Oyster Trivia

Oysters have always been linked with love. When Aphrodite, the Greek godess of love, sprang forth from the sea on an oyster shell and promtly gave birth to Eros, the word "Aprodisiac" was born.

The dashing lover Casanova used to start a meal with 12 dozen oysters!

An oyster produces a pearl when foreign material becomes trpped inside the shell. The oyster responds to the irratation by producing nacre, a combination of calcium and protein. The nacre coates the foreign material and over time produces a pearl.

Folklore says that oysters should only be eaten in months that contain the letter "R", September, October, November, December, etc. The notion that oysters should not be eaten in "R"-less months - that is - warm months, may have sarted in the days when oysters wher shipped without adequate refrigeration and could spoil.

Oysters are not only delicious, but they are one of the most nutritionaly balanced foods, conatining protien, carbohydrates and lipids.

Four or five medium oysters supply the recommended daily balance of Iron, Copper, Iodine, Magnesium, Calcium, Zink, Manganese, and Phosphorous.

Oysters help boost your mental energy and mood elevators - thay really are "Brain Food"!

It is believed that Chesapeake Oysters have been gathered by human for over 6,000 years. Chesapeake oyster prodction in the late 19th century was over 111 million pounds; in 1990 it was less than 4 million pounds.

The world's only oyster museum is on Chincoteague Island, VA.