The Field Guideby Moss & Marrow
Fresh oysters on ice with dipping sauces and lemon
photo: Brett Wharton, Unsplash

Oysters oesters: in season September to April

fish & shellfish · sources read 2026-10-11 · how we decide

Also called zeeuwse oesters, creuses, platte oester.

In the Netherlands, oysters are in season September to April, at their best in October, November, December and January. Oysters are in season now, in November, and this is the peak.

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Dutch, in seasonDutch, from store or under glassnot the Dutch seasonpeak

The season for oysters

Zeeland oysters are at their best in the months with an r, September to April. In summer the water warms, the oysters spawn and the meat turns milky.

How to choose oysters

Heavy, tightly closed shells. The flat Zeeuwse platte is the native oyster; the creuse is the Pacific one.

Nutrients in oysters

Zinc above any other food, plus vitamin B12, copper, selenium, iodine and omega-3.

To get the most: Raw or barely warmed; the zinc and B12 are stable, but the omega-3 and the texture do not like heat. Keep the liquor in the shell.

Content per NEVO, the Dutch food composition database. This describes what the food contains, not what it does for you.

How to cook oysters

Open with a short, stiff knife and a folded towel. Eat raw with lemon, or grill a few minutes with butter.

Oysters, shell and all

Keep the liquor in the shell. Empty shells, baked and crushed, are grit for hens or lime for the garden.

Who sells oysters

12 producers in The Field Guide sell oysters, each checked against our inclusion criteria and listed by province.

Open on the map →

Noord-Holland 5

Zuid-Holland 3

Utrecht 3

Gelderland 1

Sources

Dates read on 2026-10-11. If a window on this page is wrong, tell us with a source.

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