ISSUE 22, PICKLES, Part 4: Oysters

Pickled Oysters

In the 19th century bottled pickled oysters were on of the favorite urban seafood preparations. The African-American caterer Thomas Downing between 1820 and 1850 earned fortune and fame in New York City for his pickled oysters. Because oysters were the one seafood most easily transported insland, the pickled oyster became a treat where e…