The Herring Maven

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JULY 13, 2006

The Herring Maven

During his visit to Germany, some German fisherman gave George W. Bush a barrel of herring as a present:

Greeting Merkel and city residents, Bush is full of charm. He says "good morning," mentions the gorgeous weather and thanks a local fisherman for the present he gave the president: a barrel of Bismarck herring.

Normally, I don't associate W. with Woody Allen, whose comedy Love and Death involves a herring merchant:

As if it wasn't bad luck enough, the second blow of fate is struck when the secret love of his heart and a frequent opponent in philosophical disputes, his beautiful cousin Sonja (Diane Keaton) decides to marry a foul smelling herring merchant Leonid Voscovec ("When something hurts herring, it hurts me") right before Boris' departure to the war.

However, I made an immediate association, notwithstanding the fact that even Mel Brooks's Yiddish-speaking Indian chief did not ride the range with herring in his saddlebags.

The connection to Israel's troubles in the Middle East is, presumably, coincidental.

The now closed Swedish restaurant Gustaf Anders, in Costa Mesa, Califonria, used to serve four kinds of herring. Tasty, if you like that sort of thing. And the herring was not only an important food fish, second only to cod, but was the subject of many jokes:

You've heard, perhaps, the one about the Jew who asks his friend a riddle: "What is green, hangs on the wall and whistles?"

The answer, as it turns out, is a herring. "But a herring isn't green," protests his friend.

"Nu, paint it green."

"But a herring doesn't hang on a wall."

"So, hang it on a wall."

"But a herring doesn't whistle!"

"I know," says the man. "I just put that in to make it hard."

Or the one about the herring that complains to a restaurant customer, "What's the matter, you don't eat no more at Ratner's?" Or Woody Allen's parody of chasidic tales, which turns on the question of whether a man's daughter most closely resembles a matjes or a Bismarck herring. Or any one of countless others — the point being that the herring, like the surly waiter or the arrogant beggar, has become, oddly enough, one of the defining motifs of Jewish humor.

If you are abundant, fatty, and easy to preserve, you have a place in history.

Back from Herring Land!!!

Back from a four day adventure in the Netherlands, centered around Amsterdam. Historical and cultural attractions aside, one of the true highlights of the visit was getting in Dutch herring. The Dutch have a really fantastic way of preparing their herring called "sousing". This is unlike anything I've experienced in all the years of herring eating and taste sampling back in the U.S. and here in Israel. For those who are not familiar with sousing, here is how  Wikipedia defines sousing:

"The term soused herring usually means 'soaked in a mild preserving liquid', and can be used to refer to raw herring in a mild vinegar pickle or the famous Dutch brined herring. As well as vinegar, the marinade might contain cider, wine or tea, sugar, herbs (usually bay leaf), spices (usually mace), chopped onion....

The soused herring (maatjesharing or just maatjes in Dutch, or matjes in German and Swedish) is an especially mild salt herring, which is made from young immature herrings. The herrings are ripened for a couple of days in oak barrels in a salty solution, or brine. The pancreatic enzymes which support the ripening make this version of salt herring especially mild and soft....

This process of preparing herring (known as "gibbing") was developed in the Middle Ages by the Dutch. Herrings are caught between the end of May and the beginning of July in the North Sea near Denmark or Norway, before the breeding season starts. This is because herrings at this time are unusually rich in oils (over 15%) and their roeand milt have not started to develop.

The brine used for Dutch soused herring has a much lower salt content and is much milder in taste than the German Loggermatjes. To protect against infection bynematodes of the genus Anisakis, Dutch regulations mandate freezing to at least minus 45°C before salting. In the modern day, soused herrings can therefore be produced throughout the year."

They are correct--- the herring has an incredibly mild taste and buttery texture. Every time we ordered one on the street, we ended up going for seconds!! Absolutely great!! 

 We're heading to Amsterdam to Conduct Some On-Site Herring Research


Check this out from: Dutch Amsterdam.nl: 

Amsterdam delicacy: Herring

Tourist guides tend to describe traditional Dutch food as ‘boring’ and ‘uninspired.’ That’s an understandable mistake, given the fact that most meals consist of vegetables, potatoes, and meat.

In fact, no food better represents traditional Dutch cuisine than stamppot– potatoes mashed with vegetables and served with Dutch smoked sausage. Stamppot is a reflection of traditional Dutch values: soberness, hard labor, and moderation — values rooted in Calvanism, and still very much in evidence outside Holland’s big cities.

That said, in many gourmet restaurants the dish has been elevated to the status of haute cuisine. Small wonder: it’s good food, at a good price.

Herring

Without a doubt, the Dutch food most frowned upon by tourists, expats, and immigrants, is herring — a popular, and healthy, snack. (Among other things, herring lowers your bad cholesterol).

Traditionally, the fish (minus its head) is eaten by grabbing it by the tail, throwing one’s head back, and — while gently lowering the fish — biting off tasty morsels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciy9Z2CXrTQ

This pose has caused many tourists to assume that the fish is eaten raw. However, herring is gutted on board of the fishing vessel. Then it is salted, and next it is frozen for a minimum of two days. This process affects the fish’s taste and tenderness.

You’ll note that in most cities herring is not eaten the traditional way. Rather, many people prefer to have the herring served cut in bite-sized piece on a piece of silver-backed paper, along with finely diced onions and some sliced pickles. A toothpick serves as a utensil.

By the way, herring may taste saltier the further you travel east in the Netherlands. This hails back to the time when supplies of herring took longer to travel from the harbors to the customers. Salted and frozen for a longer time, the herring came out tasting differently — and through the years customers have gotten used to their local flavors.

And the taste? Hard to describe. Suffice it to say that for most people herring is love at first bite.

Hollandse Nieuwe: ‘New Dutch Herring’

Herring fishing occurs year-round, but the fat content (and thus the taste) of the fish varies with the season.

Herring carts are a familiar site throughout Amsterdam — and the rest of Holland
© Copyright DutchAmsterdam.nl. Want to use this photo?

The best herring is called Hollandse nieuwe (Holland new). This is herring that has been caught between the middle of May and the end of June. Before that the herring is too thin, and after it is too fat.

By law, Hollandse Nieuwe must have at least 16% fat. There are a number of other requirements — including the fact that the herring must have been frozen for at least 2 days in order to kill possible parasites.

On the last Saturday in May, herring boats sail out from the harbors of Scheveningen and IJmuiden to start the hunt for the year’s new herring catch. The first vessel to return with the much-praised Hollandse Nieuwe wins this prestigious contest. The first barrel of new herring is auctioned, usually fetching a handsome price.
- Source: Dutch Delight: Typically Dutch Food

This year (2008) no herring may be sold as Hollandse Nieuwe before June 3rd. Any fishmonger (or anyone else, for that matter) who does so anyway will be fined €10.800.

Herring is a treat any time, but Hollandse Nieuwe is herring at its tastiest.

That said, ask herring lovers were to find the best suppliers. Several newspapers — the Dutch Algemeen Dagblad (AD) in particular — publish yearly taste tests, and not all herring carts (or shops) are as impressive as the top ones.

 Original content © Copyright DutchAmsterdam.nl

Herring in the Cinema


from Woody Allen's 'Love and Death' (1975): the final words of herring fish merchant Leon Voskovec




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1y19eRV4L0

Some More Herring Poetry

from SamuelTaylor Coleridge (1772-1834)

“How like herrings and onions our vices are in the morning after we have committed them.”

Mickey Katz Knows Herring

Mickey Katz (June 15, 1909 - April 30, 1985) was an American Jewish comedian who received his first moments of fame in the 1940s as a member of Spike Jones and His City Slickers. He later went on to perform his own parodic musical revue and recorded highly popular “ethnic” comedy albums on the Capitol record label, where he would perform English-Yiddish parody songs.

Growing up in the 60s, our family listened to Mickey constantly and one of our all-time favorite songs was "Herring Boats". Check it out................

In Praise of the Silver Darlings

SHELVES OF HERRING

by Frederick Schroer of Portland Oregon

It was a fine and a pleasant day,
In a Safeway store I was faring,
And I walked for miles up and down the aisles,
As I hunted for the shelves of herring.

O the carts were few and the lines were long,
And the people, sure they took some bearing.
There was little kindness and the kids were many,
As I hunted for the shelves of herring.

O I took my catch to a ten-item line,
And at me the clerk she sure was swearing;
For I'd a hundred cans of the silver darlings
That I'd taken from the shelves of herring!

Now for six long months I've been eating fish,
And my house it sure could use an airing!
And now I know, never again I'll go
To hunt for the shelves of herring!