The very best New Jersey oysters

How do you judge an oyster? Most obviously, there’s taste, which is a product of where the oyster grew, and what it fed on. Saltiness is the most pronounced trait; it can be measured in parts-per-thousand, salt to water. There are other flavors to consider, too: creaminess and sweetness, savory and vegetal notes, minerality and acidity, the qualities of any lingering aftertaste.

There’s also texture and appearance. Is the meat glistening, plump, filling its shell from the hinge to the mantle’s frilly edge? Or is it small and floppy, sloshing like a dull nugget in a puddle? The smell can also be telling: pleasant sea breeze or back bay funk? A beautiful oyster will beckon to many senses before you ever lean in to slurp.

Earlier this summer, The Inquirer arranged a private tasting at the Oyster House in Center City, where oysters from 12 different New Jersey farms from Cape May to Barnegat Light were shucked by the talented Gary McCready for side-by-side consideration. When it was done, with 240 empty shells behind us, the consensus was that quality was high across the board. But these six impressed as the oysters that best tell the story of New Jersey’s resurgent oyster industry right now.

They are listed geographically, by region from south to north, and these tasting notes reflect both the Oyster House event and later visits to the field (and other restaurants), which demonstrated how dramatically shifting conditions, weather and seasonality can affect nuances of flavor. Oysters, after all, are a vivid snapshot of the moment they’re pulled from the water, and their ability to evolve in character throughout the year is part of their magic.