During your camping stay on the Marennes Oléron Basin, you will have many opportunities to taste the famous Oléron oyster, but also to meet the oyster farmers and discover their profession and know-how. In the meantime, Camping Airotel Oléron tells you more about the pearl of oysters!
At the heart of a unique ecosystem in France, the Marennes-Oléron basin, the leading oyster basin in Europe, extends over 3,000 hectares between the Seudre and the island of Oléron, passing through Bourcefranc-Le-Chapus and Port des Barques. The oyster farming activity of Marennes-Oléron was born in the 19th century when salt farming was losing momentum. The refining oyster beds then replaced the salt marshes and the small, colorful oyster huts began to flourish in numbers along the channels. This was the beginning of the crazy story of the Marennes Oléron oyster!
Marennes-Oléron oysters are refined in the claires, former converted salt marshes. These shallow basins dug in the sediment by man are very rich in nutrients and phytoplankton. It is in these ideal breeding conditions and this preserved natural environment that the Marennes-Oléron oyster acquires its incomparable flavor!
Refining in claires gives Marennes-Oléron oysters a less oceanic taste than open-sea oysters. The Fines de Claire, not very fleshy, rich in water and balanced in flavors, deliver a slight note of hazelnut. The Spéciales de Claire have a firmer and more consistent flesh, but also a more pronounced taste and a salty flavor attenuated by a slight sweet taste.
La Fine de Claire Verte was the first seafood product to be awarded the Label Rouge label in France (1989). La Pousse en Claire has had the same label since 1999. In 2009, the “Huîtres Marennes Oléron” designation became a Protected Geographical Indication!
If you want to know everything about the Marennes-Oléron oyster, the best way is to visit the Cité de l'huître located on the La Cayenne channel in Marennes. You can also embark with the oyster farmers of the Marennes Oléron region and observe the professionals at work in the oyster parks.
It takes 2 years for an oyster to mature and acquire its famous refined taste.
Oysters are very healthy and an excellent source of protein and omega (a dozen oysters can replace meat or fish).
Summer and winter, oysters can be eaten all year round!
Oysters can be cooked hot (with candied pepper and bacon; peanuts, honey and soy sauce or even kiwi, ginger and coconut milk, etc.).
So many recipes to experiment with!
The campsite "The sea spray of Oléron" is part of the Airotel group of high-end campsites. Airotel campsites remain independent and are all driven by the search for excellence in outdoor hospitality in Charente Maritime and in France.
