I might regret this......

[Barking Mat]

I'm still waiting for someone to say that they are an ' acquired taste' and we all know what that means,

They're like Marmite, I think, you love, or hate.

 

[ukracer]

Used to be my Friday treat, when I was at school. Oysters and chips. The oysters were cooked in batter.

Are they not called scallops then.

 

[Anguz]

Love them..scallops as well.. not had cockles for donkeys years

 

[ukracer]

Well cooked scallops are ok, but I won't pay a premium for them

40p each round here...

 

[Morrisman]

Up to the late 19th century, they were part of the staple diet of the poor and working class.

As was salmon, posh people refused to eat the dark meat.

 

[redlig]

They're like Marmite, I think, you love, or hate.

More the case of " It loves or hates you".

 

[dobbslc]

Who the hell looked at an oyster, in the annals of time, and thought "I bet that tastes nice"??

There's a few other things that could be said for...

 

[minimutly]

Love them..scallops as well.. not had cockles for donkeys years

Donkeys ears? Now your talking, taste like chicken..

 

[skotl]

Well, I survived the experience with no adverse reactions (so far).

Quite liked it, but not enough to go through the faff of shucking again (probably down to my inexperience).

Had it with a squeeze of lemon juice but didn't try the 'down in a oner' method. If someone prepared a few for me I'd eat them, but would never buy/order any in future to have for myself. Like some others ^^, I'm in the "take it or leave it" category.

I'm normally a big fan of seafood, esp scallops (will never forget the hand-dived ones I got from @4String. ). This oyster happened by chance at the local fish van - I spotted the oysters and mentioned that trying them was on my bucket list, but I still wasn't sure... Chap gave me one just to see.

Still, one more tick against the list!

TBH, it's the experience rather than the seafoodiness for me.

A bit of tabasco or other hot sauce makes all the difference - I know it's been a good one when I (literally) have a warm glow all the way down and in my gut. If you get a chance in a decent restaurant have 3 (not 6 or 12, yet!) served as they recommend them. It's an acquired taste / experience but, if you love it, you love it!

When we were on holiday in the south of Portugal in June my wife and I visited the local fish market each morning and we'd round it out with six oysters in pepper and tabasco and a glass of Vinho Verde, for €6 each

 

[Seadog]

Lemon juice, nothing else. The flavour is unparalleled.

 

[mike os]

40p each round here...

I'll have a bucket then ...

 

[Morrisman]

Lemon juice and Tabasco on raw Oysters...

Course ground black pepper helps obscure the texture, while the lemon and tabasco hit the taste.
Win/win.

 

[julianthegypsy]

I've had oysters in steak pie and it's very nice. They are also lovely hot smoked or barbecued, but I can take them or leave them raw, more leave than take really.

 

[JohnH]

What sort of school did you go to where you got oysters?

Kelburn Normal. Chippy down the road, Bluff oysters so we were told.

As an aside, our French teacher at college used to introduce his students to French food as a treat at the end of the final term. I remember we had Snails and also Garlic and a few other things.

 

[frank horton]

just getting over D+V.......
reading this, I just go n stick my finger down me froat...........

 

[northwest]

Well, my mum and dad, many years ago, decided they would "do the far east" Bali, Hong Kong, Singapore and of course Bangkok. Now, my mother is the sort of person who wouldn't let you refigerate cooked chicken "You will get food poisoning", you can see where this is going. Needless to say she had the Oysters, from a street vendor!! Three weeks in hospital in Bangkok and air ambulance service home. Totally trashed the "holiday". None of us could believe it.

I have often dived for scallops off the West Coast, usually out of Oban and on one memorable occasion dropped down to find the seabed looking like a lunar landscape, Russian trawler I found out later, they run a dragnet with rumble chains in front of the net to get everything off the seabed but it destroys everything in it's path :-(

 

[selectedgrub]

The title had me excited
Thinking you were going to do something outrageous like getting a fist tattooed on your neck.

 

[Seadog]

Well, my mum and dad, many years ago, decided they would "do the far east" Bali, Hong Kong, Singapore and of course Bangkok. Now, my mother is the sort of person who wouldn't let you refigerate cooked chicken "You will get food poisoning", you can see where this is going. Needless to say she had the Oysters, from a street vendor!! Three weeks in hospital in Bangkok and air ambulance service home. Totally trashed the "holiday". None of us could believe it.

I have often dived for scallops off the West Coast, usually out of Oban and on one memorable occasion dropped down to find the seabed looking like a lunar landscape, Russian trawler I found out later, they run a dragnet with rumble chains in front of the net to get everything off the seabed but it destroys everything in it's path :-(

One of the problems with modern mechanised fishing.

 

[cheb]

Well, my mum and dad, many years ago, decided they would "do the far east" Bali, Hong Kong, Singapore and of course Bangkok. Now, my mother is the sort of person who wouldn't let you refigerate cooked chicken "You will get food poisoning", you can see where this is going. Needless to say she had the Oysters, from a street vendor!! Three weeks in hospital in Bangkok and air ambulance service home. Totally trashed the "holiday". None of us could believe it.

I have often dived for scallops off the West Coast, usually out of Oban and on one memorable occasion dropped down to find the seabed looking like a lunar landscape, Russian trawler I found out later, they run a dragnet with rumble chains in front of the net to get everything off the seabed but it destroys everything in it's path :-(

Not just the Russians, there's plenty of local fisherman who dredge. And then whine about how bad the fishing is and blame anyone but themselves.

The best description of dredging I've read is that's it's like driving a bulldozer through an orchard to harvest the fruit that falls into the cab.

 

[Mick Annick]

They're like Marmite, I think, you love, or hate.

Don’t be silly Mat, everyone loves Marmite!