The Big OysterHistory on the Half Shell

An exhaustively researched history that reveals much about its edible subject, and even more about the people who valued it.
When you think of locales famous for fresh seafood, New York City might not be the first place to come to mind; but author Kurlansky shows that oysters have played a pivotal role in the metropolis' culture, economy and political development throughout its early history. At once an haute cuisine luxury and a poor man's staple, the oyster was a highly versatile and at onetime naturally plentiful food, as Kurlansky demonstrates with recipes from as far back as the 15th century. Between the Lenape Indians who left behind enormous middens (shell piles) through the Dutch settlers who built a mercantile empire on the bivalves and finally the English settlers who made them an important part of the local cuisine, it was widely acknowledged that oysters were one of the region’s great natural resources. And like any great resource, the oyster beds would be exploited and depleted with subsequent overfishing and increasing water pollution. Like Kurlansky's previous food-themed tomes, Salt and Cod, The Big Oyster is an exhaustively researched history that reveals much about its edible subject, and even more about the people who valued it. Though Stechschulte's reading is a bit mannerly and dry, the material is juicy enough to stand on its own.