"After the frenzy of the summer tourist season, towns along Cape Cod, much like oysters themselves, prepare for hibernation. Restaurants, inns, and seafood shacks shutter for the season. Children go back to school. Beaches and ponds become desolate. And the chill of October nights signals to the oysters resting on the seabed to fatten up. This is the beginning of the best months to eat oysters."
"It is a bit misleading, then, that National Oyster Day is in August: The summer may yield oysters that are perfectly safe to eat, thanks to modern refrigeration and oyster farming methods rather than wild harvesting. Back before these developments, the old adage about only eating oysters during months that end in 'r' (September through December) was good advice. However, according to the experts, oysters harvested during the warmer months just aren't as tasty, and can feature a stringier flesh."
Towns along Cape Cod quiet down after the summer tourist season as restaurants and inns close, children return to school, and beaches become desolate. Cooler October nights trigger oysters on the seabed to feed heavily and store nutrients, increasing natural sugars and heft through Christmas and New Year’s. Modern refrigeration and oyster farming make summer oysters safe to eat, but warmer-month oysters are often less tasty and stringier. Wellfleet hosts an annual mid-October oyster festival featuring locally farmed oysters from more than one hundred independent farms. Wellfleet oyster aquaculture dates back to the 1700s.
Read at Eater Boston
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