Oysters taste like a day at the sea, are light, digestible and full of protein. There are gourmets who travel all the way to Brittany for the delicious shellfish. And then there are gourmets who put on rubber boots and wander through the East Frisian North Sea mudflats with hammer and chisel in their hands to find oysters. This is a great place to collect fresh oysters. With a bit of luck and favourable winds, the tasty delicacies can be picked up directly from the seabed during a walk along the North Sea coast. But beware: if you want to go a little deeper into the mudflats or collect oysters between Juist and the other North Sea islands, you should definitely consult a mudflat guide beforehand. Even if there are few guided oyster tours on the German North Sea coast, unlike in Denmark or Holland, the guides are important sources of information. They know where to find oysters and can provide information about the tides - you should keep an eye on the tides despite your passion for collecting, otherwise a trip to the mudflats can be very dangerous.

Some prefer to eat oysters raw, drizzled with a little lemon juice or a slightly acidic vinaigrette, others gratinate them with béchamel sauce, dress them with fine pieces of apple, onions and coriander, or put them on the grill. Tastes are different, and this also applies to the preparation of a North Sea oyster. However, for enjoyable consumption, no matter which culinary variant you choose, you should make sure that the oyster is really fresh when collecting or buying it. There are the following characteristics for this: The oyster shells should close tightly when tapped with the fingers. The oyster should resist when you open it. And when sprinkled with lemon juice, its muscles should contract. It should also smell like fresh seawater. 

The hardest part of preparing an oyster is getting it open. But with a few helpful tricks, nothing can stand in the way of the noble shellfish pleasure: To avoid cutting yourself, you should place the oyster with the curved side down in a kitchen towel and hold it there. Then carefully prise open the lid at the oyster's sphincter (at the tip) with an oyster knife. After the muscle has been cut, the shell can be opened. Now the meat can be detached from the undershell, smaller shell splinters should be removed from the oyster water. If you want to eat the delicacy raw, enjoy it directly from the shell. But please do not slurp it! In order to fully develop its delicious flavour, the oyster should be chewed before swallowing it.

If you haven't found an oyster, or have travelled to the North Sea at the wrong time of year for oysters, you can take comfort in the fact that the delicious crustaceans are also available in numerous fish restaurants on the North Sea. On Juist, for example. Connoisseurs order three oysters at the bar in the Juister Auster, enjoy a glass of white wine with them and then take a wonderful walk on the mudflats on the most idyllic of the seven North Sea islands. The mudflats are always beautiful - with or without oysters. And for those who are still not comforted, the 4-star Romantik Hotel Achterdiek is a must. In its unique spa area with a magnificent view of the UNESCO World Heritage Wadden Sea, you can take a sauna, swim and practise serenity over a delicious cup of East Frisian tea. The next opportunity is sure to come.