HUÎTRES ALLARY

OUR BUSINESS:
Our production is mainly composed of oysters; we raise them according to two methods the pigne and the collée.
We also produce mussels raised on ropes.

The techniques of production
We use two techniques for the breeding of our oysters:
The line
It is about spat captured on an empty oyster shell; we fix these shells on ropes of 1.80 to 2 meters according to the depth of the installation and we collect these oysters from 16 to 18 months later in the form of cluster.
The gluing
We glue on a rope oysters of a size equivalent to a fingernail with the help of cement; these oysters between 55 and 65 to the rope benefit from more space and thus from more food (plankton) than the lines; they have a rate of flesh superior to the lines it is for that we call them special glued. These oysters are marketable between 10 and 14 months after their seeding.

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An essential step : the detaching
Once the oysters have reached the adult size, we have to separate them either from the mother shell for the "pignes" or from the cement for the "collées"; this important moment of the oyster culture is called the "détroquage" and is made with a special knife.

Storage: a crucial step for the quality of the product
From then on, the experience, the know-how and the knowledge of the environment allow us to offer you a quality product.
Indeed, the detached oysters are stored in bags and suspended in our soaking facilities; this allows the oysters to regain their shell and flesh after the detaching. Three weeks to a month later, having shaken the bags at least twice to avoid swaddling, we bring back the oysters to refine them.

Refining : the last step before tasting
We refine our oysters in our tanks for a minimum of 48 hours, which allows us to slightly reduce their salinity level and to bring out that little taste of hazelnut specific to the Etang de Leucate.