I was asked the question recently of what the Best time was to eat Oysters and rather than fake it I went looking for a correct answer.
According to the BBC Food Section they are best from October to February. I learned from their short piece that oysters used to be the food of the poor and was bulked with meats when these were in short supply.
I never tried their suggestion of grilling oysters quickly after seasoning them with shallots and a touch of butter.
In France, growing up in Brittany, oysters were mainly popular for the Christmas Eve Réveillon.
Each person would get a dozen of these served raw obviously.
They would be most often Huitres de Marennes-Oleron delivered overnight from the producer or in some instances sold directly by him straight from his truck.
The preferred wine would be a Muscadet.
Bon Appetit!
The illustration I chose is a litograph titled "Les Mangeurs d’Huitres" from 1825 by L. Boilly (now in public domain).
