Darina Allen: Open up to oysters

— hot buttered oysters on toast or oysters with champagne sauce, plus some essential safety tips

oysters au naturel

What is it about an oyster that makes so many people scrunch up their faces when offered one of those delicious bivalves? Why do so many instantly decide “No, I don’t or won’t like them”. Come on, surely you are brave enough to try an oyster, try one and then another, maybe a third: then you are hooked — a dozen isn’t enough. Those of us who like oysters don’t just like them, we really, really love them.

Oysters are a brilliant source of zinc and vitamin D and the good news is that we are smack bang in the middle of the oyster season. There are two main varieties — the indigenous Irish oyster, Ostrea edulis and Crassostrea gigas. The latter are often referred to as Pacific, Portuguese, or Rock Oysters. They have curvy shells and are less expensive because they mature in two to three years as opposed to the much-prized native Irish oyster which takes at least four to five years to mature and is only in season when there is an ‘R’ in the month — September to April.