Surströmming
Encyclopedia
Fermentation (food)
Fermentation in food processing typically is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions. Fermentation in simple terms is the chemical conversion of sugars into ethanol...
Baltic herring
Herring
Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...
. Surströmming is sold in cans, which often bulge during shipping and storage, due to the continued fermentation. When opened, the contents release a strong and sometimes overwhelming odor, which explains why the dish is often eaten outdoors. A Japanese study has shown that the smell of a newly opened can of surströmming is the most putrid smell of food in the world, beating similar fermented fish dishes such as the Korean Hongeohoe
Hongeohoe
Hongeohoe is a type of fermented fish dish from Korea. Hongeohoe is made from skate and has a strong characteristic ammonia-like odor. It is usually served uncooked without any other additional preparation along with other Korean side dishes such as kimchi....
or Japanese Kusaya
Kusaya
is a Japanese style salted-dried fish and fermented fish. It is famous for its malodorousness, and it is often a subject of taste controversies, much like Marmite and blue cheese and even more like Swedish surströmming.-Taste:...
.
Origin
It is claimed that the dish originated with Swedish sailors in the 16th century. The story goes that they only had half the amount of saltSalt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
needed to keep their fish fresh, so it began to rot. The sailors came across some Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
islanders and decided to con them by selling the rotten fish to them. The Finns bought it and the sailors went away. A year later the Swedish sailors returned to the island and the locals asked if they had more rotten fish. The sailors decided to try it themselves, liked it and made more. Rotten fish is an old staple in European cuisines; for example the ancient Greeks and Romans made a famous sauce from rotten fish called garum
Garum
Garum, similar to liquamen, was a type of fermented fish sauce condiment that was an essential flavour in Ancient Roman cooking, the supreme condiment....
.
Another proposed explanation of the origins of this method of preservation is that it began long ago, when brining food was quite expensive due to the cost of salt. When fermentation was used, just enough salt was required to keep the fish from rotting. The salt raises the osmotic pressure of the brine above the zone where bacteria responsible for rotting (decomposition of proteins) can prosper and prevents decomposition of fish proteins into oligopeptides and amino acids. Instead the osmotic conditions enable the Haloanaerobium bacteria to prosper and decompose the fish glycogen into organic acids, giving it the sour (acidic) properties.
Historically, other fatty fish like salmon and whitefish have been fermented not unlike surströmming, and the original gravlax
Gravlax
Gravlax or gravad lax , gravet laks , gravlaks , graavilohi , graavilõhe , graflax is a Nordic dish consisting of raw salmon, cured in salt, sugar, and dill...
resembled surströmming.
Canning
The herring is caught in spring, when it is in prime condition and just about to spawn. The herring is fermented in barrelBarrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container, traditionally made of vertical wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. Traditionally, the barrel was a standard size of measure referring to a set capacity or weight of a given commodity. A small barrel is called a keg.For example, a...
s for one to two months, then tinned where the fermentation continues. Half a year to a year later, gases have built up sufficiently for the once cylindrical tins to bulge into a more rounded shape. These unusual containers of surströmming can be found in supermarkets all over Sweden. However, certain airlines have banned the tins on their flights, considering the pressurized containers to be potentially dangerous. Species of Haloanaerobium bacteria are responsible for the in-can ripening. These bacteria produce carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
and a number of compounds that account for the unique odour: pungent (propionic acid
Propionic acid
Propanoic acid is a naturally occurring carboxylic acid with chemical formula CH3CH2COOH. It is a clear liquid with a pungent odor...
), rotten-egg (hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless, very poisonous, flammable gas with the characteristic foul odor of expired eggs perceptible at concentrations as low as 0.00047 parts per million...
), rancid-butter (butyric acid
Butyric acid
Butyric acid , also known under the systematic name butanoic acid, is a carboxylic acid with the structural formula CH3CH2CH2-COOH. Salts and esters of butyric acid are known as butyrates or butanoates...
), and vinegary (acetic acid
Acetic acid
Acetic acid is an organic compound with the chemical formula CH3CO2H . It is a colourless liquid that when undiluted is also called glacial acetic acid. Acetic acid is the main component of vinegar , and has a distinctive sour taste and pungent smell...
).
Eating surströmming
Tunnbröd
Tunnbröd is the Swedish version of flatbread. Tunnbröd can be soft or crisp, and comes in many variants depending on choice of grain, leavening agent and rolling pin. The dough is made from any combination of wheat, barley and rye.Soft tunnbröd is commonly used as a wrap for other food, not...
, literally "thin bread". This thin, either soft or crispy bread (not to be confused with crisp bread
Crisp bread
Crisp bread or hard bread is a flat and dry type of bread or cracker, containing mostly rye flour...
) comes in big square sheets.
The custom in Höga Kusten ("The High Coast"), the area of northern Sweden where this tradition originates from, is to make a sandwich, commonly known as a "surströmmingsklämma", using two pieces of the hard and crispy kind of tunnbröd
Tunnbröd
Tunnbröd is the Swedish version of flatbread. Tunnbröd can be soft or crisp, and comes in many variants depending on choice of grain, leavening agent and rolling pin. The dough is made from any combination of wheat, barley and rye.Soft tunnbröd is commonly used as a wrap for other food, not...
with butter, boiled and sliced or mashed potatoes (often mandelpotatis or almond potato
Almond potato
The almond potato is a potato known since the 19th century. Almond potatoes are yellow or white; in rare cases a kind called blue almond can be found which is yellow-white with some color changes in blue...
es) and sliced fish in between and nothing more.
In the southern part of Sweden, it is customary to use a variety of condiments such as diced onion, gräddfil (fat fermented milk/sour cream
Sour cream
Sour cream is a dairy product rich in fats obtained by fermenting a regular cream by certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, which is introduced either deliberately or naturally, sours and thickens the cream. Its name stems from the production of lactic acid by bacterial...
) or crème fraîche
Crème fraîche
Crème fraîche is a soured cream containing about 28% butterfat and with a pH of around 4.5. It is soured with bacterial culture, but is less sour than sour cream. It has a comparatively high viscosity and a higher fat content....
, chives and sometimes even tomato and chopped dill
Dill
Dill is a perennial herb. It is the sole species of the genus Anethum, though classified by some botanists in a related genus as Peucedanum graveolens C.B.Clarke.-Growth:...
.
The surströmming sandwich is usually served with snaps
Snaps
Snaps is a Danish and Swedish word for a small shot of a strong alcoholic beverage taken during the course of a meal. A ritual that is associated with drinking snaps is a tradition in Scandinavia, especially in Denmark and Sweden, where it is very common to drink snaps at holidays such as...
and light colored beers like pilsener
Pilsener
Pilsner is a type of pale lager. It takes its name from the city of Pilsen , Bohemia, in today's Czech Republic, where it has been developed since 1842, when a bottom-fermented beer was first produced. The original Pilsner Urquell beer is produced there today.-Origin:Until the mid-1840s, most ...
or lager
Lager
Lager is a type of beer made from malted barley that is brewed and stored at low temperatures. There are many types of lager; pale lager is the most widely-consumed and commercially available style of beer in the world; Pilsner, Bock, Dortmunder Export and Märzen are all styles of lager...
. Other drinks of choice are svagdricka (lit. "weak drink", a Swedish low alcohol dark malt beverage brewed since the Middle Ages, slightly similar to porter
Porter (beer)
Porter is a dark-coloured style of beer. The history and development of stout and porter are intertwined. The name was first used in the 18th century from its popularity with the street and river porters of London. It is generally brewed with dark malts...
), water or cold milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
. However, exactly what to drink or not to drink to surströmming is highly disputed among connoisseur
Connoisseur
A connoisseur is a person who has a great deal of knowledge about the fine arts, cuisines, or an expert judge in matters of taste.Modern connoisseurship must be seen along with museums, art galleries and "the cult of originality"...
s. Some claim that cold milk is the right and only choice while others refer to svagdricka as the most traditional drink. Surströmming is usually served as the focus of a traditional festivity, a "surströmmingsskiva" (surströmming party).
Many people do not care for surströmming, and it is generally considered to be an acquired taste
Acquired taste
An acquired taste often refers to an appreciation for a food or beverage that is unlikely to be enjoyed by a person who has not had substantial exposure to it, usually because of some unfamiliar aspect of the food or beverage, including a strong or strange odor An acquired taste often refers to an...
. Conversely, it is a food which is subject to strong passions (as is lutefisk
Lutefisk
Lutefisk or Lutfisk is a traditional dish of the Nordic countries and parts of the Midwest United States. It is made from aged stockfish or dried/salted whitefish and lye . It is gelatinous in texture, and has an extremely strong, pungent odor...
), and occasionally people like the taste on first try.
Museum
On June 4, 2005, the first surströmming museum in the world was opened in Skeppsmalen, 30 km north of ÖrnsköldsvikÖrnsköldsvik
Örnsköldsvik is a locality and the seat of Örnsköldsvik Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 28,617 inhabitants in 2005.Its natural harbour and archipelago is in the Gulf of Bothnia and the northern boundaries of the High Coast area. It is well known as an exporter of paper products...
, a town at the northern end of the High Coast.
Controversy
In April 2006, several major airlines (such as Air FranceAir France
Air France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...
and British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
) banned the fish citing that the pressurised cans of fish are potentially explosive. The sale of the fish was subsequently discontinued in Stockholm's international airport. Those who produce the fish have called the airlines' decision "culturally illiterate," claiming that it is a "myth that the tinned fish can explode."
Because surströmming today contains higher levels of dioxin
Dioxin
Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins , or simply dioxins, are a group of organic polyhalogenated compounds that are significant environmental pollutants. They are commonly but inaccurately referred to as dioxins for simplicity, because every PCDD molecule contains a dioxin skeletal structure as the...
s and PCB
PCB
PCB may refer to:Science and technology:* Printed circuit board, a board used in electronics* PCB , software to design printed circuit boards* PCBoard, bulletin board software for MS-DOS* Polychlorinated biphenyls, organic compounds...
s than the permitted levels for fish in the EU, Sweden has had exceptions to these rules. The exception was 2002 to 2011, but an application for renewal of the exemption has been raised to the EU. Producers have claimed that if the application is denied, they will only be allowed to use herring below 17 centimeters, which contain lower levels. This in turn will affect the availability of herring.
In popular culture
A question about surströmming appeared in a HalloweenHalloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
2010 special of the British panel game
Panel game
A panel game or panel show is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Panelists may compete with each other, such as on The News Quiz; facilitate play by guest contestants, such as on Match Game/Blankety Blank; or do both, such as on Wait Wait.....
QI
QI
QI is a British comedy panel game television quiz show created and co-produced by John Lloyd, hosted by Stephen Fry, and featuring permanent panellist Alan Davies. Most of the questions are extremely obscure, making it unlikely that the correct answer will be given...
. The question, which appeared in an episode with a "Horrible" theme, was to figure out what host Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
was describing: "Allegedly it can cause birds to fall dead from the sky, and it is banned by airlines, but it is quite good on toast." Fry produced a tin of surströmming but was ordered not to open it on fear that the smell would contaminate the studio for a long time. The show discussed how it is made and the supposed origins of the foodstuff.
It was also referenced in the Japanese drama show Top Caster, where the main character brings a can to the studio, someone else opens it out of curiosity, and the smell contaminates the whole office. The smell sticks to them through their next reporting stint, as shown by the reactions of various others around the studio and elsewhere.
In the news
In August 2011, a blogger for a major Swiss newspaper, Neue Zürcher ZeitungNeue Zürcher Zeitung
The Neue Zürcher Zeitung is a major German language Swiss daily newspaper based in Zurich.One of the oldest newspapers still published, it originally appeared as Zürcher Zeitung, edited by Salomon Gessner, from January 12, 1780, and was renamed to Neue Zürcher Zeitung in 1821...
, wrote that "the biggest challenge when eating surströmming is to vomit only after the first bite, as opposed to before."
In 1981, a German landlord evicted a tenant without notice after the tenant spread surströmming brine in the apartment building's staircase. In the subsequent trial, the court ruled that the termination was justified when the defendant's (i.e., the landlord's) party demonstrated their case by opening a can inside the courtroom. The court concluded that it "had convinced itself that the disgusting smell of the fish brine far exceeded the degree that fellow tenants in the building could be expected to tolerate."
See also
- Devil's dung (also considered to have a highly noxious smell)
- GravlaxGravlaxGravlax or gravad lax , gravet laks , gravlaks , graavilohi , graavilõhe , graflax is a Nordic dish consisting of raw salmon, cured in salt, sugar, and dill...
- HákarlHákarlHákarl or kæstur hákarl is a food from Iceland. It is a Greenland or basking shark which has been cured with a particular fermentation process and hung to dry for four to five months...
- KiviakKiviakKiviak is a traditional wintertime Inuit food from Greenland that is made of auks preserved in the hollowed-out body of a seal.Around 500 auks are put into the seal skin intact, including beaks, feet and feathers, before as much air as possible is removed from the seal skin, which is then sewn up...
- LutefiskLutefiskLutefisk or Lutfisk is a traditional dish of the Nordic countries and parts of the Midwest United States. It is made from aged stockfish or dried/salted whitefish and lye . It is gelatinous in texture, and has an extremely strong, pungent odor...
- RakfiskRakfiskRakfisk is a traditional eastern Norwegian fish dish made from trout or sometimes char, salted and fermented for two to three months, then eaten without cooking.-Origin:...
External links
- Kallax Surströmming - Kallax Surströmming is a well known producer
- Wedins - A Surströmming producer
- How to make surströmming at home
- Fiskevistet - Surströmming Museum in Skeppsmaln (in Swedish)
- Höga Kusten - The High Coast World Heritage Site