Surströmming

Surströmming(pronounced[ˈsʉ̂ːˌʂʈrœmːɪŋ];Swedishfor 'sour herring') islightly salted,fermentedBaltic Seaherringtraditional toSwedish cuisinesince at least the16th century. It is distinct from fried orpickled herring.
TheBaltic herring, known asströmmingin Swedish, is smaller than theAtlantic herringfound in theNorth Sea. Traditionally,strömmingis defined as herring caught in thebrackishwaters of the Baltic north of theKalmar Strait.The herring used forsurströmmingare caught prior tospawningin April and May.
During the production of surströmming, just enoughsaltis used to prevent the raw herring fromrottingwhile allowing it toferment. Afermentation processof at least six months gives the fish its characteristic strong smell and somewhat acidic taste.A newly opened can of surströmming has one of the mostputridfood smells in the world, even stronger than similarly fermented fish dishes such as the Koreanhongeo-hoe, the Japanesekusayaor the Icelandichákarl, making surströmming anacquired taste.
At the end of the 1940s, surströmming producers in Sweden lobbied for aroyal ordinance(Swedish:förordning) that would prevent incompletely fermented fish from being sold. The decree that was issued forbade sales of the current year's production in Sweden prior to the third Thursday in August. While the ordinance is no longer in force, retailers still maintain the date for the "premiere" of that year's catch.
Surströmming has been part ofnorthernSwedish cuisinesince at least the 16th century.
Fermented fishis a traditional staple in European cuisines. The oldest archeological findings of fish fermentation are 9,200 years old and originate from the south of today's Sweden.More recent examples includegarum, a fermented fish sauce made by the ancient Greeks and Romans, andWorcestershire sauce, which also contains fermented fish.
Preservation of fish through fermentation in weakbrinemay have developed when brining was still expensive due to the cost of salt.In modern times, the fish are initially marinated in a strong brine solution that draws out the blood, then fermented in a weaker brine in barrels prior to canning.
Thecanningprocedure, introduced in the 19th century, enabled the product to be marketed in shops and stored at home, whereas formerly the final stage would have been storage in large wooden barrels and smaller, one-litre kegs. Canning also enabled the product to be marketed farther south in Sweden.
Fermentation occurs throughautolysisand starts from alactic acidenzymein the spine of the fish. Together with bacteria, pungent smelling acids are formed, such aspropionic acid,butyric acidandacetic acid.Hydrogen sulfideis also produced. The salt raises theosmotic pressureof the brine above the zone where bacteria responsible for rotting can thrive and prevents decomposition of proteins intooligopeptidesandamino acids.Instead, the osmotic conditions enableHalanaerobiumbacteria such asH. praevalensto thrive and decompose the fishglycogenintoorganic acids, making it sour (acidic).
The herring are caught in April and May, when they are in prime condition and about to spawn, and have not yet fattened. They are put into a strong brine for about 20 hours that draws out the blood, after which the heads and innards are removed and the fish is put into a weaker brine solution. The barrels are placed in a temperature-controlled room kept at 15–20 °C (59–68 °F). Canning takes place at the beginning of July and for five weeks thereafter. Ten days prior to the premiere the final product is distributed to wholesalers.The fermentation of the fish relies on a lactic acid enzyme in the spine that is activated if the conditions, temperature and brine concentration, are right. The low temperature in Northern Sweden is one of the elements that contribute to the character of the final product.
Prior to the development of modern canning methods, surströmming was sold in wooden barrels for immediate consumption, as even the smaller kegs could leak.
Fermentation continues in the can, causing it to bulge noticeably, which would usually be a sign ofbotulismor otherfood poisoningconcern in non-fermented canned foods. Species ofHalanaerobiumbacteria are responsible for the in-can ripening. These bacteria producecarbon dioxideand a number of compounds that account for the unique odor: pungent (propionic acid), rotten-egg (hydrogen sulfide), rancid-butter (butyric acid), and vinegary (acetic acid).Due to these gases, a thousand cans of surströmming exploded over a period of six hours during a fire at a Swedish warehouse in 2014.
Surströmming is commonly sold in grocery stores all over Sweden. According to the Surströmming Academy's statistics from 2009, about 2 million people eat surströmming annually. Sweden's export of surströmming is only 0.2 percent of all produced surströmming.
Many people do not care for surströmming.As with the Nordic dried-fish dishlutefisk,it is a food that meets strong reactions. It is more popular in northern Sweden than in other parts of the country.
As of 2023, over the past few years, the supply of Baltic and other herring caught by Swedish fishermen has dramatically declined. Baltic herring fisheries have been used unsustainably since theMiddle Ages, and overfishing is pushing populations to the brink of collapse. With such low catch numbers, retailers are now selling out their entire supply within minutes of the annual surströmming release.
Swedes usually consume surströmming after the third Thursday of August, labeled as "Surströmming day", through early September.Because of the strong smell, it is often eaten outdoors. The pressurized can is usually opened some distance away from the dining table and is often initially punctured while immersed in a bucket of water, or after tapping and angling it upwards at 45 degrees, to prevent escaping gas from spraying brine.
Surströmming comes both ungutted with only the heads removed and asfillets. With the former, the fish isguttedprior to eating, and the backbone and sometimes the skin are removed. Theroeis commonly eaten along with the fish.
Surströmming is often eaten withtunnbröd, either soft or a crispy type of flatbread made of different kind offlour, sometimes it also contains milk and bread spices.Crispy tunnbröd has a bubbly texture and is more brittle than typicalcrispbreadmade ofrye.The use of tunnbröd originated in theHigh Coastarea, where the tradition is to make a sandwich (known as asurströmmingsklämma) with two pieces of buttered hard tunnbröd. In addition to the fish, the two most common toppings are potatoes (either sliced or mashed, oftenalmond potatoes) and finely diced red onion. Surströmming is also commonly eaten without bread, with potatoes and red onion. To counterbalance the strong flavour of the fish,Västerbotten cheeseis sometimes added.
In the southern part of Sweden, it is customary to use a variety of condiments such as diced red onion,gräddfil(fat fermentedsour creamsimilar tosmetana) orcrème fraîche,chives, and sometimes tomato and choppeddill.
Surströmming is commonly served withsnaps, light beers likepilsnerorlager,svagdricka(a type ofsmall beer), water, or coldmilk. What to drink with surströmming is disputed amongconnoisseurs. Surströmming is usually served as the focus of a traditional festivity called asurströmmingsskiva.
Germanfood criticand author Wolfgang Fassbender wrote that "the biggest challenge when eating surströmming is tovomitonly after the first bite, as opposed to before".
Due to being made from herring from theBaltic Sea, surströmming today contains higher levels ofdioxinsandPCBsthan permitted in theEU. Sweden was granted exceptions to these rules from 2002 to 2011 and then applied for a renewal of the exceptions. Producers have said that if the application is denied, they will only be allowed to use herring less than 17 centimetres (6.7 in) long, as those contain lower levels, which will affect the availability of herring.
Since gaining notoriety as one of the world's smelliest foods (including being discussed on theBBCpanel showQI), surströmming has become the focus of a number of "challenge" videos onYouTubeand other platforms, where people uninitiated to the food perform opening a can for the first time, usually with initial reactions, and trying to eat the fish without preparation. Often the videos show the participants gagging, swearing, holding their noses, or vomiting. The videos have been criticized for not following normal preparation methods, which include opening the can outdoors and/or underwater, gutting the fish and removing the backbone, and serving withtunnbröd(a Swedish flatbread) and other accoutrements to make a surströmmingsklämma ("surströmming sandwich").
In 1981, a German landlord evicted a tenant without notice after the tenant spread surströmming brine in the apartment building's stairwell. When the landlord was taken to court, the court ruled that the termination was justified after 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".
In April 2006, several major airlines (such asAir France,British Airways,Finnair, andKLM) banned the fish,claiming that the pressurised cans of fish are potentially explosive. The sale of the fish was subsequently discontinued atStockholm Arlanda 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".
DuringMarch 2018 Hong Kong by-elections, the returning officer Amy Chan Yuen-man had disqualified two localist candidatesVentus Lauand James Chan Kwok-keung. Lau visited the Home Affairs Department of Sha Tin District Office in person asking for a meeting with Chan. Lau had brought a can of surströmming and opened it in public. Lau said that he would like Chan to sense that the Hong Kong people are facing an entirely rotten election system.Lau launched an appeal to the Court, which ruled that Chan's decisions were not justified.
On 4 June 2005, the first surströmming museum in the world was opened in Skeppsmalen, 20 km (12 mi) south-east ofÖrnsköldsvik, a town at the northern end of the High Coast.The name of the museum is "Fiskevistet" (translated as 'The Fish Encampment').