It takes at least three years to produce an oyster of a good size, sometimes even longer. Loch Fyne oysters are harvested from a 60-mile-long loch in Argyll, Scotland, which is completely free from pollution. The loch is fed by two rivers which ensures they have a pure taste, tinged with a slight taste of salt. They are delicious eaten just as they are without enhancement.

Oysters have been an important food source since Neolithic times and were cultivated in China long before the Christian era. The Romans loved them so much that they sent slaves to the shores of the English Channel to gather oysters for their generals.

Pepys’ Diary contains several references to oysters, including a description of a New Year’s breakfast which featured a whole barrel of them.

During Charles Dickens’s day it is said that more than 700 million oysters a year were eaten in London because they were then so cheap.

One of the fascinating things about an oyster is that it begins life as a male, then often changes to female within 12 months. The female oyster then often reverts to being male after spawning.

However, the male oyster also goes through the process of childbirth, laying as many as one million eggs a year, just like the female oyster.

Oysters are good for you as they contain Vitamins A, B1, C and D. They also contain calcium, iodine, magnesium, iron, potassium, copper, sodium, zinc, phosphorus, manganese and sulphur. They are a rich source of Omega 3 fatty acids, too, so eating an oyster is rather like taking a multi-vitamin pill that tastes good.

While oysters can be baked, grilled, covered with a hot sauce or added to pies, the best way to eat them is just as they are with perhaps just a squeeze of lemon or Tabasco sauce.