Herring Pickled, Kippered, Canned, Dried etc.


Whole Salt Pickled Herring

[Family Clupea, various genera and species]

Herring is a small oily fish that preserves well in various ways, and all these ways are exploited. The photo shows a whole Atlantic Herring, salt pickled in brine. When Central and Northern European recipes call for whole herring, this is what they mean. They will usually ask you to soak it overnight before use to reduce the salt. See also Canned Sardines, smaller members of the Herring Family.

More on the Herring Family.


Pickled Herring Fillets


Pickled Herring Fillets This photo is of a pair of pickled herring fillets from Lithuania, a significant producer of this sort of seafood treats since the fall of the Soviet Union. These were about 6-1/2 inches long and weighed about 2-1/4 ounces each. Pickling is a very popular method of preparing herring, because the acid in the pickle softens the thread-like spines that are shot all through the flesh to the point they are undetectable.

Many recipes can be found for making your own pickled herring, nearly all starting with the brine pickled Atlantic herring as pictured at the top of the page, then adding flavors and vinegar.

Kippered Herring


Can of Kippered Herring Fillets Technically, kippered herring are herring that have been split open, salted and smoked. They are made during the spawning season when the fish don't taste very good without this treatment. Most Americans have never seen a real kippered herring but are familiar with the version that comes in a can, generally called "kipper snacks". Kippers are a breakfast staple in the British Isles and Scandianavia.

Salt Dried Herrings


Small Salt Dried Herrings These salted and dried Tunsoy herring are much in evidence in Philippine markets here in Los Angeles, along with a number of other small fish similarly treated. For details see our Daing / Tuyo page.

Canned Sardines


Canned Sardines Sardines are Herrings too, just smaller ones. They are sold dried, covered on our Daing / Tuyo page, and are very popular worldwide when canned. For details see our Canned Sardines page.

Surströmming


Can of Surstromming Surströmming is reputed to be the most putrid stinking substance consumed by mankind - note that the can in the photo was opened outdoors, which is where it's most often eaten. A seasonal delicacy in northern Sweden, it's only competitor for stinkiness is said to be Japanese Kusaya. Both are produced by fermenting fish in insufficient salt to properly preserve them. This, in both cases, appears to stem from ancient times when salt was very expensive.

Baltic herring are first fermented in tubs for one or two months, then put up in cans - but the fermentation continues in the can, causing the cans to swell noticeably. Surströmming is normally eaten on bread along with potatoes and chopped red onions.

Surströmming can be mail ordered from Sweden, but I have not yet opened my can (12-2019), so I defer my opinion to a person with direct experience - see Details and Cooking.   Photo by Lapplaender distributed under license Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Germany.

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