Oysters are described as a cheap source of protein that could bulk out ordinary meals. Restrictions on repeatedly serving them to prisoners are recalled as an example of how far their former status differed from a luxury food. Oyster pie belongs to that cheaper tradition. Caviar, lobster and eel broaden the comparison to other foods whose price or social standing later changed.
Notable Point · 20:30-21:31
When oysters and lobster were cheap food
Oysters, caviar, lobster and eel illustrate how the status of familiar foods has changed.