What is disgusting to the Russian is to the Sicilian (or Swede) ..... mm ... delicious. Are you going to eat? I do not advise yet, I propose to look at a selection of "rotten delicacies" from around the world, after which I think your appetite will disappear for a long time.
So let's go:
Swedish gourmet food - surströmming. This is canned fermented herring, which “roams” (turns sour) in barrels for several months, and simply put, it practically goes out. The fish has a sharp unpleasant odor and a strongly salty taste. Such a dish is served with boiled potatoes or simply on bread, and true connoisseurs consume it straight from the can with fresh milk.
Residents of the far north are especially fond of smelly dishes, for example, our Russian Chukchi consider them a real meal rotten deer meat. The killed individual is specially kept for several weeks in the barn until it acquires a specific smell, and then stew is cooked from it. The smell while cooking such a soup is heard for several tens of meters.
Here's another one for you yummy from the northern peoples - kiwiak. They cut off the head of a dead seal, cut out all the meat inside except for subcutaneous fat and entrails, then stuff it with dead, not plucked auks (such birds). Then the whole thing is sewn up and buried in frozen ground for six months or a year. During this time, all the flesh of auks and seals rot together, being saturated with vitamins, which are essential for those living in the far north. It tastes like a very smelly rotten cheese, say those who dared to try this delicacy.
The real shock can be Italian casu marza- This is a specially rotten sheep's cheese with cheese fly larvae. How much is not the type of cheese itself, but its eating. Unlike other varieties of cheese, Kasu Marzu is eaten directly with live larvae. Disturbed insects (reaching up to 8 mm in length) are able to jump to a height of up to 15 cm, so it is advised to keep your eyes closed while eating Kasu Marz.
The main dish of the Icelanders for the new year is hakarl. For the dish, the carcass of a Greenland shark is taken, buried for a month and a half in the ground, and then hangs in a barn for another 4-6 months. During this time, the poison and toxins in the meat go away, and the stench and taste of rotten fish that the Icelanders eat with pleasure comes to replace. This tradition comes from the Vikings. By the way, the production of khakarl is put on a grand scale, in local stores, this national "delicacy" is sold in much the same way as we have a beer snack.
centennial egg. Think allegory? But no. This is a traditional Chinese dish. An unpeeled chicken egg is placed in a mixture with a strong alkaline reaction - lime, salt, clay. Then the egg is taken out, the protein turns into something rubber, and the yolk into a cream. Moreover, the egg darkens greatly, acquiring a unique rotten aroma. The alkalinity of the delicacy reaches the level of soap. True, it is prepared only a few months a year.
Finally. In some African tribes, crocodile meat is considered a special dish, but not fresh, but aged for a couple of weeks. The crocodile is killed from the beginning, then an incision is made from head to tail, the insides are cleaned out and half buried in the sand. A few weeks later, when the meat reaches the desired condition, it is taken out and eaten by arranging a holiday. Remarkably, this delicacy is eaten strictly according to the seniority in the tribe, from the beginning the leaders and shamans, then everyone else. This dish is called - akiaurus, which means "sacred meat"
But as they say, everything in this world is relative, for example, for Americans, our crayfish for beer or roach with a smell, which we eat with pleasure, are also considered strange and not edible. So, here the proverb is more applicable than ever - "the taste and color, there are no comrades."
Someone once didn't add enough salt to a barrel of herring. The result made itself felt by an unpleasant odor that spread far from the barrel. The fish is rotten
Previously, this fish would have been thrown out without hesitation. But during the war and famine, the herring was eaten anyway. And many (maybe because of hunger) appreciated it, since it was not rotten, but most likely sour. The news quickly spread across northern Sweden and fermentation of herring became a very popular method of salting. Since then, the Swedes have been proud of their special culinary heritage.
This dish is still a purely Swedish phenomenon. Few of us have ever tried it, so for those who visit this country for the first time, you need to prepare to experience a shock. And twice. The first is when the jar is opened and the smell comes out (the ignorant immediately think that this jar will go to the trash). The second is when the locals start eating IT with great pleasure!!! It's such a strong smell that when a can was opened at customs in New York in the 1930s, they thought they had been gassed.
One cannot be indifferent to surströmming - they either adore it or cannot stand it. Even in Sweden, some are demanding a ban on its use in apartment buildings. Of course, the Swedes tried to get rid of such a strong smell, but such results were not commercially successful. According to connoisseurs, scentless surströmming is not surströmming.
How is surströmming prepared?
For surströmming, herring (Baltic herring) is caught in April, before the females spawn. The head and entrails are removed. Only caviar and appendix are left, as they give a special taste and make the fish softer. Herring is placed in barrels with brine for several days to get rid of the remnants of blood and fat. Then it is transferred to other barrels, where it will spend another 2 months. And already in July it is rolled up in jars and put in the refrigerator. Each manufacturer has its own secret recipe. 
How is it eaten? (Are you drooling yet?) True connoisseurs use it directly from the can, but it is important to remember that the fish continues to sour even inside the container. So expect a surprise if you open it as usual. It is better to do this on the street and lowering the jar into the water. After the jar is opened, it is advisable to rinse the surströmming with running water. There are also special “gourmets” who eat surströmming with lingonberries and washed down with milk! But more often it is served on bread with butter, sprinkled with finely chopped onions, potatoes and tomatoes. And to make it easier to go down with cold beer or schnapps. And even those who initially did not appreciate this dish, having tasted it in this way, became fans of surströmming.
An overview of the Swedish national dish - pickled herring surströmming and information on the topic. Materials from Swedish sources.
- audio file #1
This image was recently posted on the swedish blog lissej.
This image was recently posted to the Swedish blog lissej.blogg.se.
With the following caption: “The image of this lady (tasting herring surströmming) is placed here to illustrate my hatred of pickled herring…
This morning on the stairwell we could smell the smell of herring, which was impossible to bear. Therefore, instead of slowly going down the stairs as usual, today I had to run along it.
It should be forbidden to eat pickled Baltic herring if you live in apartment buildings.”
At the beginning of the review, material from the program of Russian broadcasting "Radio Sweden" dated 05/11/2007 about pickled herring (herring - a type of herring) surströmming .. An audio fragment of the broadcast from Stockholm is available in file in the upper left corner of this page.
Pickled herring first freshness
“The listener asks to send the name of the Swedish national dish - herring not the first freshness. But this is somewhat misinformation. Herring is just the first freshness, it is called surströmming. It’s just that her salting is special, and what Sergey Karlov (Russian broadcasting of Radio Sweden) tells about these features:
“This Swedish delicacy has already won the title of the most disgusting food in the world in prestigious international competitions. If you overcome your aversion to the smell that accompanies the opening of a tin can with this dish, you can feel its most delicate taste.
The Swedish people are divided into two camps - admirers and haters of this dish., because it is impossible to treat sour herring with a smell of indifference. With a stink is, of course, putting it mildly.
This dish itself is an example of the ancient way of preserving fish that has survived to our time..
Once, half a thousand years ago, on one northern Swedish island in the Gulf of Bothnia called Volchiy, there was not enough salt to salt the fish. Salt was then very expensive, and, naturally, people tried to get by with a minimum - they were greedy. The fish in the tub fermented, but one brave man, apparently due to severe hunger, did not throw away the spoiled herring, but ate it. And yet he survived.
So, it is quite possible that the Swedish tradition began, the analogues of which cannot be found among other peoples. True, there is something similar in the northern countries: Norwegian sour trout, Greenland sour auks - such birds, the Icelandic method of fermenting shark meat. But only in Sweden, eating pickled herring has become a strong tradition, even a holiday. Of course for those who love this activity. This year's herring is most often eaten, but not fast lovers keep jars for a year or two. From this, the taste and smell becomes even stronger.
The Academy of Pickled Baltic Herring, or surströmming, as this dish is called in Swedish, was organized. We will return to surströmming in August, when the season for eating sauerkraut is coming ... "
(Russian broadcast "Radio Sweden" from May 11, 2007. Audio fragment of the broadcast from Stockholm is available in file at the top left of this page).
About surströmming
Herring is caught in April, before spawning.. The head and entrails are removed, but the roe is left for the taste. The appendix is also left, because it contains enzymes essential for softening.
Herring is placed in barrels of caustic brine (salt solution) for several days to remove blood and fat.. Then the fish is transferred to barrels with less concentrated brine, where it softens and sours for about another two months.
In July, it is closed in jars and put in a cold place. For a long time, a royal decree was in effect in Sweden, according to which the first surströmming of the year could not be put on the shelves until the third Thursday of August.
In 1998, the decree was repealed and surströmming can now be traded all year round. However, at the request of the public, for lovers of surströmming, the third Thursday of August is still one of the biggest holidays of the year.
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Peculiarities
Swedish sauerkraut
« Surströmming is made from small Baltic herring. It is caught in the spring and then fermented in a sugar-salt brine, according to old recipes.
About a month before the tasting, the herring is rolled into tin cans, but the fermentation process continues there too, so that over time the can takes on a somewhat rounded shape. The producers of this delicacy, according to tradition, are concentrated on the northern coast of Sweden in the province of Norrland.
Since the internal pressure in the jar increases significantly during the maturation of the herring, it is supposed to open it under water, and rinse the fish before serving. The jar should be opened outdoors, and the contents served at the table at home, as the peculiar smell of pickled herring attracts flies.
Surströmming has a very sharp intense "smell". True enthusiasts like this smell, while beginners sniff suspiciously. However, the taste of this dish is not at all adequate to its smell. According to all the rules, cooked herring has a delicate spicy and salty taste and requires certain gastronomic additives.
The traditional sauerkraut dish is a kind of sandwich.
A layer of butter is spread on thin bread - soft or dried, and Baltic herring fillets are placed on top, arranged with circles of almond-shaped potatoes and finely chopped onions.
It is then rolled up and eaten with the hands. A slightly sweet taste of potatoes and onions perfectly balances the intense taste of herring. In the province of Norrland, instead of butter, they prefer to spread soft cheese made from goat's milk whey (getmessmör) on bread.
The pickled herring season premieres at the end of August, when the produce of the spring catch goes on sale. However, true connoisseurs prefer last year's catch. By this time, the fish has time to acquire its unique, “ripe” taste.
(From the information of the Swedish state institution for the dissemination of knowledge about Sweden "The Swedish Institute").
Salaka, and also her friend - eel
Here is an illustration from the archive: The Gulf of Bothnia in the Swedish province of Ongermanland, or the so-called. High coast.
Festive Traditions in Sweden” commented on a similar photograph of these places: “Here the mountain ranges approach the very Gulf of Bothnia.
This is one of the main places in the Kingdom, where they now prepare "smelling herring".
“Smelling herring” now comes mainly from the province of Ongermanland, from the High Coast, where the mountain ranges approach the Gulf of Bothnia itself.
At the end of August and the beginning of September, two holidays are celebrated, the occasion for which was two different specific Swedish dishes, and they are celebrated at different geographical latitudes.
If crayfish (. Note. site) are eaten everywhere, then sour herring "with a smell" is a dish typical of northern Sweden, just like feasts with eel - for the south.
Pickled herring is an example of an ancient way of preserving fish that has survived to this day.
Salt was then expensive, so unlike salting, typical of the North Sea regions, salt was used here just enough so that the herring would not go bad, but only ferment. This extended its shelf life.
Currently, herring is packaged in cans, where the fermentation process continues, so that after a year the cans swell and become almost round.
On one of the August days, the tasting of the last salting is solemnly celebrated and the lids of the jars are opened, which is accompanied by a specific and rather burdensome smell for the inexperienced sense of smell.
On ill. from the archive: Pickled herring surströmming and accompanying food.
The aforementioned edition of the "Swedish Institute" "Maypole, crayfish and Lucia. Festive Traditions in Sweden” writes about how this dish is served and eaten:
"Sour herring is served with onions and potatoes, slushy bread and butter and, of course, various drinks - from milk to vodka - depending on traditions, habits and tastes."
An unusually tasty potato of the northern variety, which is distinguished by its almond shape and yellowish color, is served with the herring.
All this is washed down with beer and vodka (although true connoisseurs prefer milk in this case) or wrapped in thin layers of unleavened barley flour traditional for northern Sweden.
The production of pickled Baltic herring is concentrated on several islands in the Gulf of Bothnia and is a good example of how a product that was originally the food of the poor and helped to survive in harsh natural conditions became a delicacy around which a kind of ritual has developed.
The autumn season, when the moon is waning and the nights are getting darker, is called “eel darkness” in the south of Sweden, because at this time the eel, heading towards the Sargasso Sea, easily falls into fishing nets. Then the season of festive feasts opens, during which only eel is served, but cooked, maybe 10-12 different ways: fried, boiled, smoked or grilled, and stuffed with various fillings.
If pickled herring is a shock to the sense of smell, then fatty eel is a shock to digestion, stimulated by one or two drinks. In restaurants, the climax of the evening very often is the election of the "king of eels." This honorary title is awarded to the one who manages to catch the largest number of live eels from the barrel with his hands.
(From the book of the Swedish state institution for the dissemination of knowledge about Sweden "Swedish Institute" "Maypole, crayfish and Lucia. Festive traditions of Sweden", English, Russian and a number of other languages, Stockholm. 1997 Author Jan-Eyvind Svan) .
Additionally:
Baltic herring is the national fish in Estonia too
From the American newspaper "The Wall Street Journal" (June 2007):
“After emotional disputes, internet polls, allegations of fraud and parliamentary debate, Estonia, which is half the size of Maine, a few months ago proclaimed a small oily fish as a national symbol.
“Food has a political dimension,” explains Ruve Schank, an official at the Estonian Ministry of Agriculture, recalling how, in Soviet times, recipes, as well as their names, had to be approved in Moscow. - For me the proclamation of Baltic herring as the national fish is of great importance».
However, the choice of herring raises a number of questions. For starters, not many Estonians eat this fish. The Baltic Sea is one of the most polluted in the world, which is why the herring catch has decreased in recent years. It happens that herring contains a large amount of dioxins, often exceeding the level allowed by the European Union, which Estonia joined in 2004. The Estonian fishing fleet has almost tripled in ten years.
Moreover, of the 40,000 tons of herring caught last year, most of it was exported. Prices for Baltic herring - about $1.6 a pound in local shops - are now largely determined by the international market, making the fish expensive for many Estonians.
Some believe that pike would have been a better choice...But the jury rejected pike on the grounds that herring, being a traditional dish in the Estonian diet, has played a more important role in the life of the people throughout its history.
“It was the right choice,” says Valdur Noormagi, head of the Estonian Fisheries Union, the organization behind the idea of choosing a national fish.
“According to scientists, Baltic herring has been living off our coast for 5,000 years,” says Noormägi.
The designation of Baltic herring as the national fish is part of a broader government campaign called "Fish Do Good" calling on Estonians to improve their diet by including more fish. A few weeks ago, the government launched a publicity campaign with posters showing a bikini-clad girl with a fish in her mouth emerging from the sea, showing how fish can improve your physique.
In addition, the government wants to promote . But first, I had to figure out who she was.
For years, a population of 1.4 million and mainly employed in agriculture made do with pork, sauerkraut, black pudding and fried potatoes, a menu heavily influenced by neighboring Germany and Russia.
During the Soviet era, the authorities banned Estonian recipes as nationalistic. In the 1955 Estonian cookbook approved in Moscow, only 18 pages are devoted to Estonian cuisine - at the very end of the 416-page volume.
As a result, many Estonian recipes—for example, the popular holiday dish rosolie, which consists of beetroot, potato salad, and herring—fell out of favor during the Cold War and survived primarily among Estonian emigrants. After gaining independence in 1991, Estonians pounced on imported foods such as German yogurt and American ice cream.
“Our food was practically lost,” says Karin Annus Karner, who heads the Estonian School in New York and recently wrote an Estonian cookbook. Estonian-American Toomas Sorra, a Brooklyn-based gastroenterologist who has been a frequent visitor to Estonia in recent years, says he only had herring once, at a dinner at the Estonian consulate in New York. He notes that his relatives in Estonia love to catch eels.
Now the government has decided to develop its own cuisine, the leading place in which is given to herring. Recently, a project for a fish monument was discussed in the Estonian parliament. Eminent figures expressed their opinion.
Dmitry Demyanov, a well-known Estonian chef and founder of the Culinary Institute in Tallinn, has appeared on television more than once and talked about the peculiarities of herring. The herring eaten in other countries, such as Finland, Sweden and Holland, is larger and "tougher" than its Estonian variety. “No one else has a fish like this,” he says. “Ours is smaller and more tender.”
Symbols such as the national fish are especially important in countries like Estonia, which previously enjoyed only 22 years of independence before World War II, Demyanov said. “It shows the world that we are an independent country,” he says.
Salaka has become a national symbol of Estonia, along with the cornflower and the swallow, chosen during the Cold War as a modest expression of national identity in the face of Soviet hegemony.
However, some argue that the government's time and money could be put to better use. The fish promotion campaign, including advertising and booklet costs, cost more than $600,000. Some of these funds were received from the EU.
“I love Estonian food, but don't waste your money on this crap,” says Leopold Garder, head of a transport company in Tallinn. “We have a national flag, a song and a flower – that’s enough.”
A disgruntled local newspaper editor quipped in an editorial that the national fish was the former secretary of agriculture who came up with the idea for the campaign.
This review was prepared by the site on the basis of the following materials: the broadcast of the Russian broadcasting "Radio Sweden" dated 05/11/2007 about surströmming herring; books of the Swedish public institution for the dissemination of knowledge about Sweden "Swedish Institute" "Maypole, crayfish and Lucia. Festive Traditions of Sweden”, English, Russian. and a number of other languages, Stockholm. 1997 by Jan-Eyvind Swan; information from the Swedish public institution for the dissemination of knowledge about Sweden "Swedish Institute"; as well as notes from the American newspaper "The Wall Street Journal" (June 2007);
What they don’t eat in different countries: insects, offal, rotten meat. In Sweden, such delicacies include the well-known pickled herring (surströmming). Not everyone eats it, but every year it becomes more and more popular. Pickled herring is a traditional Swedish dish, however, this fact of mass addiction to it does not in itself explain. Believe it or not, those who eat surströmming really enjoy the taste of this fish. Otherwise, it is impossible to swallow it.
Surströmming is made from small Baltic herring. It is caught in the spring, salted and fermented according to the classic recipe. About a month before it appears on the store shelf, the herring is packaged in airtight cans. At the same time, the fermentation process continues, and over time, the jars swell. Traditionally, the factories of most manufacturers are located along the northern coast of Sweden.
Surströmming should not be handled like regular canned fish. If the pressure in the jar has increased and it is swollen, it must be opened under water. Then, before serving, the fish must be washed under running water. It is recommended to open the jar on the street, but it is better to eat its contents in the house - otherwise the flies will immediately flock.
Surströmming has a strong and acrid smell of rotting fish. Fans of the delicacy love it, and those who are present at the opening of the can for the first time usually shy away in horror. But the taste of well-cooked pickled herring differs significantly from the smell, and in a positive way: it is both rich and subtle, spicy and salty.
To really taste surströmming properly, you need a few more products. Traditionally, the fillet is placed on thin bread, which is pre-buttered. There are also slices of almond potatoes and chopped onions. All this is rolled up (klämma) and eaten with both hands. The sweetish taste of potatoes and onions perfectly neutralizes the sharp, rich taste of fish. In the north, bread is spread not only with butter, but also with soft goat cheese (getmessmör).
The surströmming season opens at the end of August, when the spring catch goes on sale. True connoisseurs, however, prefer last year's catch. During this time, the herring becomes tender and acquires a mature taste.
Where is the smell from?
Pickled Baltic herring is prepared according to an old method used in northern Europe and Asia to store fish. In the old days, this dish was the daily food of the peasants in northern Sweden, and hunters often took it with them on long journeys. Today it is more of a traditional food. Eating a foul-smelling delicacy is a real test of courage that divides people into two camps: true fans of surströmming and its ardent opponents.
Last updated: 05/12/2019
Poo Tiedholm and Agnetha Lilja
Pu Tiedholm is a Swedish journalist, writer and critic, and a regular contributor to the daily newspapers Dagens Nyheter and Aftonbladet, Filter and Fokus magazines, Swedish Radio and Swedish Television. Agnetha Lilja is Senior Lecturer at the Institute for Historical and Contemporary Studies at Södertörn University in Stockholm.
The Swedes assure that what smells disgusting is actually very tasty. “Gentle” and “delicate”, say those who have tried it. Summer is the season of surströmming, and we decided to tell you why this delicacy should not be so afraid.
Surströmming is one of the ten most unpleasant dishes in the world. However, this product with a difficult to pronounce name is nothing more than a simple fermented herring. Or rather, the Baltic herring. Sur here is "sour", "fermented", strömming is "Baltic herring".
Whom to believe? Gourmets who recommend trying this delicacy at all costs and awakening new taste buds, or a sense of self-preservation? It will surely remind of itself to those who inhale the contents of the jar for the first time. The pungent, pronounced smell of a rotten, long-rotten product, as it were, warns: do you really want to eat it?
Remember the famous Asian fruit durian? Surströmming could well be called "Swedish Durian". When you try to eat it ... tears well up in your eyes, a lump rolls up in your throat. As if suddenly an attack of seasickness began, and you are a passenger on a ship whose captain went fishing for Baltic herring in a strong storm. And this is not a weakness of the nervous system of a visiting tourist. In fairness, it should be noted that in Sweden itself, not every resident is a fan of the product. Therefore, sitting at a large buffet, you can often meet those who avoid canned food. Mostly it is the younger generation.
Why do they eat it?
Surströmming was "invented" in the 16th century, during the Swedish-German war, when the country was overtaken by a food crisis. Salt became scarce, and its quantity in canned food had to be reduced. The soldiers were the first to taste the fermented fish, followed by the peasants and the entire nation. Many generations have become accustomed to specific food. And now, when pickled herring is no longer needed for survival, eating it is either a tribute to tradition or a conscious choice.
Until 1998, by decree of the king, banks could not be opened until the third Thursday of August. That is, no one ate the product daily. But on the day of surströmming (every third Thursday of August), you can find it in almost every home. True connoisseurs prefer to feast on last year's catch with a more mature taste.
The secret of making
Small fish are caught in April. At the factory, internal organs and heads are removed from it, sometimes leaving eggs. To get rid of fat and blood, the product is placed in barrels with a highly concentrated salt solution of brine. This process takes several days. The fish spends the next couple of months in a weakly saline solution. She becomes very tender and soft. The final surströmming canning takes place in the summer. In the process of further fermentation, the fish acquires the smell that made it famous all over the world. Its secret is in the substances that form fish enzymes and bacteria: hydrogen sulfide, butyric, acetic and propionic acid. By the way, if you see canned food with “rounded” shapes on the shelves, they are not swollen. These are just traces of high pressure inside the jar.
Interesting Surströmming Facts
These foods will help you make friends with canned herring without losing consciousness: boiled potatoes, bread or flatbread, vegetables, butter and cheese. Many people like to wash down a fish sandwich with schnapps. In extreme cases - beer or kvass. Well, for an amateur - milk. When eating this delicacy, follow Buddhism - listen carefully to yourself and your feelings.
Banks must not be opened in the air. Canned food should be placed in a container of water and carefully perforated there (somewhere in the backyard). This will help mitigate odor, equalize pressure, and avoid splatter. After all, the fish continues to roam, even if the jar is closed.
A similar recipe for salting fish is also used in the Komi Republic. There it is called "Pechora salting", and such a dish is eaten with spoons.
The price of the product is much higher than you would expect from a jar of canned food. This is because surströmming requires special transportation conditions. For the same reason, in other countries it falls into the elite category.
The history of production has more than 500 years. Most Swedish herring enthusiasts live in the northeast of Sweden. A museum dedicated to canned food is located in Schepsmalm.
Like durian, this product is banned from many airlines.
And finally
As subtle connoisseurs of flavors say, the sharp repulsive smell of surströmming only better emphasizes its pleasant (islandish and rich) taste, contrasting with it. "Gentle" and "delicate" are not the characteristics of a loved one, but epithets that are awarded to the product by its fans. The real taste of canned food is not rotten, but spicy and sour, they assure.
Swedish herring is a delicacy that will definitely not leave you indifferent. Either you like it or you absolutely don't. If you put aside all prejudices, perhaps you will be able to imbue them. You definitely won't get sick. But the aftertaste - not even in the mouth, but in the stomach - can stay with you for several days. If you get used to surströmming, then gradually. Putting several large pieces at once on bread and eating them at once, you most likely will not succeed. But if this suddenly happened, there is something to think about: perhaps there were real Vikings among your ancestors?
