Japanese Oversized Oyster vs. Regular Oyster Size Comparison
Oysters are known as "ocean milk" because of their low fat and high protein content. Zinc, iron, vitamins A, C, B1, B2, taurine, an amino acid, glycogen (glucose) and other nutrients are balanced. Oysters, in particular, have the highest zinc content in food. Zinc is said to play a role in supporting and maintaining various functions of the body, such as antioxidant effects, improving immunity and preventing loss of taste.
Japan's major oyster varieties include true oysters, the former marketed in the colder season, and the rock oyster, which is a warm season season and just a super complementary. The other two oysters that are not produced much, but are very special, are the Suminoe oyster and the Banfu oyster
Magaki Ma-gaki
Japanese true oysters The mainland is called "long oyster" The scientific name is "Pacific oyster"
Appearance characteristics: the shell is about 7 cm long, slender, rock texture and color, the shape and color of true oysters from different origins will be slightly different. Compared to rock oysters, true oysters are small and thin-shelled.
Distribution area: living in the inner bay, mainly aquaculture, mostly distributed in the Pacific coast, with Hiroshima Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, Okayama Prefecture, Iwate Prefecture as the main production area, of which Hiroshima production accounts for more than 60% of the whole Japan.
Season: Late autumn to spring, different regions will have different planting periods
Specialties: Raw food, fried, pots, miso soup, Taraku yaki, Gojo yaki.
Real oyster meat is small and delicious. Notable brands include Hiroshima's triploid oyster (a breed of oysters that cannot be bred artificially, which is fatter than ordinary oysters) oyster komachi, and Hanami oysters in the Seto Inland Sea. The recently very popular "Hualian" is also a kind of true oyster.
Hiroshima brand real oyster oyster komachi
Golden yellow shell The refreshing taste of "Hua Lian" real oysters
"True oysters" are the most produced varieties that Japanese restaurants generally offer. It is the most widely distributed oyster species in the world, and the largest oyster production in Japan and China, known as the "long oyster" on the mainland, and the scientific name "Pacific oyster". True oysters are served from autumn to early spring (October to March), and they are full of umami flavor and have a mineral metallic taste when eaten raw. True oysters spawn during the summer months from May to August and end around September. When the real oyster spawns, it will consume all the accumulated nutrient fat at once, so the meat will become very thin after spawning, and the taste will decrease, so it is not suitable for consumption in summer.
"Hiroshima oysters" are the first in Japan in terms of production
About 20,000 tons of shelled oysters are farmed in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, accounting for about 60% of Japan's total production. As we all know, Hiroshima is the largest oyster producing area in Japan, but why is Hiroshima farming so much?
Hiroshima True Oyster Farm
The main reason is that the area around Hiroshima Bay, which is the main production area, is an ideal environment for aquaculture. The bay is surrounded like a screen by numerous islands and promontories, and it is quiet. Suitable for floating rafts. In addition, water containing nutrient salts flows into Hiroshima Bay from many rivers, including the Ota River. Moderate salinity and abundance of plankton also create the perfect environment for oyster growth. In Hiroshima Prefecture, oysters generally land in the market from October to March. The best time to eat them (to store glycogen and gain weight) is during the cold winter months from December to February.
Iwa-gaki iwa-gaki
Farmed rock oysters can only be eaten for a growth period of 3 to 5 years
Natural rock oysters have a growth period of up to 4-20 years
Appearance characteristics: shell length of about 20 cm, nearly round, rock texture and color. Compared to true oysters, rock oysters are large and thick-shelled
Distribution area: Seawater, distributed in honshu and the Sea of Japan on the west side of Kyushu.
Season: Spring/Summer
Specialties: raw food, fried, cooking rice, steaming
Click on the watermelon video link to watch ===》 Rock Oyster - Japan's summer limited delicious, larger than the palm of an adult's hand! Full introduction to Japanese oysters
Large and silky flesh, rock oysters are endemic to Japan (once distributed in the Zhoushan region of mainland China), and its oyster shells are thick and rounded in appearance, living in seas with high salt concentrations. Both farmed and wild, harvesting is difficult, requiring vegetarian diving or bringing oxygen cylinders to the seabed for collection, and the price is higher. Famous brands of Iwa oysters include "Haruka" cultivated offshore in Hideki, Shimane Prefecture, and "Natsuki" in Tottori Prefecture.
Shimane Prefecture Hideki "Haruka" cultured rock oysters are on the market from March to May
The "Haruka" rock oysters are produced in Hideki, Shimane Prefecture, Japan, which are only available from March to May every year! Growing on Nakajima Island , about 50 kilometers from the main island of Japan ( about 4 hours to start a ship ), the sea is clean and pollution-free, and it takes 48 hours to sterilize seawater to be shipped before shipment.
Japan's most well-known natural rock oyster brand Tottori "Natsuki"
Tottori Prefecture's early summer delicious natural rock oysters lifted on June 1, the fishing period can last until the end of August, growing in the clean sea of Tottori Prefecture rock oysters, withstanding the turbulent waves, after several years of slow growth, the large length of about 20cm, weighing up to 1kg, in the way of plain diving to the sea to collect natural oysters, rather than farmed, Tottori brand rock oyster "Summer Hui" needs to grow for more than 4 years, the shell length of more than 13 cm of excellent products, in order to be labeled with this sign.
Tottori Prefecture Summer gabbro oyster publicity campaign
And from 2020 onwards, Xia Hui will be more than 33.5 cm in circumference of the super large rock oyster on the "Dune Reputation" sign, this natural oyster growth period of more than 20 years, can only carry oxygen cylinders in the open sea of Tottori "Dune Rush" about 18 meters to collect, a diver collects 200 to 300 a day to select 10 to 20 pieces, is the real rock oyster high-grade products. The variety attributes of the rock oyster itself, combined with the perennial growth, have created such amazing giant oysters, so it is natural nonsense to say that this oversized rock oyster is a "variety of nuclear sewage mutation"!
Preferred Xia Hui "Dune の Reputation"
The representative of summer in Japan is the "rock oyster" (rock oyster), and the most suitable season is from early summer to early autumn (May to September). Because rock oysters are different from real oysters, they lay eggs slowly in the summer, so the body does not quickly become thinner, but will continue to accumulate nutrients in order to lay eggs. Therefore, early summer to autumn is a delicious time to make. Natural rock oysters grow for more than four or five years, and even the size of the shell will be larger than the palm of an adult's hand, if you encounter fresh, remember to eat it raw! The taste of rock oysters is less intense than that of real oysters, and there is no sharp metallic taste of real oysters, and it has a rich creamy aroma, which is full of sweetness and leaves a fragrant mouth! Because rock oysters and real oysters complement each other when they are created, there is a saying in Japan that "eats real oysters in winter and rock oysters in summer"!
Japanese True Oyster (Blue Dot) Rock Oyster (Red Dot) Production Map
Suminoe-gaki Suminoe-gaki
Sumizue oysters
The name comes from the Sumizu river in the town of Shiraishi in Saga Prefecture, north of the Ariake Sea
Appearance characteristics: the shell length of about 15 cm, according to the growth environment, the shell is close to round, there are also slender shapes. Compared to true oysters, the shells are thinner and flatter
Distribution area: Seawater. It is only produced in Kyushu Ariake Sea
Seasonality: June-July
Featured dishes: Raw food, steamed sake
Itabo oyster itabogaki
Plate oysters
Appearance characteristics: the shell is about 15 cm long, looks round like a ball, and has a circle-like texture at the top of the shell, while the edge has a radial texture.
Distribution area: Seawater. It is found in the area south of the Bōso Peninsula and Kyushu
Season: Winter and Spring
Specialties: raw food, steamed oysters, boiled oysters, fried oysters, miso soup
It used to be common in Japan and was a famous thing for the Noto Peninsula and Awaji Island. Now the production is very small, and it is rare in the market. The taste is very special, the umami taste is obvious and slightly astringent.
epilogue
Real oysters are eaten raw
Fresh Japanese oysters are best eaten raw, and any cooking method, including steaming, grilling, or frying, is delicious. Japanese oysters are produced in different places, the taste from the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean have their own characteristics, with the cultivation of oysters mature in recent years, in general, all seasons in Japan can now taste delicious oyster oysters, so when you travel, you must remember to taste Japanese oysters, do not miss this natural gift of delicious!