Christmas and the holiday season is all about enjoying some lovely local produce and for many people seafood is a must for the Christmas table.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
If you are an oyster lover then you probably know that they last longer unopened but how long is longer, and how to open them is another question.
If you are a little hesistant about shucking oysters, Broadwater Oysters now has it's own shucking school experience - just in time for the holiday season.
Mel Page of Broadwater Oysters said people have always been welcome to take a look at the operation but now there is a formal structure of a farm tour and shucking school.
"It's a chance for people to learn how oysters grow - it takes three years - and how they are harvested," Ms Page said.
People can also feel unsure about keeping oysters and how to open them and the farm tour and shucking school can help to answer some of those questions.
The Sydney Rock Oysters grown at Pambula Lake are native to the area and unopened have a good shelf life of up to 12 days, when stored correctly, Ms Page explained.
They are a bi-valve mollusc that can change sex during their lives, usually beginning life as a male and maturing into a female. During the warmer months of the year the oysters spawn and form spat (baby oysters) that are carried on the tide for a number of weeks before it is time to settle in the intertidal zone.
Broadwater Oysters put out catch structures, called slats, to collect the spat. The young oysters are removed from the slats after approximately nine months. Once the oysters are removed from the slats they will be put into cylinders or baskets to continue growing. The young oysters do not re-attach, but move around inside the containers with wind and tidal activity.
And there's plenty more to the Broadwater Oysters story and how they are grown.
"The farm tour and shucking school event runs for one hour on Saturdays and costs $80 and it's a chance to have some fun over the holidays," Ms Page said adding that being on the foreshore of Pambula Lake was a drawcard in itself.
But if your focus is solely on getting those oysters opened, Broadwater Oysters is running the Short Shuck, a half hour experience on how to store, handle and shuck, plus tasting.
Broadwater Oysters owner Sue McIntyre said it's all about getting the shucking knife into the right place in the oyster shell and wiggling it back and forth. She always makes it look easy.
"It will give you confidence to ask the right questions if you're buying from a market somewhere else," Ms Page said.
The Short Shuck is on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 2pm Jan 5-Feb 26 and costs $35.
The Farm Tours and Shucking School run from Jan 8- Feb 26 at 10.30am. Book online at https://broadwateroysters.com.au/pages/farm-tours-shuck-schools