Oyster Day: A Celebration of Bi-valve Molluscs

In the UK and the US, today is Oyster Day! I’ve never eaten an oyster, and I don’t intend to, but many adore this delicacy raw, fried, or baked. Oysters are a versatile food source enjoyed by humans for millennia, but today they’re an expensive delicacy. Let’s learn more about this seafood and answer the important question: are oysters really an aphrodisiac?

The History of Oysters

Of course, I must include a bit of history about the bi-valve mollusc.

• Oysters have a long history, and scientists believe they were one of the Earth’s first living inhabitants. Scientists have found oyster fossils dating back 65 million years.
• The Greeks loved them so much they were the first civilisation to cultivate oysters. Fishermen scattered pieces of broken pottery in places where oysters grew to encourage baby oysters to attach themselves to the pieces. They were then moved to other sites to grow.
• The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were the “Golden Age of Oysters”. A massive surge in oyster production made them a cheap food source, and both rich and poor enjoyed them.
• In the nineteenth century, New York was the world’s biggest producer of oysters. New York Harbor provided half the world’s oysters before it was destroyed by over-harvesting and pollution. The first oyster bars appeared, and oysters were such an integral part of the city’s economy that they even used the shells to pave roads.
• While oysters were once a cheap staple for many, over-harvesting and pollution have reduced production and increased prices, making them an expensive delicacy today.

Five Facts About Oysters

• They’re rich in vitamin B12, vitamin A, selenium, iron, calcium and zinc.
• There are over 100 different species of oysters.
• Globally, we consume almost two billion pounds of oysters a year.
• Only one out of every 10,000 oysters will produce a pearl. They’re usually found in deep-sea oysters, not ones farmed for consumption.
• Oysters need to be cooked alive or consumed alive. If you eat or cook them after they’ve died, then you risk a severe bout of food poisoning.

The Origins of Oyster Day

Many sources claim the origins of Oyster Day are unknown.

However, for centuries in London, August heralded the arrival of the first oysters at Billingsgate fish market. For the poor, this cheap food source was always eagerly anticipated.

“The coming-in of oysters is observed as a sort of festival in the streets;”

An article in the Illustrated London News of 1851.

Perhaps this joyous arrival was the inspiration for Oyster Day.

But are Oysters an Aphrodisiac?

There’s a long history of people associating oysters with desire. Eighteenth-century lothario, Casanova, supposedly downed 50 oysters each morning to maintain his libido.

Scientific publications, like Medical News Today, argue that while they may contain nutrients, such as zinc, that play a role in sexual function, consuming oysters is unlikely to influence a person’s sex drive.

However, the writer of this article on Vice (warning: 18+ content) did a personal experiment and suggests that oysters improved her libido, but she consumed large amounts of them. Kudos to her. There’s no way I’m eating that many, or even one, so I’ll never find out.

Do you like oysters? Do you think they’re an aphrodisiac? Let me know in the comments.