How Oysters should be opened.—In the author’s work on “Luncheon,” reference is made to the great care which should be exercised in opening oysters; and it will bear repeating. Reject all oysters opened by the “smashing” process. The shells are not only broken and ragged, but, should a person swallow a ragged splinter of oyster-shell, there is great danger of its killing him. Insist on it that your oysters are opened by the so-called “stabbing” process.
How to serve Raw Oysters.—If for a quiet family affair, where “opened” oysters are used, keep the plates in ice-water, and dry them before placing the oysters on them. For more pretentious affairs, but where fancy oyster-plates are not a part of the dinner service, use soup-plates. Fill them with fine cracked ice, place a dainty doily over each, and set the oysters on top of the doily. The lemon should be served on a side-dish, and not in the centre of the dish as though one were dining in a restaurant. Four small Rockaways are sufficient to serve at the ordinary course dinner. In nine cases are out of ten, Rockaways are served instead of the Blue Points. It is therefore advisable to order the former; the dealer might make a mistake if he had them in stock, and send the latter.
It is quite English to serve raw oysters on the flat half-shell, but it is quite American to serve them on the deep shell. The American way is the best.
Collation Service.—At evening collations, the oysters are served in the centre of a block of ice. A clear, square block of ice is selected, and a cavity or receptacle is made in it by the aid of a hot flat-iron held close to the ice. If one has patience, the cavity may be shaved out with an ice shave; if a pick is used, one is likely to split the cake of ice. An ice boat is easily formed by holding a hot flat-iron to a long piece of ice. Holes may be made through the bottom of the block of ice, and filled with brilliant flowers; and the outer sides and top should be handsomely decorated with flowers and smilax. If electric lights are used in the house, it is an easy matter to place them in the cake of ice: the effect is striking. The wires are carried from the room below the dining-room, or under the carpet.
How to eat a Raw Oyster.—Avoid as much as possible the use of condiments, when eating oysters. They were never intended as an accompaniment of the oyster, and are only used by country people. A suspicion of lemon; a dash of salt when the dealer has kept them covered with cracked ice, and the descending ice-water washed out all sea flavor; and, for palates grown callous, a dash of cayenne. Such abominations as ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, etc., should never be used. Do not bolt the oyster, but masticate it; and one will soon learn to tell the different oysters by their different flavors. By bolting them, one will never know how to thoroughly appreciate them.
A Barrel of Oysters.—Persons living away from the city are advised to purchase oysters by the barrel. If kept with the deep shell down, and in a cool place, they will live a long time. The novice is likely to bruise fingers in vain attempts to open them; but, like carving, the opening of oysters should be part of a man’s education. Then there is the charm of roasting the oysters in the old-fashioned fire-place. Here the novice may burn a finger or two, but then it’s fun for the youngsters.
Read this!—In W. Mattieu Williams’s “Chemistry of Cookery,” I find the following: “More than half a century has elapsed since Dr. Beaumont published the results of his experiments on Alexis St. Martin. These showed that fresh raw oysters required two hours and fifty-five minutes to digest, and stewed fresh oysters three and a half hours for digestion; against one hour for boiled tripe, and three hours for roast or boiled beef or mutton.”
The general impression among the people is, that raw oysters digest almost as soon as they become of the same temperature of the stomach.