Eld
Inlet Oyster - (Crassostrea gigas) October - June
Eld
Inlet is located in southern Puget Sound, Washington. It is right next to
Totten and Skookum Inlets, and as such has some similarities with those
two types of oysters. Southern Puget Sound is noted for its high nutrient
levels, and the oysters that grow there reflect that. Their meats tend to
be plump with glycogen, yet firm, and consequently very sweet. These Eld
Inlet oysters have a crisp briny flavor that is followed by a watermelon
rind-like aftertaste. This farm grows their oysters in upper Eld Inlet,
near its headwaters. They are cultured in bags on the beach, a method that
provides a very presentable fluted shell with a deep cup that is almost
always barnacle free. They grow quickly this way as well, reaching market
size in a little over a year.
Pickering Passage Oyster- (Crassostrea gigas) October
- June
Pickering Passage is the body of water in southern Puget Sound, Washington
that flows past the mouths of Hammersley, Totten, and Eld Inlets. It is
a nutrient rich area-producing oysters that grow very quickly and that tend
to have very plump, full meats. They are cultured in the traditional rack
and bag method pioneered by the French and reach market size in about 12
to 18 months. Their fast growout time results in oysters with attractive
shells, ones that are tinted with browns, tans, purples, and whites, rather
than the bleached out, gray looking shells of some beach-grown oysters.
Their flavor begins with a mild saltiness, followed by what’s generally
a full sweetness, and finishing with the fruity aftertaste reminiscent of
green apples.
Bill
Marinelli is known throughout Asia as the “Oyster King”. A Marine biologist
turned fish monger, he has been distributing live shellfish and fresh
fish around the USA and Asia since 1982.
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