This definitive oyster bible and cookbook from expert food writer Nils Bernstein delivers an array of tips, trivia, and history, plus approachable recipes that celebrate the delicious bivalve.

Behold the oyster. Delicious, a little decadent, yet one of the healthiest things to eat, and now completely sustainable and easily available. And behold The Joy of Oysters, a smorgasbord of information, recipes, tips, stories, history, and everything else the oyster lover and the oyster curious could want to know.

Learn how to select the freshest, tastiest oysters. How to store, clean, shuck, and serve. And why we no longer avoid eating them in months without an r.

But best of all, celebrate the joy of eating and cooking with oysters, whether on the half shell—try one of seven sauces to enhance them—to techniques for broiling, frying, roasting, steaming, pickling, and poaching. Here’s a classic Oysters Rockefeller, an irresistible Oyster Po’Boy, a delicious Oyster Stew. Plus oyster preparations from around the world, including Japanese Oyster Rice, Irish Beef and Oyster Pie, a Filipino Oyster Kinilaw, and Korean Oyster Fritters. An oyster shooter too.

And finally, discover the facts behind the oyster’s reputation as an aphrodisiac.