Thursday, April 17, 2014

O Is For Oysters

There are two different kinds of people in this world: the kind that love oysters, and the kind that utterly despise them. If you're unsure on which side you may be one, it should only take you about T-minus 10 seconds after you slide your first half shell back. The first time I had an oyster, was about 12 years ago. I was about 14 years old and on spring break with my family down in Florida, the experience was traumatizing to say the least.

Doesn't this oyster look tasty??
Even at a young age, I have always loved trying new foods. While on vacation one Spring break, we met up with some family friends at an all you can eat Chinese buffet. I have never heard of oysters before this point, my parents despised them and refused to bring them anywhere near our home. Our friends were eating these oysters by the dozen at the restaurant, so I thought that they couldn’t have been all that bad. I have had stuff clams and other kind of shell fish before, which I have loved, so how could it be that much different? I asked my parents if they could pass me one over for me to try, and they eager obliged as they couldn’t wait to see the reaction on my face. All in all, I kind of choked on it… and then kind of gagged on it. Everyone had a good laugh afterwards, except for me, I thought I was going to be sick! Love them or hate them, oysters are widely popular around the world and will be here to stay; eating them has its benefits and I’m sure are better than eating something like fast food.

Surprisingly, oysters are actually pretty good for you. Like most other sea food, oysters are high in protein. With about 16 grams of protein per 6 ounce serving, they might be exactly what your bodybuilding buddy needs tonight after his hard workout. Oysters are also a great source of vitamins and minerals, such a zinc, calcium, iron and vitamin b-12. These bivalves are also known for being aphrodisiac, which some scientific research has backed to be true. Zinc has been linked closely to testosterone levels, so that might have something to do with it being linked to boosting your sex drive. The 2 major downfalls to eating oysters, besides being a fatal mistake for anyone with a sea food allergy, is the high sodium and cholesterol content.  If you already have issues with blood pressure or with cholesterol, then you might want to sit this food out.

I'm not sure why, but I have been seriously wanting to try oysters again this past month or so. It has been over a decade since my last oyster experience, many of my taste buds have changed since then so who knows if my adult preferences will like or hate this notorious shell fish. I am always kind of leery of trying them at restaurants because I don’t want a repeat of last time. I have heard that the best time of year to enjoy them is during the cooler months, so I might have to put off my next oyster experience until later on this year.

What have been your experiences with this slimy little shell fish? Do you have any advice for how I should enjoy my next attempt? Thanks for reading and I hope to see you tomorrow!

Till next time,

~Mr. McLovin



3 comments:

  1. Okay so you try the oysters again and let me know if they still make you want to puke. If you do it, I will do it. I've never had them but the thought makes me want to puke and like you, I love seafood.
    Stopping by from A to Z.

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  2. It could be better the 2nd time around. Please keep me posted if you try it. I had it once, but don't remember if I liked it. Probably hated if if I can't remember. I can picture your parents expressions when you wanted to try the oysters. Good post.

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  3. I keep going back to that episode in Mr. Bean where he tries oysters and then spits them back into the shells and places them on the table. Ugh.

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