The oysters of Cancale – The Good Life France | EUROtoday

On the Emerald Coast, throughout the curved bay of Mont Saint-Michel, east of St-Malo, magnificent oyster beds stretch for miles across the shoreline and picturesque fishing port of Cancale in Brittany. It's probably the greatest locations in France to take pleasure in oysters says Jeremy Flint.

How the French fell in love with oysters

2000 years in the past the Romans who got here to France have been keen on French oysters and small fishing communities started on the shores of the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel to fish the wild oyster beds. King Louis XIV had oysters from Cancale delivered to Versailles – it's stated he would repeatedly eat six dozen earlier than his primary meal and a few declare he would eat as much as 300 in a single sitting.

Today, cultivated beds cowl 400 hectares of the Bay of Cancale, shielded from the prevailing westerly winds and rocked by a number of the largest and strongest tides on this planet. 50 oyster farms and round 500 everlasting workers farms whopping 25,000 tons of oysters per 12 months.

Farming oysters in France

The household run La Ferme Marine oyster farm has been cultivating the delights of the ocean for many years alongside Cancale's fascinating shoreline. They focus on producing two forms of oysters, Japanese and flat. Flat oysters have been historically harvested by hand at sea and are actually dredged earlier than being cultivated. Japanese oysters are extra cupped in form. Straight from the Pacific, they adapt to any sort of surroundings.

The richness and variety of the marine fauna and flora ecosystem play a vital position within the breeding of the oyster within the Bay of Cancale. The high quality of the ocean water and plankton are crucial elements in making the style of oysters stand out. Rearing an oyster is tough work and requires a novel know-how and a major period of time. It takes about three years for an oyster to develop and able to eat.

Sacks of oysters are positioned on raised racks 80cm above the seabed and repeatedly turned over at low tide through the three to 4 years of progress. This reshuffling prevents them from sticking to one another. Oyster farmers, kitted out in waders, work with the tides as they work the oyster beds and watch over these small marine pearls. At their prime, the oysters are harvested in rhythm with the tides. When the baggage are indifferent and delivered straight from the seabed to the workshop they’re separated, washed, and sorted by measurement. The grade varies from 0-5 for the hole ones, so the smaller the quantity, the larger the oyster.

The breeding experience of the oyster farmers of Cancale have earned this space a UNESCO award for Intangible Cultural Heritage and lots of think about it to be the capital of oyster fishing in France. You'll discover that each restaurant in Cancale serves these succulent mollusks, and there's an oyster market by the lighthouse the place you should buy shucked oysters and sit on the ocean wall slurping them.

Historically, oysters have been cooked however are actually largely consumed uncooked, and are famend for his or her supposed aphrodisiac properties. Legend has it that the well-known lover, Casanova ate 50 uncooked oysters for breakfast every day! The French are the largest customers of oysters in Europe gobbling nearly 150 tons per 12 months.

How to eat oysters

Oysters are historically served with slices of lemon, a mignonette sauce (see recipe under), and loads of bread and butter (salted is finest).

The coastal route from Cancale is an excellent place for a stroll, go to the character reserve of Pointe du Grouin and soak within the unbelievable ocean views earlier than feasting your eyes on the magnificent Mont Saint-Michel jutting out of the ocean.

To discover out extra about La Ferme Marine oyster farm and prepare a tour, go to: www.ferme-marine.com

Recipe for Mignonette Sauce

2 tbsps finely chopped shallots
2 tbsps pink wine vinegar
1 tbsp water
Pinch of salt

Stir all collectively, go away for 30 minutes. Keep for 2-3 days.

Jeremy Flint is an award-winning skilled photographer and author specializing in journey, panorama and placement images. His work is printed extensively in The Good Life France Magazine, National Geographic Traveler Lonely Planet and Country Life amongst others. He is a five-time finalist in Travel Photographer of the Year, Association of Photographers Discovery Award Winner and National Geographic Traveler Grand Prize Winner.

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