num_pages: 208
description: Naturally high in essential vitamins and minerals oysters are one of the oldest known foods consumed by humans. Varying in size from as small as a grape to as large as a dinner plate the humble oyster has played an outsized role in the building of empires and the discovery of new lands. Consumed by both rich and poor the oyster has inspired writers poets painters and even loversCasanova was said to have started each day with a breakfast of fifty oysters. In Oysters: A Global History Carolyn Tillie delves into the culinary artistic sexual historical and scientific history of the humble bivalve. She shows how the oyster encouraged immigration and industry in the newly established United States how it perpetuated slavery among those working in the oyster beds and how Japan unexpectedly became the savior of the worlds oyster industry. Packed with colorful anecdotes recipes and more than fifty illustrations this little book is a delightful introduction to the lore of the oyster.
language: None
title: Oyster: A Global History
publisher: Reaktion Books