Pickled oysters are a traditional way of preserving oystersbypicklingorcuring. To pickle oysters, they are usually cooked for a short period after removal from the shell, cooled, and placed in glass jars with vinegar and other spices.[1][2]
In 1646, Humphrey Mill described pickled oysters being served to customers in brothels in England.[3] Another early reference to pickled oysters appears in the writings of Samuel Pepys, who wrote about them as early as 1661.[4]
According to Rowan Jacobsen, pickled oysters were "standard fare in every city on the Eastern Seaboard in that heady pre-canning era when oysters were in demand far and wide."[5] Pickled oysters were a popular dish among both the upper and lower classes.[6][7] Pickled oysters were also served at the Governor’s Palace in Williamsburg, Virginia.[8] In Colonial America, pickled oysters were a commonly traded commodity as a part of the slave trade.[9] The papers of George Washington indicate that he enjoyed pickled oysters in the 1780s and received them as a gift.[10]
In the 1840s and 1850s, Thomas Downing served pickled oysters at his establishment in New York City.[11]
In 1881, U.S. President James A. Garfield's inauguration dinner included over 100 gallons of pickled oysters.[12] Victorian-era cookbooks often include pickled oyster recipes.[13][14]
Pickled oysters were a frequent holiday staple in American homes of the 1800s.[15][16][17]
The 1903 Le guide culinaire includes a pickled oyster preparation. Pickled oysters are still a common staple in Southern cuisine of the United States, and have been a featured recipe by Mashama Bailey and Thomas Keller.[18][19]
