[Oyster] "Smoked" series

Introducing the "smoked" series [smoked oysters] produced by Harikai's original method!

The starting point of Harikai-produced smoked oysters was to get rid of marinating in olive oil. The reason is that we did not want to be second-best to other companies, and we chose freezing as a long-term preservation method. The result is a smoked oyster with a texture like yokan (bean jelly).

The history of smoked oysters according to the Harikai survey was as follows.

The details of the history of smoked oysters are not well known, although it appears that smoked oysters in oil became widely known after the 1960s. Literature review reveals that smoked oysters were mentioned in various American newspapers in the 1880s and 1930s onward.

In 1881, The Detroit Free Press reported that Chinese living in San Francisco enjoyed smoked oysters. At that time, they were made from dried oysters and smoked by burning seaweed.

By 1935, "Geisha Smoked Oysters in olive oil (Something different and very tasty )" in the Salem, Oregon edition of The Statesman Journal. This appears to be a can of smoked Japanese oysters in olive oil.

It also seems that this canned smoked oyster was introduced in a 1945 article in "The Brisbane Courier Mail" as being supplied by a Japanese supplier (Nozaki Sangyo) to an American military kiosk.

In light of the above, it seems that the smoked oysters originated from Chinese living in the U.S., but the olive oil marinated oysters were a product developed for the U.S. market by a Japanese vendor.

*GEISHA brand is currently one of the brands of Kawasho Foods.