Featured Image Credit: TikTok/lennysclambar
Topics: Food and Drink
Niamh Spence
Oysters are one of those 'marmite' style foods that people either love or hate.
However, Joseph DeCandia Jr, owner of Lenny's Clam Bar and Restaurant in New York, has left the internet shocked as he revealed one important fact to think about the next time you're eating oysters.
Speaking in a TikTok video for the restaurant, the chef explains that when we indulge in the shellfish delicacies we're actually eating oysters while they're still alive.
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Yes, you read that right, they aren't dead but are still alive - even as we add sauce or lemon to them.
Chef DeCandia Jr was asked on the video: "Is it true that when you eat oysters they are alive?"
He responded: "Of course! When you open them up fresh, they are alive.
'Most times, if you squeeze lemon on those now, you'll see the motherf**ker jiggle and move."
Viewers have been left stunned by the revelation, and they didn't hold back in the comments.
One person wrote: "I did not need to know or see this."
Another shared: "I was today years old, and I promise you, I wish I never learned this."
While a third said: "I've been chugging down oysters my whole life. I didn't know they were still alive."
Someone else posted: "I never ate oysters before & now that I know they're still alive I'll never try them."
According to mobile oyster shucking service Oysters XO, the shellfish has to be alive in order for it be safe and not give us food poisoning.
Its website states: "Oysters are still alive as you eat them! In fact, if you are going to eat an oyster raw, it has to be alive or else it will no longer be safe to eat.
"In the case of oysters, alive means fresh! Trust us, you only want to be eating oysters that are alive."
In fact, the key for good oysters is said to be eating them as quickly after they have been 'shucked', which means having their shell open.
Oysters XO added: "Oysters taste the best when they are eaten immediately after being shucked, this we know.
"Fresh and full of flavor is what we all want! In the case of oysters, fresh translates to mean still alive.
"An oyster that has been sitting around open will not have that amazing taste you are looking for as the oyster begins to deteriorate once it has been shucked."