of oysters for the public fishery and during the open season it is a common sight to spot dories upon the waters with their solitary occupant steadfastly tonging for oysters.
Water quality is an ongoing concern, and oysters harvested adjacent to urban areas are relayed to unspoiled waterways where they are purged of potential contaminants.