IMITATION OYSTERS IN PARIS.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XX, Issue XVI, 16 April 1898, Page 491

IMITATION OYSTERS IN PARIS.

“The most, singular thing- 1 saw while in Paris,’ said a gentleman who has just returned from Europe, ‘was artificial oysters. 1 don’t mean what are called mock oysters —that is, meat done up in a patty or pot pie—but the real bi-valve intended to serve raw. Aml as far as looks go, you would say at a glance that they were genuine oysters, but when you came to eat one the difference would be perceptible at once. How they are made and what materials are used in their manufacture is a mystery 1 did not solve, but it is certain that a great deal of money is made by the producers. The usuxl price paid for these artificial oysters is IJd each, or 1/3 a doz., and sometimes in the seeond-class restaurants, they are to be had for Id each, though they are not apt to be very fresh at that price. You order a plate on the half shell, and when the waiter brings them to you they look as nice as the real oyster that you get in the best oyster house. • If you are not a good judge of oysters you will eat them with your wine and go away without asking any questions. ‘The only real genuine thing about, them is the shells. The manufacturers, I was told, buy -second-hand shells from the restaurant keepers at a small expense, and with a harmless and tasteless paste fasten the spurious oyster in its place. Only one-half a shell is used for the purpose, and in that shape the fraud oysters are packed in tiers in boxes and baskets, which are displayed in windows, on counters, or on shelves. Others, to be served without the shells, are put up in cans, or glass jars, containing from twenty-five to a hundred. The ‘imitations' are consumed in such large quantities that the dealers in real oysters are urging the restaurant and hotel keepers to break up their shells as fast as their contents are eaten, and even pay the cooks and waiters liberally to pound them to pieces so that the makers of the artificial article will have a limited supply of shells.’