'˜Food of love' reduced to 25p for Valentine's Day

Morrisons is selling Oysters - a known romantic stimulant - which retail for around £5 in Harrods, at the same price as a cod fish finger until Monday, February 14. The supermarket launched the scheme to tie in with Valentine’s Day next week and because it claims research has identified nearly two thirds of Brits have never eaten an oyster, even though 2,300 tonnes will be harvested in Britain this year. Oysters are known as an aphrodisiac and contain amino acids that trigger the production of sex hormones. Morrisons says its is expected the product - sold in packs of six - will be “bought by couples wishing to prepare a romantic dinner for a night in.” The chain store’s research revealed that 25 per cent of people they asked said they’d never tried an oyster due to the perceived ‘expensive’ price. Also, 44 per cent of respondents said they didn’t want to waste money on something they may not like, while a fifth of people thought they’d never shopped anywhere that sold them. Currently 50 percent of Britain’s oyster harvest is now exported to the continent every 12 months. The perceived romantic qualities of the oyster stretch back into history, and in the 18th Century legend has it that adventurer and lothario Giacomo Casanova consumed more than 50 of them day. Here’s how to prepare an oyster: Begin at your sink. Clean your oysters thoroughly under cold running water. Get a tea towel. Wrap it completely around one hand and use this hand to firmly hold the oyster. Get a shucking knife. Put it in the other hand. Put the knife’s tip at the base of the oyster shell hinge and use pressure to twist the knife. Then move the knife upwards to prise the shell open.