Oyster stew is a stew made with

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...

s. It is popular in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and in

The Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

. In

New England cuisine New England cuisine is an American cuisine which originated in the New England region of the United States, and traces its roots to traditional English cuisine and Native American cuisine of the Abenaki, Narragansett, Niantic, Wabanaki, Wampan ...

, oyster stew is often associated with

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...

. In Southern United States cuisine, oyster stew is often prepared on Christmas Eve. There have been a number of different explanations offered for oyster stew being traditionally consumed on Christmas Eve. Bill Neal suggests that before the acceptance of refrigerated food transport, sufficient cold weather for shipping was not guaranteed before December, and so "Far from the coast, oysters became a symbol of the arrival of the winter holiday season, appearing in the markets by Christmas Eve and on tables that night as oyster stew. Stephanie Butler, however, gives an alternate explanation: Irish Catholic immigrants would not eat meat on Christmas Eve, and were used to eating

ling Ling may refer to: Fictional characters * Ling, an ally of James Bond's from the film ''You Only Live Twice'' * Ling, a character in the ''Mulan'' franchise * Ling, a playable character from the mobile game '' Mobile Legends: Bang Bang'' * Ling ...

fish stew instead. Butler suggests that "oysters taste pretty similar to dried

: they're salty, briny and can be quite chewy. The ling stew recipe was quickly adapted for oysters." The basic southern oyster stew is made with milk and cream. Oyster stew is often served with

oyster cracker Oyster crackers are small, salted crackers, typically rounds about in diameter, although a slightly smaller hexagonal variety is also common. The crackers are often served with oyster stew and clam chowder and contain similar ingredients to sa ...

s, and that may be the origin of the cracker's name. Oyster stew is also a popular dish in

Gambian cuisine Gambian cuisine is part of West African cuisine and includes the culinary practices and traditions of the nation of The Gambia. Common ingredients include fish, rice, peanuts, tomato, black-eyed peas, lemon, cassava, cabbage, salt, pepper, onion, ...

. Oysters in

are grown on mangrove roots in swamps.

References

{{Oysters Stew American stews Gambian cuisine Cuisine of the Southern United States New England cuisine Christmas food

See also

References