Did you know that Hvaler was famous for its prawns? Many argue they indeed are the best in Norway. The prawns are cooked on board the boats before they return to shore, in big pans of seawater to which salt has been added – this is what gives them their distinctive taste.
You can drive to Utgårdskilen and buy them straight from the fishermen when they return from their day at sea. At Utgårdskilen you’ll find Fjordfisk’s wharehouse and shop, which receive the largest delivery of fish and shellfish in Eastern Norway. 400 tons of the prawns brought in every year are sold ready-to-eat as fresh Hvaler prawns, while a further 600 tons are delivered to the industry for processing (freezing mainly).
Fishing has always been a mainstay of Hvaler’s economy, be it cod, herring, makrell, lobster or oyster. Around 1900 the first attempts to fish prawns with trawlers were carried out in the Oslofjord, and by 1914 all the fishermen in Utgårdskilen on Hvaler used this method. Business was good, and Hvaler prawns were even exported, tinned, to Germany.
The day started early for prawn fishermen, typically 1am or 2am, and it was not unusual for them to be out at sea until 5pm-6pm. The price of prawns varied from place to place, and year to year, but in 1934 the average price per kilo was 62 øre! Today fishermen on Hvaler still work long hours (particularly when the catch is good!), but the price of fresh prawns has gone up somehow – around 150Kr per kilo. Frozen prawns are much cheaper (no doubt because they are easier to handle), and sell for as little as 30Kr a kilo when on special offer – although 60-70Kr is more common.
Try fresh Hvaler prawns in one of Skjærhalden’s restaurants (Første Reis on the harbour serves them with aioli and its own special shellfish sauce), or eat them au naturel, like most Norwegians do, on white bread and butter, with just a dash of lemon juice. Great for a summer dinner with friends, or why not, a posh picnic by the sea – perfect with a glass of chilled pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc.