Why Crown Prince Oysters?

[Dan W]

I buy canned oysters (fresh oysters are expensive where I live), and decided I should "upgrade" from my local grocery store's generic brand to Crown Prince brand. I was disappointed to find that the oysters seemed to be lower quality than the generic brand, falling apart in the can despite having an expiration date 2 years in the future. So I started contacting different oyster brands for details (in-progress results here), and I'm not seeing a good reason for Crown Prince being the "default" in the Peat world. So far it seems like every brand is interchangeable, sourcing from China and Korea, and usually allowing for BPA. Crown Prince only comes out ahead if you want smoked oysters, where they use olive oil instead of cottonseed oil.

So, have I missed anything? Is there a reason to use Crown Prince for non-smoked oysters if other brands are more convenient?

 

[max219]

I have stopped eating oysters since I'm trying to lower estrogen, and I can't find any cans without BPA. I did enjoy Crown Prince oysters however, but I really just enjoy the taste of oysters in general.

 

[4peatssake]

Crown Prince only comes out ahead if you want smoked oysters, where they use olive oil instead of cottonseed oil.

I only buy the Crown Prince brand because I get the smoked ones and want them in olive oil. I remove a lot of the oil before consuming them and it's doubtful I could stomach them non smoked. :?

Other than that, I don't know of any benefit Crown Prince has over other brands.

You piqued my curiosity and I just got off the phone with folks at St. Jean's Cannery in BC.
They don't pack their smoked oysters in oil at all, just in their own natural juices.
Quite a bit more expensive and farmed on Vancouver Island.

St. Jean’s Smoked Oysters have been a staple of our business for 50 years. In fact, it’s the product that got us started!

We take Vancouver Island-bred oysters and smoke them with natural hardwood smoke in-house in Nanaimo. When canned, we take care to ensure they retain their natural nectar, which leads to unrivaled taste and texture. And since we’ve been smoking oysters since 1962, we’re confident that our oysters are unmatched!

St. Jean's Pacific Smoked Oysters

 

[Dan W]

That's interesting about them not removing the "oyster nectar", I wonder if all the other brands do.

Here's another expensive but nice-looking source:
http://ekoneoyster.com/products/smoked-oysters/

They also offer "triploid" oysters, which I didn't know about until now. I wonder if they're less nutritious due to faster growing rates.

 

[Dan W]

And I enjoy one of the Amazon reviews:

TOO MUCH SALT/SODIUM ; ALMOST AS "BAD" AS ANCHOVIES ; "KILLER" AMOUNT OF "SALT/SODIUM" = VERY DANGEROUS TO YOUR HEALTH .

 

[Dan W]

Disregard the Ekone oysters looking good, they explained to me that they do have some soybean oil in them.

 

[dukez07]

I wonder if raw oysters offer anything different to canned oysters?

Anyone here able to give an account of what differences they notice between the two?

At the moment I eat canned oysters, and to be honest, they don't do anything at all for me. I notice nothing. Nothing at all. And I know pretty well what increasing my zinc intake feels like (in my case, not so great if too high).

Are raw oysters different?

 

[marcar72]

I'd dare to say Crown Prince oysters are the preferred ones because they're smoked AND they're in a favorable oil, olive oil. Therefore they are much more palatable and the medium they're in is mostly Peat friendly. The only other oil that I've seen them come in is cottonseed oil, eek!

I mostly eat the canned ones that have been boiled in water and the taste of those aren't nearly as good as smoked ones in oil. It's almost as if I have to "choke" them down.

Best ones by far are live, raw oysters on the half-shell. Totally different taste and texture but pricey though. Frozen ones would probably be almost the same except that they aren't live and probably have had their "liquor" drained/rinsed off. :2cents

 

[thebigpeatowski]

I have stopped eating oysters since I'm trying to lower estrogen, and I can't find any cans without BPA. I did enjoy Crown Prince oysters however, but I really just enjoy the taste of oysters in general.

I usually purchase my smoked Crown Prince oysters from Trader Joe's, but have also ordered the Red Chili Pepper variety (which is delicious) online....all cans are BPA FREE, at least they are labeled as such.


http://www.crownprince.com/cpn-oysters.htm

 

[Dean]

Has anyone tried the Williamspoint oysters that are in a plastic container packed in water (in the refrigerated section next to the seafood counter at grocery stores)? I think they are from Washington state or Oregon, farmed. I've picked them up the last 3 times I've been to the store, but put them back down. They look kind of fuzzy. I'm a little paranoid about oysters to begin with. The first time I tried them a few years ago I got major food poisoning from some canned ones. A few months ago, I finally managed to eat some raw on the half shell a few times. Didn't really like them, but can get them down. Kind of hit the wall at four though. Was thinking it would be convenient to try these Williamspoint ones...maybe sauté them up one at a time in some coconut oil over the course of a week. But leery am I.

 

[charlie]

I had trouble eating oysters until I made oyster stew. Its really easy to do and quite tasty.

My recipe....

Chop up onions real small and fry in cococut oil until brown, throw in garlic towards the end, salt and butter. Then add cream(1/2 cup or a little more is usually more then enough for me), bring to easy boil, then add oysters and cook for about 5 minutes or so. I do the last couple minutes on real high because of what Peat said about seafood and hepatitis.

I am sure there are other really good oyster stew recipes.

Oh and those Williamspoints, IIRC, are farmed raised. Which they do out in the bay or ocean still, but farmed. I dont have any opinion on them though because those aren't the ones I eat.

 

[Dean]

Hey Charlie...good to see you again... the oyster stew looks good but I am experimenting with very low fat right now and milk still does not agree with me (getting my calcium and most of my protein from Fage fat free greek yogurt and low-fat string cheese).

Aren't farmed oysters pretty much all that is available these days? I was in Florida when I was able to get fresh oysters on the half shell at restaurants. Now, I am back in small town Midwest where my only options are canned or these Williamsports. I just don't think I can ever do canned again based on my previous experience. I guess I'll just have to bite the bullet and try the Williamsport ones; but the apparent fuzziness of them kind of concerns me. Maybe it's just an optical illusion and they'll look better once I get them home and open up the container. Was just hoping I could get confirmation from someone that they ate them and lived to tell about it.

 

[Dan W]

Dean, if you're talking about this brand:

I've had and enjoyed them a few times. I found them tastier than canned oysters. I'm not sure what to make of the fuzziness you saw though, did it look like something growing on them, or just the oysters not holding together very well?

 

[Dean]

Hey Dan, yeah those are the ones. LOL, guess I misremembered the name of them. I've been trying to convince myself that it is just them separating or whatever from being packed in water, but to my eyes it really does look like a fuzzy or furry-ness., like mold growing on them (though the "growth" wasn't green or blue). Like I said, though, it just might be an optical illusion. I haven't seen those big containers; but the smaller 8 oz. size, and with the print on the container and a store label you don't get a great view. Guess I will just give them a try. How did you eat them? Did you rinse and pat dry, eat them right out of the container raw?

Thanks also Dan, for your continued work on your "Toxinless" website. It's an invaluable resource.

 

[Dan W]

Thanks for the kind words, Dean.

I don't recall any fuzzy/furriness when I've bought them, so I wonder if they've had some batches that aren't holding up very well.

I've cooked them in a soup, I'm not brave enough to try them raw :)

 

[charlie]

Dean, good to see you too.

I get wild oysters in a glass jar, cant remember the name right now but the cap is red. They are right next to the "Willapoint" oysters where I buy mine. Oh and I have ate the Willapoints at least once, still here to tell about it.

I am trying to lower my fat, so I dont really drink the sauce part of it. I just fork them out and they still taste pretty good.

 

[Dean]

Yeah Dan, I think I will definitely be cooking them in some way too. Guess I will try to "grow a pair" between now and the next time I go to the store and give them a whirl.

What kind of sauce are the ones you buy in, Charlie?

 

[charlie]

Dean, they are in water. "Pride of Virginia select oysters"

 

[Dean]

LOL...oh, ok you are talking about the sauce from your oyster stew recipe. Here I was trying to figure out when and why Virginia started adding fat to their water.

 

[EIRE24]

Anyone here concerned about the bacteria in oysters? I eat the smoked ones from crown prince and am wondering if the smoking method would kill most of the harmful bacteria? I don't want to have to exclude oysters but the chances of getting some sort of sickness from them is worrying.