Menu
Maldon Oysters are carefully nurtured over a period of years until they are ready for our customers. Our ethos ensures that our oysters are of the best quality available. It is an ethos of impeccable quality control. We have the stock and scale to ensure that there is never a need to rush.
The majority of the oysters we grow on our beds in Essex are Rock Oysters (Gigas). This oyster is known for its deep cupped shell and smooth and meaty texture. They are often described as having a rich but not overbearing flavour with a sweet aftertaste.
This marshy part of Essex on the Blackwater Estuary is famed for its briney water and extensive shallows and mudflats.
This environment no doubt influences the taste of our oysters. It’s why this part of the world has long been famed for its oysters and why they are known as some of the best in the UK.
Want to know how to store or open your oysters? Click here for our FAQs.
For two to three years, our oysters grow quietly in the waters of the Blackwater Estuary until they are market-ready. Much of our process is as it has always been. Our small team tend to the oysters at our beds at Goldhanger, working around the tides, hoping that nature will pay them back for their efforts. We cultivate our oysters from seed, tiny oysters no bigger than a thumbnail. They are grown in bags on trestles above the ground to protect them from natural predators. Picking oysters by hand in between tides is an age-old process.
Each oyster will pass through the hands of our team over half a dozen times before it is deemed ready to harvest. We hand turn, split and soft-grade the oysters, waiting patiently for each oyster to reach the perfect shape and size.
While we embrace everything that technology has to offer in our innovative depuration process, when it comes to growing and cultivating our oysters, traditional methods and a hands-on approach have served us well.
Each oyster will pass through the hands of our team over half a dozen times before it is deemed ready to harvest. We hand turn, split and soft-grade the oysters, waiting patiently for each oyster to reach the perfect shape and size.
While we embrace everything that technology has to offer in our innovative depuration process, when it comes to growing and cultivating our oysters, traditional methods and a hands-on approach have served us well.
We are cultivating millions of oysters at any one time, which makes us a reliable countrywide supplier. No business is too big or small, and we have the infrastructure and stock to meet large orders at short notice.
Important: Do not store live oysters in sealed containers, on ice or in water
Invest in a specialist oyster knife.
Check the oysters are closed and unbroken.
Insert the tip of the knife at the ‘hinge’ at the back of the oyster between the shells.
Don’t push too hard, wiggle or twist the handle of the knife so that the knife works its way between the shells until the shells open.
Once open slide the knife along the top flat shell and use a circular movement to cut the abductor muscle that attaches the meat to the shell and then remove the top shell.
Slide the blade underneath the oyster meat at the bottom of the cupped shell and use the same circular movement to cut the abductor muscle.
The meat may then be turned over for a better presentation taking care to retain the oysters’ liquor for the best flavour.
The best way to serve oysters is to highlight their natural, fresh flavour while complementing it with simple and high-quality accompaniments. Traditionally oysters are served with lemon juice, tabasco or Mignonette Sauce.
Birchwood Farm,
Cock Clarks,
Chelmsford,
Essex CM3 6RF
