A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN OYSTER part 2
It’s a Farm I Can’t See
Merroir
There is one characteristic of the oyster that sets it apart from others in its field by leaps and bounds. An oyster would still be remarkable if it did not excel at this quality, what with its simple charms and refreshing talents. Perhaps you have heard us food people throwing around the word Terroir, as in “The terroir of this wine really expresses itself.” What we are saying by this is that you can taste the place that the wine came from. We don’t mean you can literally taste the dirt or water of the location in the product, that wouldn’t be very pleasant. Terroir refers to the unique flavors that the place of a raw product imparts upon it. Terroir helps create the distinction between a cheese produced in say, Île-de-France (where Brie is from) and Normandy (Camambert’s home). Brie and Camambert are both made from cows milk and are produced in a similar fashion. While they are recognizable as cousins, they taste different. Part of this is because of the Terroir, the unique circumstances of the land which the cows who gave the milk for the cheese were raised on. Tasting such uniqueness in food or drink can send the most experienced eater into fits of joy. Everybody wants something new or distinct on their table, and the best way to fall in love with that style of wine you have had a hundred times is to try one from somewhere else.
Farmers in aquaculture have their own word for terroir, which is merroir. It comes out to the same meaning: the conditions of the body of water, expressing themselves in the raw product. For anyone who has ever tasted salinity in some creature from the sea, merroir is self-evident. Merroir is the reason for the season when it comes to oysters. Yes, they are freaking delicious, yes they look cool, yes the are simple to serve and eat and enjoy, and yes they could fit on almost any menu anywhere. But what makes them so special is that teaspoon of liquor the little oyster sits in while it waits to be shucked and plated on a bed of ice. That tiny sip you get before you slurp the nugget of meat from the shell is merroir incarnate. An oyster drinks and expels 50 gallons of sea water a day. When they are harvested, they bring some of this ocean water with them. It lives in the shell and is literally the liqueur of the oyster. Remember when I said that tasting the dirt or water that was used to produce a raw product might not be all that nice? Not the case with the oyster. This sip of ocean water is what makes the oyster such a special and perfectly self-contained food. It seasons the oyster with salt and the distinct aroma of the ocean, and not just any ocean. The oyster tastes exactly of the time and place where it was harvested, not the outcome of the merroir, but the literal flavor of the ocean.
