Surströmming is Swedish delicacy consisting of fermented Baltic herring. People who try it can be confident that they will never forget it.
It is sold in cans, and when you open them a strong, foul smell is released. The smell is similar to fish gone bad or garbage left out in the sun for a couple of days. Actually, this dish is often eaten outdoors because of the smell.
This method of preservation was invented long ago, when brining food was quite expensive due to the costs of salt. When fermentation was used, on the other hand, just enough salt was required to keep the fish from rotting.
The herring is caught in spring, when it is in prime condition and just about to spawn. Once tinned, the fermentation can begin.
Half a year later gases have built up sufficiently, to cause the pressure inside the once cylindrical tins to bulge into a ball. These unusual containers of Surströmming can now be found in supermarkets all over Northern Sweden.
When you eat surströmming you need a bread known quite aptly as "tunnbröd". This thin, crisp bread comes in big square sheets which are broken up and plastered with butter. Boiled potatoes are then peeled and sliced, and together with some chopped onion, they are sprinkled on the bread. The potatoes are of a special kind, called "mandelpotatis" or almond potatoes.
Then, fork a whole fish from the tin and slice it down the middle. Remove its soft insides, including the dark gray roe, and open the fish up like a book. Stamping the red flesh with a fork the bone loosens and it can be filleted. Cut small pieces ready for the sandwich. The final touch is a big dollop of crème fraîche.
The surströmming sandwich is served with cold beer and schnaps. Although lots of people do not like it, you have to eat it several times before you really appreciate the taste. There is a hard core of surströmming devotees located in northern Sweden, where they live virtually undisturbed by the rest of the world.
See also: Swedish cuisine
