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Oysters & the Chesapeake Bay
The word “Chesapeake” actually means “Great Shellfish Bay” from the Algonquian Indian language. Oysters have influenced the nature of the Chesapeake and those who live near it for centuries. While oysters can be found around the world, most are most familiar with the American oyster that lives the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
Now, low in numbers, oysters in the Chesapeake were in such abundance that an early English settler wrote in 1612, “Oysters there be in whole banks and beds, and those of the best. I have seen some thirteen inches long.” (Strachey 1953). In 1701, Francis Louis Michel a visitor to the Chesapeake from Switzerland, wrote, “The abundance of oysters is incredible. There are whole banks of them so that the ships must avoid them. . . . They surpass those in England by far in size, indeed, they are four times as large. I often cut them in two, before I could put them into my mouth.”
Now, low in numbers, oysters in the Chesapeake were in such abundance that an early English settler wrote in 1612, “Oysters there be in whole banks and beds, and those of the best. I have seen some thirteen inches long.” (Strachey 1953). In 1701, Francis Louis Michel a visitor to the Chesapeake from Switzerland, wrote, “The abundance of oysters is incredible. There are whole banks of them so that the ships must avoid them. . . . They surpass those in England by far in size, indeed, they are four times as large. I often cut them in two, before I could put them into my mouth.”
The earliest evidence of the oyster being used as food dates to around 4,500 years ago. Shell deposits, called “middens”, were formed as people harvested shellfish and dumped the empty shells in the same location repeatedly over the centuries. The earliest middens have oysters mixed with soft shell clams, ribbed mollusks, periwinkles and other shellfish, showing that the Chesapeake Indians were initially eating a wide variety of species. Over time, use of the other types declined, and oysters became the preferred shellfish and a permanent element in the annual food cycle of Chesapeake people (Waselkov 1982; Potter 1993).
Despite the oyster’s currently low numbers, it remains a central figure in our collective sense of the Bay, deeply imbedded in the culture, heritage, and lore of the region.
1 pint raw, shucked oysters
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup Bob's Red Mill GF All Purpose Flour
2 tsp Rumford Baking Powder
1 tsp salt
½ to 1 tsp Old Bay
2 medium eggs
2 tbsp milk
cooking oil
In a large bowl, mix cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt.
Beat eggs and mix with milk in a small bowl.
Dip oysters, one at a time, in egg/milk mixture.
Dredge oysters (individually) through flour mix until thoroughly coated.
Carefully place oysters in a large skillet in oil at medium-high temperature. Cook until golden brown on each side.
Makes eight
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