by Barbara Rimkunas
This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, August 27, 2021.
When Exeter’s Board of Trade held its annual dinner in 1896, the bill of fare included not one, but two oyster dishes. Today, oysters are something of a luxury food that most of us eat only at fancy occasions. A century ago, however, oysters were inexpensive and relatively common – so much so, that the Board of Trade listed them as “blue points” to make them sound more elegant. Actual Blue Point oysters were harvested off the southern coast of New York’s Long Island, but the ones served at the dinner were probably the same local oysters served later in the meal as “oyster patties, a la Crème.”
Oysters were harvested and eaten by indigenous people in the Piscataqua region long before the English arrived. Dried and stored, oysters could be enjoyed throughout the year. Huge heaps of shucked oyster shells, called middens, have provided archaeologists with great insights into indigenous life and oyster shells can be found throughout New England. Clam shells were used to make wampum, an exchange medium, but oyster shells were of little value and were usually just chucked in a pile.
Englishmen, particularly those from London, were well acquainted with the European varieties of oysters. The Thames estuary was rich with oysters, so much so that today a London mass transit pass is called an ‘oyster card’ in a similar fashion to Boston’s ‘Charlie card.’ Hearing a Londoner say, “you’ll need an oyster card to hop on the tube” should immediately send the historical thinker back to the days when oysters were a major part of the diet.
New York city was famous for its oysters in the 19th century. They were eaten raw or cooked at all levels of society. Oysters could be shipped live (in fact, “raw” oysters are usually very much alive when you swallow them), which gave them the advantage over other seafood. Packed into old flour barrels, they could make their way to markets as far away as France.
By mid-19th century, oysters were fast becoming a culinary craze. In Exeter, Charles Folsom opened his oyster house in 1860. The Exeter News-Letter said, “his store quickly became an institution of Exeter where friends nightly gathered, and many have been the interesting discussions held there.” George Leavitt opened Leavitt’s Oyster House in 1875. Leading Business Men of Exeter said he, “ought to do a good business, for he is prepared to serve oysters in every style, and his trade is extensive and steadily increasing.”
Raw oysters have long had a reputation for improving one’s love life (wink, wink). Does it work? What were all of Folsom’s friends really discussing in those nightly gatherings? Get out of the gutter. Any aphrodisiac effect is most likely due to situational levels of romance while eating them. In other words, they work if you want them to. If there was a misunderstanding of oyster’s intentions, the women of Exeter weren’t having it. Recipes for oysters cooked in a variety of ways were published in town. “The Exeter Cook Book,” published in 1889 by the “Ladies of the First Baptist Church,” contained thirteen recipes for oysters whereas the lowly clam had only four. Here’s one from Mrs. George E. Street:
“Oyster Loaves: Take a fresh roll or brick loaf, make a round hole in the top, and scrape out the crumbs, then put your oysters into a pan with their liquor and the crumbs, add a good lump of butter, and stew them together five minutes. Add a spoonful of good cream. Fill your roll, lay the piece of crust back, rub with butter and brown and heat in the oven.”
Other offerings included oyster fritters, baked oysters in the shells, fried oysters, oyster omelette, creamed oysters and three separate methods for preparing escalloped oysters. Oysters were also listed as mere ingredients in other recipes – particularly in roast turkey or chicken dressing. “Take two dozen oysters,” advised Miss Lucy Hooper, “chop them very fine, and mix with two cups of breadcrumbs, or powdered crackers, one ounce butter, plenty of salt and black pepper, and a suspicion of cayenne. Mix thoroughly. Moisten this with a little oyster liquor and the yolk of one egg.”
Oysters could be purchased fresh, canned, or pickled. By the late 1920s, however, oysters were losing their appeal. The great New York oyster beds were thinning. Suspicions arose that oysters harbored diseases like cholera and typhoid fever, which weren’t entirely unfounded. Oyster beds frequently existed in the same space as public sewage outflows. (Dr. Valerie Goeman, DVM, Exeter High School class of 2009, once entertained our family with highlights from her parasitology class. When asked how to avoid getting sick, she calmly but firmly shouted “COOK YOUR FOOD!”) Fewer oysters and a more skeptical public brought the bivalves to where they are today – an infrequent part of the menu.
This doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of oysters. They’re something of a hero in the ecology of our estuaries. Oysters provide natural filtration to water overburdened with nitrogen. The Nature Conservancy and University of New Hampshire have been working to increase the oyster beds in Great Bay. Recreational oystering in some areas is allowed (with a license) September – June. Commercial aquaculture has increased New Hampshire’s small oyster harvest. While we may not go back to eating oysters several times a week as we did a century ago, we may be reaping the ecological benefits of the little mollusks for a long time to come.
Barbara Rimkunas is curator of the Exeter Historical Society. Support the Exeter Historical Society by becoming a member! Join online here.