Oysters: A Celebration in the Raw
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
For centuries, oysters have had the power to sustain and delight, inspiring writers and artists, lowly cooks and four-star chefs, laborers and gourmands, and everyone in between. A feast for the eyes and the palate oysters also are rich in history and lore. In Oysters: A Celebration in the Raw, Marion Lear Swaybill presents a wide-ranging visual exploration of this iconic shellfish, including stunning portraits of more than fifty oyster varietals, the latest photographs from some of the country’s most renowned and beautiful oyster farms, and notable illustrations of oysters in the arts and culture, all alongside a lively and informative text. Acclaimed chef and restaurateur Jeremy Sewall provides personal insights, drawing on his New England lineage and his stature in the forefront of the current oyster revival.
Oysters: A Celebration in the Raw is true to its title from start to finish. Chapter One is a primer on all things oyster. Chapter Two introduces readers to legendary oystermen and women from around the country. Chapter Three offers exquisite photographs of more than fifty varieties of North American oysters, along with flavor profiles and ”merroir.” Oysters: A Celebration in the Raw concludes with highlights from the oyster timeline, depictions of oysters in art through the ages and stories of oysters as aphrodisiacs, and parses oyster myths and metaphors. The book also features an oyster glossary and resource list. It is the only book of its kind—a definitive visual companion to this iconic, much loved mollusk.
Overflowing with gorgeous original photography and fascinating anecdotes, Oysters: A Celebration in the Raw is the perfect book for oyster aficionados and newbies, foodies and chefs of all stripes, lovers of photography and art, the environment, history, and the sea.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Swaybill, an Emmy Award winning TV producer, and seafood chef Sewall join forces for this quick overview of their favorite bivalve. Chapter one contains a short history of oysters in America, an explanation of why different types have different flavors, and a look at shucking knives, which can range in price from $10 to $2000. The second chapter profiles several oyster farmers and the farms to which they are devoted. Then comes the main course: 100 pages of close-up photography. Dozens of opened oysters get the treatment, which consists of two large photos that focus on the swirls, ridges and gooey guts of the interior, as well as the beautiful and intricate patterns of the outer shell. Wildlife cinematographer Scott Snider shoots them all stunningly against a black background, giving them the eerie appearance of mollusks lost in space, or perhaps a lengthy Rorschach test suitable for SpongeBob SquarePants. A few sentences accompany each entry, providing information on how, where, and by whom the oyster was grown. Despite Sewall being a James Beard Award nominee, the only recipes are two simple mignonette sauces for those who feel the need; raw oysters are the order of the day. Instead, the final pages contain a brief education on oysters in art and history. Pliny the Elder, it turns out, wrote "effusively and at length" on the subject, and a catalog of artists, from douard Manet to Roy Lichtenstein, have immortalized them on canvas.