The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-11-28
THE OYSTER THIS YEAR.
EXPERTS THINK THAI 1T TASTES
BETTER THIN EYER BEFORE.

Tho Dealer Tell. How 70 Distinguish Va.
rie,ics and How cot To-Thc shciia, Not
the Taste. Tell the siory-Uow the Taste
In FIXED Up by tho Drinking" Process.
Down In Fulton street, near Broadway. there
fs an old-fashioned oyster house which IA one Of
the few real old.time places of that kind left In
the city. 1t Is patronized clmost exclusively BY
mon who are connoisscurs Of oysters and sea
food. 1t still retains all the distinctive features
OF furnishing Of tho old.stylc oyster house. The
tables arc OF brightly polished cherry. with
a bottle OF catsup, ono OF pepper sauce, and
another of vinegar in n row down the middle Of
each. The restaurant Is n fnvorite with many OF
The older business mon In tho vicinity. 1t Is also
ono OF the few oyster houses in town TIM make
Il rrctencc OF keeping the different varieties Of
oysters in the market. The proprietor has kept
an oyster house in Fulton street for over forty
years, and is an expert in his business.
How do your customers distinguish tho diff.
fercnt varieties Of oysters - he was asked the
other day.
well, most men who como in here for oysters
have their favorite bran's. and the oyster gour-
met always eats his oysters raw. served on the
half shell. 1t is difficult to tell the brand of
oysters by the taste. and when they are cooked
in stcws or frys it Is a practical impossibility
to tell them. Gourmet can tell you tho
names OF oysters from tn, shells. Some might
be able to distinguish them by The taste,
MS for instance take the Cape Cod and Buzz,rd's
Bay oysters. They are the saltiest that como
into our market. while the Maurice Cove
oysters. which como from New Jersey. ara
known as the freshest oysters in tho market
from the fact that the water in which they are
srown Is frcBhcr than the salt water
around Cape Cod. There Is ono oyster. how.
ever. that almost anybody can distinguish after
having It's popularity pointed out. and that is
the Shrewsbury. The Shrewsbury River bod 10
that reddish Jersey soil. and the color Is taken
on ny The oyster. Tho shell is very dark and
muddy and OF. a reddish yellow tinge, whilo
tho oyster Itself bears tho same color. The In
terror OF he shell has delicate black streaks..
The Blue Point is also easily distinguished
from the fact that it has II white. grecnish she'll,
which is more slightly indcnted than any other.
The Blue Point comes from Fire Island inlet.
Itocknway oysters are peculiar in shape and
hav. thin shells. Tho under shell is usually
fiat. and the meat is light colored and salty.
The Buzzard's Bay oysters arc about the finest
that we get. and l consiicr them superior to
are the most expensive in the market. ! have
known men who were experts to be deceived by
h fis H%Ssaway fh @" GHn Inss %es oyster ssrv IS s. mp az
in color to the Shrewsbury. both as to its shell
are better 5a9 e1t tha 1' they ing ih have ey Uys been s seis season
One of tho peculiar things | have. noticed
ABB ,gc mot Of m meI ' h. eat her Is hat thssh h, =
s Oh a c the sfa''g NPd is the nf eye SSr Of bs an s sssltnps or c psPs
tN'''' ''s' 80 kthoiS iAi
One of the biggest oyster dealers at Fulton
Mnrket said that three weeks ago in one weei
900, 600 oysters passed through his scow.
THE season this year" he said. " has been
very good and the oysters we are getting arr
superior to any we have had for years. Mos,
of thu oysters handled in this market are wha'
we call sounds These arc grown in Princes
Bay from seed taken from the Etst River ant
staten island Sound. They take about thre,
years to mature and are the best for general al
around use.. Many OF these are used in tn,
Western trade.
We Wholesalers distinguish the varieties o
oysters by the shRp' and color of the shells
When oysters are brought to market here frs
We put them through an operation known n
drinking. They are taken down 10 Port Rich
mona, Staten Island. aud shovcllei of the sloopt
into floats al high water. They rcmpin In lhcs
floats for six hours, and during that Tim
absorb or drink enough wafer TO give them tn
correct taste. The water In the iioats is nuc
fcesher than that from which they are taken Il
tho first place The water of Sew ORR Bay /
just salty enough 10 favor oysters Just right
After the oysters have zone through tho foats
would he difficult Tor The most expert connUit
sour to distinguish variety by tho taste. and h
could only tell the name OF the oyster by seeinl
a the she'll"