category: food/groceries: fish: fish products

Salt herring, salted herring

Salt herring is a fish product made from gibbed or ungibbed herring. It may be prepared with or without removing the head. After gutting different amounts of salt are added. Gibbed herring is cut underneath the head. Gills and part of the gullet are removed. This is often done on the ship right after catching the herring. It is then stored in barrels with salt. Sorting and packing is done on land.

Salt herring is very popular in many European countries, especially in Scandinavia, Holland and Germany. Many salt herring varieties were developed in the Middle Ages to make the storage of fish possible. Until today salt herring plays an important role in Nordic and Jewish cuisine. Several varieties of salt herring are available in many European countries.

Different varieties of salt herrings are:

• soused herring
• fat herring
• light-salted herring with roe or mit
• heavy-salted herring with roe or milt
• heavy-salted herring without roe or milt
• Wrackhering