christmas dinner is not christmas dinner without the presence of oysters. this shouldn’t stop you from eating oysters during months other than december, in fact, if you come to visit france during any time of the year, try to sample some of the best, most luscious and superior oysters around; you will not regret it.

there are a few different varieties of oysters in france but you will most likely find the l’huître de cancale (cancale oysters) farmed from the fishing village, cancale, which is not far from st. malo in bretagne (brittany). more than 80% of france’s oysters come from this small village. there are two types of oysters (triangular, jagged shells and more rounder shells) in france that come in three categories (fines, spéciales and claires – depending on the quality of the oyster flesh).

another oyster to look for, Huîtres de la Baie de Bourgneuf “Vendée-Atlantique” continues to win gold metals for national competitions. these oysters are plump, firm and mild.

france is the 4th largest producers of oysters in the world behind the u.s., japan and korea but nearly all of the oysters made in france are consumed in france: nearly 130,000 tons.

[huitres (in french)]

tags: travel france oysters french cuisine christmas food francophiles seafood