Leon Siciliano: Hey, it's Leon,
and welcome to Scotland. We're in Loch Fyne to find
out how Loch Fyne oysters are farmed and why they're so special. I'm also heading down
to the local oyster bar to try and decide what the
best way of serving them is. Down the hatch we go. Loch Fyne farms Pacific oysters, which can be found at various locations on the Scottish coast. Pacific oysters constitute
80% of the global oyster trade and were introduced to the UK in 1964 to replace low stocks of
the British native oysters. The native variety can be
more expensive and rare, but also riskier to consume. But if these oysters are
harvested all around the world, including France,
Australia, and New Zealand, what makes Scottish ones so special? Local landowner Johnny Noble
and marine biologist Andy Lane started the Loch Fyne Oyster Farm in 1978. Since then, they've grown
it into a global business. They export internationally to Barbados, South Africa, and Hong Kong, as well as stocking in
prestigious London retailers. Their oysters were even
served at Formula One and the Champions League finals. The Scottish lochs have
cool weather in the spring for the start of harvest season in April. And this loch in particular is of class A purity at least six months of the year. Andre Hughes: Absolutely pristine
conditions is what you're looking for. As you can see, there's no industry, there's maybe a couple of houses. They're feeding on the best
feed that you could want. The water that you're growing
the oysters in, again, I can't stress enough how good it is. In heavily populated areas,
you run the risk of norovirus as well as other things in the water. Leon: And safety here is paramount. Loch Fyne monitors the water
here constantly for toxins, as do the local authorities. To eliminate viruses, each
oyster undergoes a series of checks, starting the moment
it arrives from the hatchery. The oysters are grown
for up to three years in specialized baskets,
which allow for movement and controlled exposure to the tide. Andre: These are called seeper baskets. When the tide comes in, that actually moves these baskets, that will gently just
knock off excess growth that we've got on the oysters and give a better shape to the oyster and a better meat content to the oyster. These trestles at the low tide mark, twice a day no matter what the weather is. They are out of water and have
got to keep themselves shut. That gives them a stronger muscle. Leon: And this process
also affects the experience of enjoying an oyster. By regulating their size to
about 120 grams for the largest and 65 to 75 grams for
smallest, they can ensure the correct oysters go for cooking and others are more appropriate
for an enjoyable mouthful. The water also affects
the flavor of the oyster. By growing the oyster in a
loch with lower salt levels, you get a more pleasant salinity. Also, as they're grown in a loch and not open coastal waters, there's little disturbance on the seabed which would otherwise
make the oysters gritty. Any oysters imported from local producers need to de-stress after their journey. They're counted into bags of 100 to 150 from partner growers
and placed in stillages by the waterside before being
taken into the grading shed, then the depuration shed. Tanks containing water from
the loch have to be kept between 8 and 18 degrees Celsius to avoid the produce closing up. This is the depuration process, where the oysters are
purified under UV light for a minimum of 42 hours to
kill off any nasty bacteria. The tanks are then drained,
and the oysters are packaged. Loch Fyne prides itself on
its produce's long shelf life. But how does the company
ensure each oyster is fresh? Andre: What we do is when
we're packing the oysters, we pack up two oysters
and we tap them together. Two oysters being tapped together should sound like two stones
getting tapped together. What that means is you've
got a good, healthy oyster that is gonna last. If an oyster is gaping like
that, that means it's dead. It's not like mussels. With mussels, you can give
them a little tap, and a mussels will shut back over again. If oysters gape, then that's the end. Leon: The nearby Loch
Fyne Oyster Bar sells them for 2 pounds, or $2.44, each. Calum Hall: We are just
so good at our oysters. Our oysters are, I get them
every day, five days a week. My oysters come in
sometimes six days a week. They're just from over
there across the walk. And you can tell how fresh they are. Leon: But do they taste
as good as they look? I'm gonna go for it without
anything on it first 'cause I just really want to get a taste of what the oyster actually tastes like. It's actually really subtle. I think oysters I've had in
the past have been quite slimy. This one definitely wasn't. They slide down the hatch,
but you can chew them. There's a definite texture to them. The oysters here are served
with this onion vinegar, so I'm going to squeeze a bit of lemon and then have the onion vinegar one. I like anything that's pickled, so adding the vinegar element
to the really salty oyster is actually really good. I have been brought this Tabasco. I'm not gonna put any on
here 'cause I feel like these oysters don't need to be overpowered by the flavor of the Tabasco sauce. So far, the fresh oyster
with lemon is my favorite. But what are the cooked ones like? We have one that has
anchovy, smoked cheddar, and some chili sauce. And then this is just
garlic cheese breadcrumbs. Ah, this is so early in the
morning to be eatings oysters. I absolutely love anchovies; I've never had one on an oyster. It works. The chili sauce adds, like,
a sweetness to it that probably you do need when you've got something that salty. Garlic, butter, and breadcrumbs,
it's like a mini fish pie. That's exactly what it was
like, a mini little fish pie. It's really nice! For me, the king, if you're
gonna eat oysters, eat them fresh, eat them alive. Loch Fyne exports nearly
35,000 oysters every week. Just over 1.8 million a year. Production here might be at a
comparatively smaller scale, but the business has won multiple awards for its taste and quality, including the Queen's
Award for Excellence: International Trade. Andre: We have a group called the ASSG, which is the Association of
Scottish Shellfish Growers. We meet every year and we try and develop
the industry every year. It's not a big industry at the moment, but the good thing about the industry is it's quality-motivated, and,
just like ourselves here, it depends on local communities.
