Herring
Last week, a couple of my housemates spent a few days in Amsterdam. Having never been to Holland myself I was intrigued to know what the culinary contribution to Europe of the Dutch has been. To my surprise I discovered herring.
Herring is the name given to a large family of saltwater fish with silvery sides and blue backs that are found in the cold waters of the North Atlantic, Pacific and North Sea. Herring generally grow to twelve inches long and weigh between 1/4 and 1 pound (the American Shad is the exception weighing three to five pounds). This takes three to four years in the North Sea. Young herrings are frequently labelled and sold as sardines.
Fresh herring is available in the spring. When fresh, herring has a fine, soft texture suited to baking, sautéing and grilling. The flesh becomes firm when cured, either by pickling, salting, smoking, or a combination.
There are many ways of curing herring. Herring which is cured, with the skin on in vinegar, sugar, salt and onions, is known as Bismarck herring (named after the German Chancellor). Rollmops are Bismarck herrings that have been wrapped around a piece of pickle or onion and preserved in vinegar and spices.
Pickled herring are marinated in vinegar and spices, then bottled in a sour-cream or wine sauce. Alternatively, the term pickled herring can refer to herring which has been dry salted and cured in brine.
Herrings which are split, cured by salting, drying, and cold smoking are known as Kippered herring (or Kippers - famous for their place on the British breakfast table). Bloaters (so called because they appear swollen) are larger than kippers, prepared in a similar way, but receive a slightly lighter salting and shorter smoking, hence they are milder in flavour.
Matjes herring are skinned and filleted before being cured in a spiced, sugar and vinegar brine. They are a delicate, young fish, at one time only considered as servant's food. Schmaltz herring, less salty than Matjes herring, are mature herring with a higher fat content which are filleted and preserved in brine.
Herring was eaten in Scandinavia as early as 3000 B.C., but it was the Scottish that opened the first factory to process the fish in the seventh century with the Dutch as their first customers.
In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, enormous fleets of Dutch "buses" (fishing boats capable of processing the herring on-board) would congregate around Shetland Isles, catching, salting, and barrelling herring. It has been estimated that the industry was worth $4.5 million a year to the Dutch, and resulted in the Dutch becoming a seafaring power.
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