Fish tongues, a Norwegian delicacy harvested by children

FRIED IN BUTTER with a light flour batter and some dried herbs, cod tongue is a delicacy in Norway and beyond. Around 80 tonnes are harvested every year from fish caught in Norway’s northern waters. Softer in texture than the flesh of the fish, cod tongue dissolves in the mouth with a hint of saltiness. It is the “angels’ share” of the fish, says Jan-Erik Indrestrand of Fiskarlaget, the Norwegian fishermen’s association.Liv Eva Kirkesæther, a 35-year-old who works for a marine research institute, says that when she was a girl, men and boys dominated the cod-tongue-cutting trade on Lofoten, a Norwegian archipelago. This year, she was happy to see a grandmother and granddaughter selling tongues from a car boot.