For many, oysters are associated with luxury. With a new recipe book, researcher Ellen Schagerström hopes to change that image.
"I want oysters to be something the whole family eats for dinner on a Tuesday evening."
Ellen Schagerström had been thinking about a recipe book featuring oysters for a long time. But it was only when she teamed up with oyster researcher Åsa Strand and sustainability consultant Hans Liljeblad that it became a reality. With recipes such as oyster pie, diving pizza, and oyster burger, the authors of the book Ostron för alla (Oysters for Everyone) hope to make oysters accessible to more people.
"When the Beyond Raw project investigated what made many people choose not to eat oysters, two things stood out: the texture and the fact that they are eaten raw. That's why we've focused on cooked oysters. When oysters are cooked or steamed, they take on a completely different texture. When we tested our recipes with a taste panel, many people were surprised; neither the texture nor the taste was what they expected," says Ellen Schagerström.
From problem to resource
The recipes in the book are based on the Pacific oyster, an invasive species that has caused problems for both swimmers and landowners. As a marine biologist and diver, Ellen Schagerström has seen how the Pacific oyster has spread along the west coast. The first reports came in twenty years ago, and now they are found in large numbers along the entire coast. She believes it is time to stop seeing Pacific oysters as a problem and start seeing them as a resource.
"Oysters are an incredible raw material that is rich in protein, healthy, tasty, and climate-smart. They also benefit the environment by removing eutrophic substances such as nitrogen and phosphorus from the water. It would be foolish not to take advantage of such a resource," she says.
In addition to 52 recipes from around the world, the book also contains facts about oysters in general. This includes how to harvest oysters, several different ways to open them, and what you can use the shells for.
Hoping for changes to the law
By writing a recipe book about Pacific oysters, the authors hope to push for changes to the rules that would make it easier for private individuals to harvest oysters. Under current Swedish legislation, it is not permitted to harvest oysters without the landowner's permission. This is based on an old law that was intended to protect the oyster industry along the west coast. But now that the availability of Pacific oysters has increased, Ellen Schagerström sees an opportunity to change that.
"I would like to see a change in the law that allows people to harvest Pacific oysters. I would also like to see Swedish, cooked oysters available to buy in stores in the near future. That would be great!"
Text: Karl-Johan Nylén
