# Oysters: Are you meant to chew them or swallow them without chewing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [June 29, 2025, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oysters-are-you-meant-to-chew-them-or-swallow-them-without-chewing/1020268 "2025-06-29T19:32:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2025, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oysters-are-you-meant-to-chew-them-or-swallow-them-without-chewing/1020268/41 "2025-07-01T18:12:38Z")
Oh no! I don’t want to turn anyone off of them. Obviously many people love them, including my mom, who never succeeded in passing that love onto me. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2025, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oysters-are-you-meant-to-chew-them-or-swallow-them-without-chewing/1020268/42 "2025-07-01T19:17:42Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Oh no! I don’t want to turn anyone off of them. Obviously many people love them, Nor do I! They are a cherished treat for millions! I’m not in any way disparaging anyone else’s choice to eat them and love them. Just that your descriptor clinched it for me. As I said, my issues with them arose out of an entirely different background. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oysters-are-you-meant-to-chew-them-or-swallow-them-without-chewing/1020268/43 "2025-07-01T19:27:15Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > . As I said, my issues with them arose out of an entirely different background. 🙂 Clearly, you were not raised as Blue Crab. 🙂 [Blue Crab | NOAA Fisheries](https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/blue-crab#:~:text=Blue%20crabs%20eat%20almost%20anything,and%20soft%2Dshelled%20blue%20crabs). > Blue crabs eat almost anything, including clams, **oysters** , mussels, smaller crustaceans, freshly dead fish, plant and animal detritus—and smaller and soft-shelled blue crabs. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2025, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oysters-are-you-meant-to-chew-them-or-swallow-them-without-chewing/1020268/44 "2025-07-01T19:30:46Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Clearly, you were not raised as Blue Crab. 🙂 Dungeness all the way, baby! 😉 But I’m not sure we are any more discerning than Blue crabs in our gastronomic choices. 😮 ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2025, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oysters-are-you-meant-to-chew-them-or-swallow-them-without-chewing/1020268/45 "2025-07-01T23:21:09Z")
I love oysters of any type, but agree that the biggest bellies can have an off-putting sploosh if you chew them wrong. I have the same complaint about cherry tomatoes. It will be at least a decade before i feel safe eating American filter feeders again though. With the death of the clean water act and firing of FDA inspectors, i see no reason to believe they are safe. Even if protections were put back in place tomorrow, i’d want to wait five years before eating them again. :pout: ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2025, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oysters-are-you-meant-to-chew-them-or-swallow-them-without-chewing/1020268/46 "2025-07-02T00:09:20Z")
Don’t forget about Rhode Island clam chowder, for the purists. Or Long Island clam chowder for the indecisive. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2025, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oysters-are-you-meant-to-chew-them-or-swallow-them-without-chewing/1020268/47 "2025-07-02T06:38:40Z")
Mmmm, dungeness Crab. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oysters-are-you-meant-to-chew-them-or-swallow-them-without-chewing/1020268/48 "2025-07-03T11:32:26Z")
Do I miss raw oysters. The last couple of times I ate them, they disagreed violently with me, from both ends. Mr. brown, eating from the same batches, was not bothered at all, so I must have developed a sensitivity to them. Well, at least I can eat them cooked in an oyster stew. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oysters-are-you-meant-to-chew-them-or-swallow-them-without-chewing/1020268/49 "2025-07-03T13:44:10Z")
I’m not sure why I have no problems getting my head around eating mussels and clams (which I enjoy) but oysters just scare me in some way. I am fine with raw foods (assuming properly done like sushi). ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oysters-are-you-meant-to-chew-them-or-swallow-them-without-chewing/1020268/50 "2025-07-03T19:54:01Z")
Huh. I think oysters are milder and sweeter than clams and mussels. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oysters-are-you-meant-to-chew-them-or-swallow-them-without-chewing/1020268.md?page=2)