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Story Publication logo March 5, 2015

What Does an Oyster Taste Like?

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William & Mary 2014-2015 Sharp Reporting Projects

The Pulitzer Center and The College of William & Mary continue their unique initiative to provide...

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“I tried oysters for the first time the other day, last weekend actually…I ate a lot. My grandparents were paying for them.” Emily Janoff, 21. Image by Rachel Merriman-Goldring. United States, 2015.
“My first oyster was when I lived in Holland, where I was born and grew up. My father loved oysters.” Dorito Marringa, 85. Image by Rachel Merriman-Goldring. United States, 2015.
“The first oyster I had was probably a gross smoked oyster in oil because that's what my grandparents used to eat.” Charles Purdy, 44. Image by Rachel Merriman-Goldring. United States, 2015.
“I grew up in Saipan, so I had my first oyster when I was maybe 8 or 9. It was slimy but super good. You could taste the ocean.” Alex Barasi, 33. “I had my first oyster when I was 15 or 16. They freaked me out.” Kate Gallagher, 28. Image by Rachel Merriman-Goldring. United States, 2015.
“I grew up in Taiwan, so I went out to a fisherman’s market and I decided to try a large oyster. My mom and cousin were sure I was going to hate it, but I was adamant. I like the brininess and the taste of the ocean. Taiwan is an island. Oysters remind me of home.” Ray Hu, 28. Image by Rachel Merriman-Goldring. United States, 2015.
“My first oyster was at a Chinese buffet. I was feeling a bit adventurous. In general it's more about the texture, squishy and lumpy, than the taste.” Aaron Mattingly, 23. Image by Rachel Merriman-Goldring. United States, 2015.
“The last time I had an oyster was about 5 years ago. I'm vegan now and even before that I wasn’t ever particularly drawn to seafood. It didn't appeal to me, the sensory aspect of it.” Catherine Lily, 44. Image by Rachel Merriman-Goldring. United States, 2015.
“I've thought about this before but I don't know quite how to describe them. There's not a lot going on on the tongue; it's more experiential. It's a multidimensional experience.” James Khatiblou, 28. Image by Rachel Merriman-Goldring. United States, 2015.
“It was a kind of weird taste, but after a couple it grew on me.” Aba Kasimati, 24. Image by Rachel Merriman-Goldring. United States, 2015.
“My first oyster was in a po’boy I had in New Orleans. It was deep-fried so I could barely taste the fact that it was an oyster.” Paul Matthew, 47. Image by Rachel Merriman-Goldring. United States, 2015.
“I'd go visit my mom up in Bolinas and at sunset we'd eat oysters with a bottle of wine. They're clean and crisp.” Madison Voelkel, 21. Image by Rachel Merriman-Goldring. United States, 2015.
“I've never had oysters before. I'm from Yemen. Oysters aren't a delicacy or something people really seek in Yemen. I'm not sure what they'd taste like…maybe rubbery.” Ebrahim Nasher, 27. Image by Rachel Merriman-Goldring. United States, 2015.
“My parents told me just to swallow it, not to chew it. The texture wasn't right. It was gooey but at least it wasn't too fishy.” Nicolas Gonzalez, 28. Image by Rachel Merriman-Goldring. United States, 2015.
“I'd cook them until they were completely solid…I was not inclined to eat oysters, thus all the garlic and butter…No one ever got me to eat a raw one.” Rick Clark, 73. Image by Rachel Merriman-Goldring. United States, 2015.
“I was in Miami with some friends and we had oysters on the half shell. I remember it tasted amazing because we had cocktail sauce, lemon, all this other goop around it.” Rob Leasure, 42. Image by Rachel Merriman-Goldring. United States, 2015.
“The opportunity hasn't arisen…I'm not an adventurous eater. If they don't serve it at a 10 year old’s birthday party, I'm not going to eat it.” Marguerita Ugarte, 21. Image by Rachel Merriman-Goldring. United States, 2015.

Oysters, a staple of many human diets since prehistory, live on as a popular delicacy. Rachel Merriman-Goldring traveled around San Francisco as part of her William & Mary Sharp Seminar reporting project and asked people to describe the experience of eating oysters. She also asked them to make the face they made when they tried an oyster for the first time.

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