Charleston oysterman Thomas Bierce holds up two oyster shells. The first has been washed, tumbled and grated while the other has been plucked naturally from the water in a cluster.
“They respond to that stress by growing a thicker shell,” Bierce said.
He’s right. The wild cluster is fragile and will crumble if shucked. It has to be steamed to be opened without breaking. But the lone oyster shell is thicker. It has grown solo, without the rest of the cluster to protect it from the elements or tumbler…