Fresh herring is a Dutch treat. In Holland, it is an old Dutch saying that "A herring a day keeps the doctor away; two herrings a day keep everyone away."
Here in Texas, I have seen and buy herring, but it is not fresh and it is not raw. Herring arrives on the shelves in cans, cooked and covered with oil, hot peppers, and/or Louisiana hot sauce. It is found pickled with onion in bottles, imported from Denmark, where the Danish do not eat herring raw. Herring is also eaten smoked and salted, as kipper.
In Noordwijk aan Zee, you can get fresh herring, frozen beforehand to kill anything that might be alive inside the fish prior to its being eaten, in buckets filled with salt water. (You need a friend, as the bucket holds a dozen Herring). All that needs to be done is to de-bone the herring and it is ready to eat, minus the tail and head. The traditional Dutch way to eat herring is without onions, but you can buy it in gourmet fish shops, served with onions. Just skip the onions, if you want to taste the sea.
Here in Texas, I have seen and buy herring, but it is not fresh and it is not raw. Herring arrives on the shelves in cans, cooked and covered with oil, hot peppers, and/or Louisiana hot sauce. It is found pickled with onion in bottles, imported from Denmark, where the Danish do not eat herring raw. Herring is also eaten smoked and salted, as kipper.
In Noordwijk aan Zee, you can get fresh herring, frozen beforehand to kill anything that might be alive inside the fish prior to its being eaten, in buckets filled with salt water. (You need a friend, as the bucket holds a dozen Herring). All that needs to be done is to de-bone the herring and it is ready to eat, minus the tail and head. The traditional Dutch way to eat herring is without onions, but you can buy it in gourmet fish shops, served with onions. Just skip the onions, if you want to taste the sea.
Dutch Herring Festival 2007, Oyster Bar NYC photograph by j_bary of flickr. Some rights reserved.
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