Show of hands: Who loves oysters? Okay, now another poll question: Who has heard you should only eat raw oysters during months that include the letter “R”? The myth dates back a few hundred years - to 1599 to be exact. According to the New York Times, that’s when the warning showed up in an English cookbook as “don’t eat oysters in the summer.” It made sense at the time, mainly because unrefrigerated or un-iced oysters spoil more quickly and [...]
With the 46th National Shrimp Festival coming up Oct. 12-15, it’s a good time to talk about the Alabama seafood industry. Shrimping in state waters became industrialized in the early 1800s when shrimp were preserved with ice and distributed throughout the state by train. Today, thousands of people are still involved in the process of catching, processing and transporting shrimp. Alabama seafood is now a $660 million industry involving the harvest of shrimp, blue crab, oysters and a variety of [...]
