Diner finds 50 pearls in one oyster

The woman made the discovery on Thursday at Puckett’s Boathouse after ordering a fried seafood sampler known as the Rusty Bucket, as reported by The Tennessean.

According to restaurant server Eric Horton, the woman had picked up a fried oyster and bit down on something hard – a pearl. Then she found another, and another, and another.

“She kept spitting pearls out, and we were like, ‘What in the world is going on?’” Horton told the paper.

By the end of the meal the woman had spat out 50 small, gritty pearls.

While it is not unheard of for diners to find pearls in their oysters, to find one in an oyster described as “average-sized” and deep fried was remarkable.

Despite gathering enough pearls for what you might think would make a handsome necklace, the gems probably wouldn’t make for a wearable souvenir.

Jeweller Chuck Gossage told The Tennessean that pearls in edible oysters aren’t gem grade, and it’s impossible to alter their natural surface, which means they remain dull and without lustre. He added that small pearls are often too difficult to drill for stringing.