New Haven Oysters: History and How to Order

New Haven oysters were once a major business: in 1858, according to a report quoted by Connecticut Humanities, 250 schooners brought 2 million bushels of oysters to the city's Fair Haven shops, and many were shipped inland to places such as St. Louis and Chicago. Oysters are still farmed in Long Island Sound, so a plate is a good way to taste the city's past.

The history, how farming works today and what to look for on a menu are all worth knowing before you compare plates.

What is the story of New Haven oysters?

Connecticut Humanities says Native peoples relied on oysters and that European settlers made them a dietary staple. Rules came early: a New Haven town meeting in 1762 banned oystering from May through August so the beds could recover, and in 1766 bottom-scraping dredges were outlawed. From the 1820s oystermen began cultivating oysters on beds of old shell instead of only gathering wild ones.

By the 1890s Connecticut had the world's largest fleet of oyster steamships, and in 1911 the state's production reached nearly 25 million pounds of oyster meat, far above New York, Rhode Island or Massachusetts. After 1920, pollution, development, overharvesting, predators, storms and silt reduced the beds, and production fell sharply after 1950. A rise in water temperature and a parasite bloom in 1997 and 1998 destroyed 80 to 90 percent of the state's oysters, according to the same source.

Why is the Eastern oyster a Connecticut symbol?

The Eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, was named the state shellfish in 1989. It is the one species grown along this coast, and the differences between plates come from the water and the way it was raised, not from a different animal. Many Connecticut farms hold leases in Long Island Sound, and Connecticut Humanities says oyster farming on Sound leases leads the state's aquaculture and the Northeast's. It names New Haven, Mystic, Bridgeport and Norwalk among the active areas.

Fair Haven, the neighborhood on the Quinnipiac River where the shops once stood, still carries the connection. Wikipedia describes it as an immigrant community between the Mill and Quinnipiac rivers. When you see a menu that mentions a local oyster, the story above is the reason the word is there.

How is oyster farming different from wild harvest?

Farmed oysters are grown in bags, cages or on the bottom under a lease, and the grower can move them to cleaner or saltier water for the last stretch. That is the practical difference you may taste. Connecticut Humanities says scientists are breeding parasite-resistant oysters, which shows how much the industry has changed since the collapse of the late 1990s. It reports that in 2008 more than 160,000 bags of Connecticut oysters, worth well over 6 million dollars, were sold nationwide.

Cooks sometimes describe oysters by how briny, sweet or mineral they taste. Those words are descriptions, not grades, and two oysters from the same lease can differ in a given week. Treat the label on a menu as the place's own wording and ask the server what it means.

How do you order raw oysters at the table?

Raw oysters usually arrive on ice, in a half dozen or a dozen, with lemon, a vinegar sauce and a spicy red sauce on the side. Smell them first: they should smell like clean sea water. Taste one plain before you add anything, then try the sauce. If the menu lists two or three kinds, order one of each and keep them in the order listed, so you can write down which was which. Chew once or twice rather than swallowing whole, which is how the flavor shows up.

Raw shellfish usually carries a consumer advisory on a menu. Read it, and if you have a health condition or are pregnant, ask the place or your own doctor. Cooked oysters are also common: fried, baked with butter and breadcrumbs, or in a stew. Each is a different dish, and each deserves its own note.

How do you compare oyster plates fairly?

Change one thing at a time. Order the same style at each stop, such as a half dozen raw, and note the size, the saltiness and how clean the shell was. If one place serves them very cold and another lets them sit, you will taste it. Watch for grit, broken shell or a sour smell, which are reasons to note a low score and move on.

Take a photo of the plate and the menu line that names the oyster, since the same word can mean different farms on different days. A short rating written within the hour is worth more than a long one written the next week, because the brine fades from memory faster than you expect. If you like, repeat the comparison in another season; Connecticut Humanities notes that early laws banned summer oystering so the beds could recover, and taste and availability still shift with the calendar.

What should you ask about allergens and ingredients?

Oysters are shellfish, and a fried plate usually has a wheat coating and may share a fryer. If you avoid shellfish, gluten or dairy, tell the server before you order and ask how the dish is made. Treat each answer as that day's information, and never assume a menu word covers your need. The gluten-free guide explains what to ask.

How can Mosey help you remember a plate of oysters in New Haven?

Open the Mosey app after the meal and rate the oysters as a dish, with a few words on how they tasted. Only the place and the stars are required. Add a tag, attach a photo and tag the friend who ate with you, who can add their own rating of the same plate.

Start a list called Oyster plates and send the invite link to a friend, who can add stops even if they are new to Mosey. Follow friends to see what they rated and saved. The ratings page explains rating by the dish and the lists page covers shared lists.

Mosey is a food app for rating dishes, keeping lists and sharing them with friends. It lists small places for free and adds no hidden fees.

Where else can you read about New Haven?

For more local eating, see the apizza guide, the beyond pizza guide and the Connecticut shoreline seafood guide. To plan a visit, read how to find good food in New Haven. See also the New Haven page, the Connecticut page and the US food guides.

At your next oyster plate in New Haven, get the Mosey app, rate it by name and save it to a list.