Native oyster or rock oyster - what's the difference?

Here at the Fishery we grow two types of oysters, rocks and natives or to give them their latin names - Crassostrea gigas and Ostrea edulis. 

Rock Oysters 

Lets look at the rock oyster first, the gigas. These oysters are now the most common oyster, having come originally from Japanese waters, which is where their other name the pacific oyster comes from. The rock oyster thrives in our river, it takes around three years to grow to the smallest grade, grade A and is available all year round.

Native Oysters

The native oyster is the oyster that is native to our waters, it's the oyster that the Romans took from our beds and towed behind their ships all the way back to Rome. The natives are more delicate creatures than the the rocks, they take longer to grow to an edible size, about five years and have a flat shell. Native oysters are only available to eat in the winter months when the water is cooler and the oysters are meatier. It's these oysters that the 'r' in the month saying comes from.

Cooking Oysters

If you like to have your oysters cooked, then it's best you have the rock oysters, the shell holds any toppings better and to be frank, the native oysters are far too delicious to cook, they are best enjoyed freshly opened as they are.