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How do you open an oyster? Wrap a cloth around your hand, hold the oyster firmly, then insert the tip of a small, sharp knife into the hinge that holds the two shells together. Wiggle the knife slightly, then twist it to ease the shells slightly apart. Slide the knife along the underside of the top shell and cut the muscle that holds the shells together. Discard the top shell, cut the muscle holding the oyster to the cupped shell and flip it over. Serve with a squeeze of lemon.

Where to buy: The Colchester Oyster Fishery (01206 384141; www.colchesteroysterfishery.com); Richard Haward’s Oysters, West Mersea (01206 383284; www.richardhawardsoysters.co.uk); the Whitstable Shellfish Company (01227 282375; www.whitstable-shellfish.co.uk).

Apples and Pears

Despite the fact that the National Collections include more than 2,300 varieties of apple and around 550 varieties of pear, you will frequently only find a handful for sale. Orchards are disappearing and the majority of fruit is imported. At the same time, however, farm orchards now offer a wealth of varieties directly to the customer, while shops are trying harder to feature native and local varieties in season, such as Charles Ross, Ashmead’s Kernel and Blenheim Orange apples. Look out also for British Comice pears.

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Supermarkets would rather throw food away than have empty shelves

Geetie Singh

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What is so special about Comice? Connoisseurs and chefs reckon the Doyenne du Comice (meaning “top of the show”) is the ultimate pear but, unlike the ubiquitous, drier-textured Conference, it needs to be really ripe to show off its juicy texture. Other pears you might find, such as Concorde, combine the shape of the Conference with a more melting texture. Look for rarer varieties at farmers’ markets and farm shops, such as Merton Pride (large and flavoursome), Beth (small and sweet) and Beurre Hardy, often described as “rose-water flavoured”.

Where to buy: Park Fruit Farm offers 38 varieties of apple and four of pear by mail order (01255 674621; www.parkfruitfarm.co.uk). Crapes Fruit Farm can send out boxes of different varieties throughout season (01206 212375). Yorkshire Orchards has more than 100 varieties (01759 380375; www.yorkshireorchards.co.uk).

Game birds

Game is becoming increasingly popular, perhaps because it is now viewed less as an elite food and is being marketed as healthy and easy to cook. Of all game birds, grouse is the most prized, not only for its rich, heathery flavour, but also because its speed (up to 60mph) tests the skill of the hunter and its relative rarity makes it a luxury. However, for game novices, pheasant is a gentle starting point, one step up from a free-range chicken – perhaps because the fashion these days is to hang the birds for as little as 2-3 days, rather than 7-10, which made for a much gamier bird.

Isn’t shooting cruel? Detractors object to any form of shooting for the purpose of sport. Supporters see the money earned from shooting as the only means of ensuring the survival of the species. In the case of grouse, they argue that the existence of the heather moors and the whole eco-system they support, along with the grouse population, depend on such income. Whatever your moral take on the subject, there is a vast difference between bagging only what is intended to be eaten and the kind of lucrative corporate shoots in which massive numbers are felled.

Where to buy: Yorkshire Game (01748 810212); Blackface (www.blackface.co.uk).

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