There is and old saying that we should not eat oysters unless the month contains the letter R. So, historically speaking, it is January and we can eat them this month. A lot of this is because of weather and temperature—ambient and water.
Oysters that have not been stored properly or exposed to warm air for extended periods of time are not very good. Their quality deteriorates rapidly.
This saying was coined by Charles Ranhofer in his cookbook The Epicurean. Published in the 1890’s, it contains the recipes and receipts of Delmonico’s in NYC. Imagine Blue Point Oysters from North Fork, Long Island and how long it used to take to transport them to Manhatten—and they probably were not shipped on ice. It reminds me of how the Romans used to ship oysters from Brittany to Rome through French rivers and would only do this in the winter months.
With modern refrigeration and delivery channels today, we may consume oysters at any time of the year. Bivalve farmers have learned to farm them in cold northerly waters and air travel lets us ship them to market packed on ice in about 24 hours. I usually drink sauvignon blanc with oysters.
