NEW OYST Staple of the Victorian poor to make

OYSTERS were the Big Mac of Victorian times, a dirt-cheap staple of working class diet – then they became an expensive delicacy reserved for the rich.

Overfishing, dredging of the seabed and the invasion of a parasite devastated native stocks of the shellfish and sent prices soaring.

But now Britain is on the verge of reviving this multi-million pound industry – and affordable food source – in what used to be their richest breeding ground.

Marine conservation charity Blue Foundation is to deposit ten million oysters in the Solent.

The South Coast waterway was once the largest oyster bed in Europe and could be again – creating almost 300 jobs.

The project drew inspiration from New York harbour, which will have been reseeded with a billion oysters by 2030.

Chewed or swallowed, topped with Tabasco or just a squeeze of lemon, however you eat them – and love or hate them – the fact is that our ancestors owed their survival to oysters.

Nutritious

Drew Smith, food expert and author of Oyster: A Gastronomic History, wrote: “The oyster was here before we were. They were essential to early humans in the British Isles and were more than just food.

“The shells were believed to be the first knives and spoons, they were even used as digging implements.

“To early man it was a wholesome nutritious food, full of calcium for the bones and vitamins their diet would have lacked so badly. The oyster was far superior to anything else available.”

A dozen oysters have the same amount of protein as a quarter-pound steak, the calcium equivalent of a glass of milk and are equal to liver in levels of iron.

Unlike other animal foods they are high in vitamin C and low in fat.

It made them an invaluable source of energy and, by providing a plentiful alternative to fruit and vegetables, helped to stave off diseases like scurvy.

Whitstable in Kent is famous for its native oysters, celebrated at an annual summer festival since 1985.

They were renowned in Norman times. But Whitstable’s love of the shellfish can be traced back the Romans, who were so impressed with the Kentish natives they would ship them back home in snow-packed sacks.

By the Victorian era, 3,500 oystersellers packed the streets of London, shucking the shells for the rich and poor alike. You could buy two for a penny.

Dishes like beef, stout and oyster pie became a popular poor man’s dinner, because the shellfish helped stretch the more expensive meat a bit further. Sam