Basic Profile

Origin
Quilcene Bay, Hood Canal, Jefferson County, Washington, USA
Species
Crassostrea gigas (Pacific Oyster)
Classification
Farmed Pacific oysters; native Olympias under restoration
Farming Method
Pacific oysters on tidelands; Olympia test plots planted on seeded shell
Producer
Several Quilcene Bay growers
Visual Signature
Pacific oyster shell

Quilcene Bay alone once hosted roughly 100 acres of solid Olympia oyster beds, according to Betsy Peabody of the Puget Sound Restoration Fund. Over-harvesting and pulp mill pollution ended commercial farming of the native oyster, and Pacific oysters from Japan took its place.1

A smoky sunset at Quilcene, Washington, in 2015
A smoky sunset at Quilcene, Washington, in 2015. Photo: U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

Looking for the Natives

The Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe spread oyster shell carrying young Olympias on Quilcene tidelands in 2016 and again in 2017. On 16 May 2018 a survey went looking for what was left of the wild stock. Environmental biologist Neil Harrington reported significant wild populations, scattered as singles and small clusters on rocks and on Pacific oyster shells instead of packed into beds.1

The story of the native oyster is told in the Olympia profile, and the deep fjord next door in Dabob Bay.

Flavor Breakdown

The water
Quilcene sits at the head of Hood Canal, where rivers thin the salt. Our scores put sweetness well ahead of brine, the reverse of an oyster from the open Washington coast.
The texture
A plump Pacific. The sweetness comes with the first chew and the finish is short.

What Makes Quilcene Unique

The bay grows the oyster that replaced its own. Long after the Olympia beds were fished and polluted out, the natives survive here as stragglers on the shells of the Pacific oysters farmed over them.1

A sweet Hood Canal Pacific, and a good one to order beside an Olympia if the bar has both: the newcomer and the native from the same water.

Should You Add Lemon?

Yes

Sweet and low in salt, so a squeeze helps.

Pairing Guide

1
Albariño

Salt and citrus that the oyster itself is short on.

2
Wheat beer

Soft and lightly sour against a sweet oyster.

OptimalLemon
AcceptableMignonette
AvoidHeavy cocktail sauce

Who Is This For?

Will love it
  • People who like plump, sweet Pacifics
  • Anyone following Olympia oyster restoration
Sources
  1. Boxleitner, K. (23 May 2018). "Can Olympia oysters make a comeback in Quilcene Bay?" Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader. ptleader.com
Tasting notes & flavor profile in the Oysterminds app →