Steamboat
Crassostrea gigas
Beach-grown Pacific oyster from Totten Inlet, Puget Sound. Small and deep-cupped with sweet, melon-scented flesh and refreshing cucumber crispness. Exceptionally wine-friendly with mild, earthy character.
Flavor Profile
Finish
Crisp, clean, cucumber-like freshness
Expert Notes
Steamboat oysters are beach-grown in the pristine waters of Totten Inlet in southern Puget Sound, where Steamboat Island meets the converging fingers of the inlet. Named for the small, steamboat-shaped island, these Pacific oysters develop deep cups and strong, ridged shells from their tidal environment. The flavor profile is notably mild and earthy with distinctive melon-scented sweetness and a refreshing cucumber-like crispness that makes them exceptionally wine-friendly, particularly with Chablis which brings out their pickled melon notes. Origin & Characteristics
- Species
- Crassostrea gigas
- Native to
- Japan
- Grown in
- Totten Inlet, Puget Sound, Washington
- Size
- Small (2-3 inches)
- Shell Color
- Gray-green with ridged, fluted shell
- Meat Color
- Plump, cream-colored
Perfect Pairings
What Experts Say
Across 5 sources, tasters describe this oyster as:
Unique notes: cucumbery crispness, melon-scented
"It's a Totten by any other name, deep-cupped and fluted, gray-green, fast-growing, with a mild, earthy flavor and a cucumbery crispness as you chew."
mildearthycucumbercrisp
"Small, deep-cupped, with a ridged shell and plump flesh that is sweet and melon-scented."
sweetmelonplump
"Steamboat Island is a small, supposedly steamboat-shaped knob of hemlock and madrona trees, wild berries and gravelly beaches, rising right where Totten Inlet joins the other fingers of southern Puget Sound."
"Beach grown in southern Puget Sound, producing a strong-shelled, earthy-flavored oyster."
earthystrong-shelled
"Pacific oysters are creamier with a saltier and more minerally taste than Atlantic oysters. The Steamboat has a more assertive taste and is plumper, with taste ranging from creamy to metallic, with briny or nutty notes."
creamysaltymineralassertiveplump
About the Farm
Beach-grown in Totten Inlet
Steamboat Island is a small, steamboat-shaped knob of hemlock and madrona trees, wild berries and gravelly beaches, rising right where Totten Inlet joins the other fingers of southern Puget Sound.
- Cultivation Method
- beach culture
History & Background
Named after Steamboat Island, a supposedly steamboat-shaped landform at the junction where Totten Inlet meets the other fingers of southern Puget Sound.
Beach-grown Pacific oyster from one of the most productive oyster-growing regions in Puget Sound.
Did You Know?
- Steamboat Island is described as a small knob of hemlock and madrona trees with wild berries and gravelly beaches
- The island's shape supposedly resembles a steamboat
Sources & References
This information was compiled from 5 sources.
- Steamboat - The Oyster Guide — oysterguide.com
- Steamboat Oyster — oysterater.com
- Oysters & Chablis Pairing Guide — oysterguide.com
- Oyster Varieties — theseafoodmerchants.com
- Cupped Oysters, All About Shellfish — gourmetpedia.net
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Learn More
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