It's harvest time in Maine. The orchards are picked, the squash is in, and the nights come early. Some of us have turned the heat on. Some of us are still holding out.
On the river, the oysters are getting ready for winter too. When the water turns cold, they go dormant: no feeding, no spawning, no growing. To get through it, they spend the fall eating and storing up glycogen, a natural sugar. That stored sugar is a big part of why fall oysters taste the way they do.
The water changes with them. The thick green of summer clears to the blue-green of stained glass as the algae thins out, and the oysters feed hard while they can.
What you taste: bigger brine up front, then sweetness. Sometimes buttery. A clean, earthy finish. Full, firm meat on the half shell.
You'll taste it in both oysters in this year's Thanksgiving box. Glidden Point Topsiders, grown at the surface of the Damariscotta, are plump and sweet. Nonesuch Pine Points, grown beside a Maine salt marsh, are briny and delicate. Same season, two places. Try one of each and pick a side.
For us, harvest never really stops. We bring on new seed every spring, so there's always a crop of two-year-olds ready to come out of the water. We harvest to order, pack on our docks and ship overnight.
Fall is when we gather: around bonfires, sorting tables and holiday tables. For our crew, that usually means oysters. They've been on Thanksgiving tables for a long time. We'll leave the stuffing and the stew to your family recipes.
A few tips from our crew
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Keep it simple. Ice, a sturdy tray and a shucker. The oysters do the rest.
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Put them in the middle. Oysters get people talking, and somebody always learns to shuck.
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Sauce is up to you. At the Farm Store we serve lemon, our mignonette and our cocktail sauce with extra horseradish. Try one plain first, then try it all.
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How many? Plan on half a dozen per guest as an appetizer, a dozen if oysters are the main event. A box of 100 covers appetizers for 16.
This year, add oysters to the table. We will.
See you on the river,
The Glidden Point Crew
