Cranberry Creek
Crassostrea gigas
A small Washington Pacific oyster with a tortoise-colored shell, sold by Penn Cove Shellfish. Bold brine and a granite-like mineral edge, then a crisp, honeydew-tinged finish. Sources disagree on which bay it comes from.
At a Glance
Cranberry Creek is a Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) from the US West Coast. It is notably briny (4/5 brininess) and subtly sweet (2/5 sweetness), with briny, mineral, earthy flavors and a finish that is long, with a slight honeydew note.
Flavor Profile
Finish
Long, with a slight honeydew note
Expert Notes
Cranberry Creek is a small Pacific oyster sold by Penn Cove Shellfish, which lists it as beach raised in Hood Canal with a bold, briny flavor and earthy, granite-like mineral notes. Other sources tell a different origin story. Chefs Resources and Fortune Fish both place the farm in Pickering Passage in South Puget Sound and describe rack-and-bag culture, and a Seattle menu gives North Bay. This profile lists the seller's location first and the Pickering Passage reports second. On flavor, three of four sources call the brine bold or strong; Chefs Resources calls it very mild. They agree on a crisp middle and a long finish with a little honeydew. Origin & Characteristics
- Species
- Crassostrea gigas
- Native to
- Japan
- Grown in
- Hood Canal or Pickering Passage, Washington (sources disagree)
- Size
- Small (2.5-3 inches)
- Shell Color
- Tortoise-colored
- Meat Color
- Cream to ivory
Where to Try It
Seattle
- Elliott's Oyster House Waterfront
On these menus when we checked on October 1, 2026. Raw-bar lists change daily.
What Tasters Say
Across 4 sources, tasters describe this oyster as:
Unique notes: granite, bold
"Bold, briny flavor with earthy, granite-like mineral notes."
brinyboldearthymineral
"Cranberry Creek Oysters have a mild brininess, a crisp, clean flavor and a slight honeydew taste on the finish."
mildcrispcleanhoneydew
"They have a very bold brininess which dominates the flavor for a while. Crispness then peeks through followed by a slight honeydew flavor and a long, lingering finish."
brinyboldcrisphoneydew
"A petite Washington Oyster with a strong brine and earthy granite mineral finish."
brinyearthymineral
About the Farm
Penn Cove Shellfish
Penn Cove Shellfish of Coupeville, Washington lists Cranberry Creek among its oysters: 2.5 inches, beach raised, packed in five and ten dozen units, with Hood Canal as the location. Its list does not name the farm that grows them.
- Cultivation Method
- beach raised (per Penn Cove Shellfish); rack and bag, finished on the beach (per Chefs Resources)
History & Background
Chefs Resources describes Cranberry Creeks as farmed in Pickering Passage by rack and bag and then finished on the beach to harden the shells, available September through July, up to 3 inches, at a salinity of 2.0 percent. Penn Cove Shellfish and Seafoods of the World both give Hood Canal instead.
Three locations appear in the sources: Hood Canal (Penn Cove Shellfish and Seafoods of the World), Pickering Passage in South Puget Sound (Chefs Resources and Fortune Fish), and North Bay (the Elliott's Oyster House list in Seattle). The grower is not named anywhere, so the disagreement could not be settled. Chefs Resources and Fortune Fish use nearly the same sentence about the brine but differ on one word: very mild in one, very bold in the other.
Did You Know?
- Penn Cove Shellfish calls the tortoise-colored shell a showstopper for oyster bar displays
- Packed in units of five and ten dozen
- Chefs Resources lists availability from September through July
- The honeydew finish is mentioned by two of the four sources
Sources & References
This information was compiled from 4 sources.
- Our Shellfish — Penn Cove Shellfish
- Cranberry Creek Oysters — Chefs Resources
- Cranberry Creek — Fortune Fish & Gourmet
- Fresh Cranberry Creek Oysters — Seafoods of the World
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Learn More
The Big Five: A Complete Guide to Commercial Oyster Species
Comprehensive guide to C. virginica (Atlantic), C. gigas (Pacific), C. sikamea (Kumamoto), O. lurida (Olympia), and O. edulis (European Flat)
Read article → Biology & SpeciesThe Pacific Oyster (C. gigas): Cream, Cucumber, and the Japanese Legacy
Understanding one of the world's most widely farmed oysters - from Japanese origins to West Coast dominance
Read article → Merroir & EnvironmentWhat Is Merroir? How Water Shapes Oyster Flavor
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