Today we regard the oyster and lobster as luxury foods, but it has not always been so. Oysters have been commercially farmed since the time of the Romans and have a remarkable talent: when collected, they close their watertight shells, trapping seawater inside. This useful skill doubtless evolved so they could survive being beached at low tide. But it meant that oysters could be shovelled into a barrel, carted to a city, and left under a bar — sometimes for weeks — while remaining alive and fresh.
今天,牡蠣和龍蝦被視爲奢侈的食物,但情況並非一直如此。從羅馬時代起,人們就一直對牡蠣進行商業化養殖。牡蠣有一種非凡的本領:當被採集的時候,它們會將自己的外殼閉合得滴水不漏,將海水封存在裏面。這種有用的技能無疑是爲了在退潮擱淺時存活下來而演化出來的。但這也意味著人們可以把牡蠣鏟進桶裏,用車運往城市並放在酒吧裏——有時一放就是幾星期——而牡蠣在此期間一直保持鮮活。