Winter 2019 - TAS. 4 Oyster Beds

TAS. 4   Oyster Beds

Carol and I had a debate…about mussels.  Green VS Blue!

In NZ we ate Green-Lipped Mussels, and here in TAS they have Blue-Lipped Mussels. Which are better? 

Baskets For Growing Oysters

Naturally, we had to try the blue-lipped species, especially since they are 'grown' here. Carol read about the Freycinet Marine Market and we were off to see how different those blues are from the greens. 

While we were at the market, chatting with the personnel, a lady told us there was a tour we could take. The guy giving the tour “wears a 

Getting Help From the Guy in the Big Hat

big hat and would be around in about 10 minutes”. She was not sure if the tour was sold out, but it would be worthwhile to ask the guy in the big hat if there was an opening. No, it was not a free tour.

Sure enough, 10 minutes later… we got 2 spots on the tour… NOW he was sold out!

It was a wonderful tour. We were driven in a van, along with some other people, to a spot on the beach that had a very shallow bottomed ocean access. We had to don waterproof outfits (hip waders) and walk a few hundred yards into the tidal flat. The water depth reached about hip high. 

All Set to Go Wading in the Oyster Beds

We were then given lectures on how to raise mussels and oysters. This was a lecture on working a ‘farm’ not a hobby. The equipment, the baskets, the boats and any methods were calculated and methodically applied. From spawning to harvesting, this operation clicks like a well-oiled machine. 

Baskets of Growing Oysters

This marine operation in TAS 'produces' mussels and oysters for sale in huge amounts. 
Each month thousands of dozens are sold at the Store where we just were. They could sell them to the outside world but there was just not enough capacity to supply everybody. They self-limit their market to just TAS and they are busy enough. 

Fully Grown - Would You Like One?

While we were standing hip-deep in the Ocean, our guide pulled some FRESH oysters out of a basket in the water where they were growing, shucked them and had us eat them, right there, as fresh as they can possibly get. It was as good as it can possibly get. Yummy!

Oh Yes Please. Soooo Good

A lot of research had gone into this location. From tidal flow, to food sources for the oysters, to water temperatures, etc, etc. THIS was the ideal spot for growing oysters. It was a great tour.

Walking Carefully

Carol was all smiles, she was given a harvesting tool to hold but she used it as a support to walk through the squishy, sometimes sandy, sometimes hard pan bottom. You had to kind of feel with your feet how the bottom was before you put your weight down. We all walked carefully, not knowing what lurked in the deep. But we all were smiling; all were in awe of the wonderful way to get food from Mother Nature.

Shucking an Oyster 1.

Shucking an Oyster 2.

It was a fantastic trip and our lecture ended with a feast ashore.

What a Feast

We tasted some more raw oysters that were garnished with red wine vinaigrette and shallots, with a dash of lime to give it zest. Naturally we had to shuck the oysters ourselves and were taught how to do that by the large-hated tour guide. A glass of wine to wash it all down helped us tremendously, too.

Blue Lipped Mussels Are the BEST!

We were a happy bunch after our late morning meal, or was it an appetizer? Because when we were driven back to the Marina where the tour started Carol and I each had a serving of steamed Blue-Lipped Mussels, too. 

What a feast!   You have to ask Carol what she preferred, Green- or Blue-Lipped Mussels…. As for me… either is good!  The Blue-Lipped are a bit sweeter I believe.

I copied some discussions I found on line as to what is better or best. See at the very end of this report: 

About 10 Bins of Various Wool Samples

After our delicious, steamed mussel lunch, we were now off again. Our next stop was the town of Ross. (No, it’s not Ross' town, it’s just Ross).

Ross is another Wool Town. It used to be a Military town, too and even had a Women’s Factory, a kind of prison I’ll go into in a bit.

Ross Uniting Church

Beautiful Stained Glass

Ross seemed stately; cozy, well-run, organized, supervised and neat and clean. The modern world did not pass it by, yet I felt a bit like in the olden days when I walked through town. 

Wood Beamed Ceilings in the Church

While it has the tourist shops, they did not scream at me. 


Carol took some photos of the church; we then walked down to what’s left of the Women’s Factory. 

900 Bonnets, Sewn by Australian Women, to Remember the Women Here 

Australia sure was a dumping ground of prisoners for the British Empire. Everywhere I go here, there is an old prison building with explanations on how things used to be. Well, I am glad I did not experience those days, those days of being incarcerated by the ruling Government. It was not an easy life… and women especially had it hard being in jail. No matter the nice name of 'factory' it was a prison, it was a jail, and it was another word for slavery.

So Sad

The Ross Female Factory was another sadistic place that used and abused the common folk. What was a woman to do, some had babies to take care of? Life for solo women with child or otherwise, in the middle of the 19^th Century, was not an easy way to live. The tales told were horrendous. While I read most of the reports now stapled to the walls as a documented account of what happened then, I can also use my imagination and read between the lines. This place was not a happy place. Only the gate house is still standing, the rest it is left to the imagination. But I bet you it was not a good place to be a woman at that time and in this place especially. 

Only Part of the Original Gate House Is Still Standing

I give Australia credit for showing the way her first 'settlers' were treated when they were forced to come and immigrate into Australia, albeit as convicts.

Lots of lives were sad lives at that time. How lucky we are in today’s day and age, despite the news reports in the U.S. telling how Immigrants are treated. Compared to the way it was, today’s people are respected in much, much better ways.

Historic Ross Bridge

After Ross we had to now find a hotel for the night and we are near the historic town of Richmond. There should be a motel, hotel nearby, don’t you think?

On the way out of the town of Ross we crossed over the historical bridge the town is so proud of. We made it a point to get a better point of view than to just blip over it when we drove past. Yes, it’s a nice bridge but as far as bridges go…it’s another bridge!  Okay… it’s historic, which in Australia means about 150 years old.

The Richmond Arms Hotel

Back to us trying to find a hotel for the night; we got to Richmond  and I didn't see that many hotels at all. Smack in the middle of town was an ‘old’ hotel and we stopped in and got a reasonable price but… Carol went up to look at the room and when she came back she just shook her head. I knew already… not for us. She later told me in the car, the room was so small, you had to walk in backwards to get your ass into bed. No A/C, bathroom down the hall, at the front of the building with noise from the busy highway… just a NOT for us kind of place.

Maybe But $$$$$ Also

But where do we go now?  We saw a place that had a sign in the window… for rent, call us. We called, it rang… and rang… and rang… then someone picked up and the price was astronomical… no thank you… but where DO we go?

Another sign in the window, another phone call and can we wait for an hour or two so that they can get to us with the key?  Price was high, a bit out of town but what else can we do?   

I asked our GPS if there was a Caravan Park nearby and yes, there was… we followed the directions and while it was out of town a bit, it’s our own place for the night. A 2 room ‘cabin’, Cabin # 63, with a bedroom, a living room and a bath. 2 chairs outside on the veranda and we could watch the world go by.

Expensive But Private, Roomy and Comfortable

Luckily we found a decent place. Not cheap mind you, it’s not cheap in Australia… we paid for a cabin without breakfast $135 U.S.  Worse to come but we don’t know that yet.  

We lived in innocence and bliss, going for dinner that night in the old hotel where we did not rent a room because it was the only place open. Food was mediocre too so I guess it still was best not to sleep there. 

Tomorrow we will drive back to Hobart, at least it’s a big city and as you know, I like big cities. 

Good night!

Discussions as to what is a better Mussel:

Green Lipped:  I've had them fresh in New Zealand and frozen in various places around the planet. Fresh they are quite good; they tend to be on the large size but are sweet in flavour. Frozen, they tend to end up tough and fishy in most cases.

As for blues mussels, the Atlantic species Mytilus edulis is excellent; they are best plump and sweet. The closely related M. galloprovincialis is also good, but can be bitter (maybe more to do with location - Med. sea and Australia then species). Horse Mussels (Modiolus modiolus) are much larger and tend to be tough but a good wrapped in bacon and grilled.

At the end of the day freshness is more important than species I think. I wouldn't choose to eat frozen mussels if they are a main ingredient. Also, location seems to make a big difference in flavour.

Report of a Grower:

The "New Zealand Green Shelled Mussels" are very delicious if available fresh, but when we began developing them for export initially to Japan we had problems.

This type of Mussel keeps it shell open while alive, very different than the European, American or Asian species that always have tightly closed shells.

In fact, it’s always assumed at most Restaurants and Fish Mongers that any open Mussel should always be discarded as they are thought to be dead or spoiled.

It seemed almost impossible to convince retailers and end users as well as importers about this characteristic so we decided to try several ways of merchandising the Mussels.

We began Nitrogen freezing of the Mussels on the 1/2 shell, removing the tops and packing them in 1 dozen in a translucent plastic tray with the bottom opaque and the top clear. In this manner they became very popular in Japan, accepted immediately by the Sushi Restaurants as an exciting new item. They still continue to be popular, retailed at most Supermarkets and Fish Mongers in Japan.

We tried this first in Honolulu where again the Sushi Restaurants led the way, followed by retailers. Many Restaurants began serving them in Cioppino Type dishes, or baked and different versions.

When we introduced them to the States it was in the 1/2 Shell Package and IQF Frozen for Institutional use, this eventually was also done in sizes suitable for re-packing at most Asian grocers. They are now also packed in all types of retail, boxed, clear bagged, or whatever the importers request.

In all their various guises if kept at recommended temperatures they are superior to almost every type of Mussels being consistent all year-round. Regular Mussels vary according to seasons, water temperatures or weather while the imported Mussels are supervised, inspected for quality, color and production by the New Zealand officials.

I enjoy them when used in Seafood Curry, or simply prepared with a Scampi recipe used in place of the Shellfish it's more economical and much enhanced with the Garlic, Wine, Butter, and Leaf Parsley with some Parmesan added.

I also should mention the "Nitrogen Freezing Process" is the same one used in about 90% of the Tuna used for Maguro, or Toro served everywhere with few exceptions. It has very little effect if any toward the fresh taste comparisons.