Winter is finally over! And with spring here, the ice has finally dissipated, and oysters are pumping again. This is huge for our Canadian oysters that get the brunt of the cold weather, so when we started seeing Summerside Oysters again, I knew I had to check them out.
Summerside Oysters are an exclusive PEI oyster that you can only get from Pangea because it's one oyster we're super proud of. I was honestly expecting mediocre oysters this time of year, but holy moly, were the Summersides stunning!
All of the oysters in the box were sizeable, consistent in shell shape, and hefty. Shells were clean, shuckability was great, and flavor was really top-notch! PEI has the reputation of producing some of the world's best oysters because of their pristine waters. Having a Summerside truly confirmed that. Flavor was really clean with a moderate brine and sweet finish.
Since I was already doing a shucking, I figured I would check out another exclusive Pangea oyster, Bristol Bay Oysters from Portsmouth, Rhode Island. In the past, Bristol Bays haven't always been the easiest to shuck, so I wanted to see how the quality was this time of year.
The Bristol Bays were a little muddier than I expected, but with a quick rinse, the oysters were golden. The shells were beautifully brown, and the oysters were solid -- most of them were at least 3.5"! I was a little nervous how the shell would hold up when running a knife across, but shuckability was great. The shells were not brittle, and in terms of flavor, they had a good brine with a pleasant metallic finish that lingered for a while. They were representative of a good Rhode Island oyster with a nice briny punch. I'm really glad I gave them a shucking because my opinion about them has completely changed. Honestly, a good New England choice right now!
