I have several posts on the wonderful superbe goodies of my belle France. I have many posts on the wonders of the land/sea in my beautiful Morbihan and lovely Bretagne. Also, I have written before on Locmariaquer; however, have not tell you enough of the delicious oysters of Locmariaquer near me. This is the time to tell you about it; hope you enjoy the post as I.
I always enjoy telling you of my wonderful location in France, near the ocean but inland a bit to balance the best of the two. I come to a familiar place so close with Locmariaquer only 28 mins from my house! I have told you plenty on Locmariaquer in previous posts so will short and sassy into the oysters! But first where is Locmariaquer?
Locmariaquer is of course in my beautiful Morbihan located at the end of a peninsula stretching from north to south, subdivided into two tongues of land by the arm of the sea of the Saint-Philibert river and commanding the entry into the Gulf of Morbihan and into the Rivière d’Auray (river). The port of Locmariaquer is a former coastal fishing port dating from the beginning of the 20C. Located at the entrance to the Gulf of Morbihan, opposite Port-Navalo (see post) on the Rhuys peninsula,(see post) the port of Locmariaquer offers a panorama of the Gulf of Morbihan and the Auray river.
The history of oysters in Locmariaquer translated from the city hall!
Locmariaquer was then considered to be the birthplace of the flat oyster. The first concessions, in the Auray river, were issued in 1882. Three generations worked to build the flat oyster beds on the shore of Locmariaquer: He worked to remove the silt, replace it with sand, demarcate the sites. The work consisted of collecting the spat (oyster larvae) on collectors (limed tiles), taking it off (stripping) and sowing it in the parks for breeding for a period of three years during which it was necessary to protect oysters against predators, algae, storms. After 1927, Locmariaquer specialized mainly in reproduction and half-breeding. The oyster industry was then prosperous: 350 to 400 people worked “in the parks”. But, in 1973-1974, the flat oyster of the Gulf of Morbihan was decimated or even wiped out by two parasites. It was then that the culture of the Japanese hollow oyster “Crassostrea gigas” was introduced. Today, the Locmariaquérois oyster farmer has become a cupped oyster farmer in the gulf of Morbihan and the St Philibert river. The flat oyster is harvested and farmed mainly in the Bay of Quiberon. Despite mechanization tests, the workforce remains important, both in the culture itself and for the operations preceding the marketing (refining, grading, etc …) In 2011, about thirty oyster farms exist in Locmariaquer. They employ about fifty full-time people, to which should be added seasonal workers (from October to May). Each farmer is responsible for the sale of their production either to wholesalers, retailers or directly to consumers.
The city of Locmariaquer on its oysters : http://www.locmariaquer.fr/patrimoine-ostreicole-page-91-rub-2.html
Taken from the Kerpenhir oyster farmers and translated by yours truly.
It is traditionally said that you should not eat oysters in the months without R (May to August). It was king Louis XV who implemented this rule, in order to avoid poisoning due to transport when it is hot, and to preserve the resource, because oyster reproduction falls during this period. This practice has been diverted by hatcheries in order to market their genomically modified biotechnological oyster, the triploid. It is non-milky during the summer and marketed under the poetic name “oyster of the 4 seasons”. Indeed, in summer, the oyster is in milk. This is the phase in which the oyster is at its peak from a nutritional and organoleptic point of view. Prefer a small caliber (N ° 4 or 5), a good swig of fresh lemon juice, a butter with salt crystals, good bread, and a glass of white wine. How delicious are these milky oysters! Now the size of the mollusk is not linked to its size, but to its weight, and the assigned number goes in the opposite direction to the size. The N ° 1 are the Very Big (TG), the N ° 2 the Grosses/big (L), the N ° 3 & 4 the Medium (M), the N ° 5 the Small (P). You weigh the closed oyster. Open it, then remove all the water, collect the drained flesh and weigh it. The quality index is calculated by taking the ratio of the drained weight of the oyster to its unopened gross weight. For fine oysters (fleshy oysters), it will be between 6.5 and 10.5%. For the special oyster (very fleshy oyster), it will be greater than 10.5%in volume. If it takes an effort to open it up and water is flowing, it is alive and well. Sometimes the shell is damaged, there may then be a very slight smell of mud, the oyster is not bad either, run it under water. Sometimes the oyster has no water but does not smell bad, keep it and pour some open oyster water on it afterwards, it will cool it down. When ready to eat, if you pour in a little lemon juice or tickle the coat of the oyster with the tip of a knife, it should retract. The vegetable drawer is an interesting option in the long term to keep or transport the oysters. It is important to protect your oysters from light and bad weather. They should of course be laid out flat, hollow shell underneath, to prevent them from losing their water if they open slightly.
The oysters of Kerpenhir : https://www.leshuitresdelocmariaquer.fr/retrouvons-nous/
And to boot, see our oyster farmers at the Salon de l’Agriculture in Paris, February 26 ›March 6, 2022 at Paris Expo – Porte de Versailles. The Locmariaquer Kerpenhir will be at stand 3G 120. At the agricultural fair, Brittany is reaching out to you! Come and discover it or rediscover it in hall 3 in the Terres & Mers de Bretagne area !!!
The Salon de l’Agriculture or agriculture fair webpage : https://www.salon-agriculture.com/Infos-pratiques/Venir-au-Salon
I have to say we buy ours direct from Kerpenhir and sometimes we take our bushel in the Pluvigner market from Le Mouroux. The oysters Le Mouroux : https://huitres-lemouroux.com/ostreiculture-morbihan
For a kick to my other posts, this is the local Bay of Quiberon tourist office on Locmariaquer: https://www.baiedequiberon.co.uk/locmariaquer
There you go folks a bit on the gastronomy of my belle France and especially that of the best oysters of France, the Morbihan! Give it a go in your next restaurant visit in France and ask for Breton oysters of the Morbihan, simply delicious! Recommended by yours truly!! Hope you enjoy the post as I, of course::)
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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