Ingredient: Herrings, sprats, sardines and whitebait
Category: Fish
Season: All
Herrings are small, oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Atlantic, the Baltic Sea, the North Pacific, and the Mediterranean.
They are silvery coloured fish that have a single dorsal fin. Unlike most other fish, they have soft dorsal fins that lack spines
There are 15 species of herring, the most abundant of which is the Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus).
Herrings move in vast schools, coming in spring to the shores of Europe and America, where they are caught, salted and smoked in great quantities.
Canned "sardines" (or pilchards) seen in supermarkets may actually be sprats or round herrings.
Cuisine
Herring has been a known staple food source since 3000 B.C.
There are numerous ways the fish is served and many regional recipes: eaten raw, fermented, pickled, or cured by other techniques. The fish was sometimes known as "two-eyed steak".
Nutrition
Herring are very high in healthy long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA.They are a source of vitamin D. They are also very low in the toxins PCBs, dioxins, and mercury.
Baltic herring slightly exceeds recommended limits with respect to dioxin Nevertheless, the health benefits from the fatty acids are more important than the theoretical risk from dioxin
Pickled herring
Pickled herring is a delicacy, popular in Europe and has become a basic part of Jewish cuisine.
Most cured herring uses a two-step curing process.
Initially, herring is cured with salt to extract water.
The second stage involves removing the salt and adding flavourings, typically a vinegar, salt, sugar solution to which ingredients like peppercorn, bay leaves and raw onions are added.
In Scandinavia, once the pickling process is finished and depending on which of the dozens of classic herring flavourings are selected, it is usually enjoyed with dark rye bread, crisp bread, or potatoes. This dish is a must at Christmas and Midsummer, where it is enjoyed with akvavit.
In Iceland, a blald is a young pickled herring given to a child as a special holiday treat.
The Dutch, in the Middle Ages, developed a special treat known in English as soused herring.
Pickled herring is also common in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, perhaps best known for forshmak salad known in English simply as "chopped herring"
In Japan, pickled herring can also be found in the cuisine of Hokkaidō, where families traditionally preserved large quantities for winter.
Rollmops:
A rollmops is a pickled herring fillet rolled into a cylindrical shape around a piece of pickled cucumber or an onion.
The rollmops is held together with one or two small wooden skewers.
Rollmops are usually bought ready-to-eat, in jars or tubs.
The marinade additionally contains water, white vinegar, salt, a bit of sugar or other sweetening agent, onion rings, peppercorns and mustard seeds. Rollmops can be eaten cold, without unrolling, or on bread.
After the jar has been opened, rollmops will usually keep for 2-3 weeks if kept cool.
Origin
The name 'rollmops' is German in origin, originating from the words rollen (to roll) and Mops (German name of pug dogs / "blockhead"), although Mops is also akin to Dutch moppen (to make a sour face), which is also present in English dictionaries as "mops and mows". In English usage, the word is sometimes treated as both singular and plural, but at other times as the plural of the singular "rollmop"
Distribution
Rollmops are found in Scottish, Dutch, German, Scandinavian, Czech, Slovak, Polish and South African cuisine, among others.
Rollmops are one of those foods that you either love or hate.
Herring, sprats, sardines and whitebait, all belong to the same family, the size is the only difference:
Herring are the largest;
Sprats and sardines in the middle; and
Whitebait are tiny little fish that are eaten whole.
They all have a similar texture and flavour.
Why people would die to get hold of fresh sardines, then ignore herring will always be a mystery to me, as herrings are the same as sardines but with lots more succulent flesh on them.
This group of fish all have a wonderful gutsy flavour and are delicious shallow- or deep-fried, grilled or barbecued.
Herring is also very good baked in the oven.
This group of fish do contain a certain amount of precious substances called omega-3 fatty acids, which are said to help reduce heart disease – so much so that it is recommended that everyone eats some of this type of fish once a week. |