OYSTERS

Did you know? The best time to eat an oyster is when it is cold, around the first of November to the first of May. Most of the time oysters on the Pacific coast taste brinier than those on the east coast. Traditionalists like their oysters raw and naked. Meaning fresh from the chill bed unseasoned and unwatered.

The art of eating an oyster: Plucking an icy cold and brightly glistening oyster from a plate, first savor the chill and roughness of the shell in your hands. ''Taste it with your finger- tips,'' says Seattle oyster maven Jon Rowley.

Next step….. Finally, he tips the oyster into his mouth, meat and juices together, carefully chewing the whole. On the tongue, an initial note of sweetness quickly yields to a subtle brininess and mineral qualities.

The Science part of it... Oysters are in the class bivalvia (pelecypods) because they have two shells and they are called valves. Most bivalves are raised commercially by farmers who grow them & sell them. The 2 shells are opened and closed by the adductor muscles. Oysters attach themselves to the bottom of the ocean floor, and grow there until they are harvested.

Other types of mollusks… Clams scallops squids and octopus snails