[AT] OT- Grits in Sweden

[Dan Glass]

Since you are in southern Sweden, do you have a recipe for grits and 
herrings yet?

Mattias Kessén wrote:

>Thank's Cecil now I know what kind of pickled herring Gene meant. To begin with before saying any more Dean is wrong, these delicacies are at many occasions supposed to be served with a dram.
>    Herrings are one of the most versatile and important food. In the history herring has always been very important in trading with other countries, the salted in barrels kind. As for pickled herrings there are two groups the preserved kind and the kind you make at home there are a few thousand recipes or so. You either do this from fresh, boiled or salted herrings. I usually eat some canned herrings for breakfast with eggs, kaviar (not to be confused the expensive russian/irani kind), bread and what else I can find in the weekends. on theese the dram is excluded except on skiing holidays etc. with the guys. The preserved pickled kind are now in more flavours than I can count, surprisingly the good old kinds are still the best.
>    On all big holidays pickled herrings are on the tables but midsummer is the No 1 for it. On midsummer it's the main course served together with boiled potatoes from the first/early harvest (small rounds without any thicker peel), sourcream, chive and of course a 
>dram(s), serving this on this occasion without a dram would be like cancelling the summer IT DOES NOT EXCIST.
>    As for other kinds of herrings I'm sad to say that Cecil's kind is not (that I know of) available in Sweden in Norway on the other hand all kind on food is dried, salted and smoked. There is also the infamous sour herrings mostly eaten in the northern parts of Sweden, this one I have never eaten it (I will some day?) though I have smelled it, you can't avoid within 5 miles from a opened can. The people who eat it are kind of fanatic about it, more than we in the southern parts are with our crayfish(but that is another ramble).
>    There is still the usual salted kind along the coasts you can buy it in buckets but no barrels. Fried with onionsause and potatoes are real good. Then there is the fresh ones that is real season for right now in theses parts of the country. I really like to fry them two and two with a lot of parsley in beetween, served with meshed potatoes and peas or on bread (I'm drewling now). Also i use to smoke them. there is also thousands of courses one can do with them I'll soon give a easy recipee, only got to say that in one town (forgot which) along the coast that has a annual herring festival with a lot of different courses and famous chefs, I'd really like to get there some day.
>    If you can get fresh herrings there is a dish I really like, I always do it for x-mas. Put some butter in a mould, fillet the herrings have some salt and pepper(white) on them and roll them put them in the mould. Sprinkle richly of dillseeds upon them. Slice a tomatoe and lay the slices upon. Maybe some more salt, if done properly it should really taste dillseed and salt. This dish is btw called kräftströmming/crayfishherring and that is the way we flavour crayfish. place the mould in the owen at 225 degrees CELCIUS for.... to when it's done. Best served cold the day after. You "can" use frozen herrings done it once will never do it again, the taste was almost the same but the herrings did not melt in mouth ;-)
>    Got to go soon  but I thought I'd mention one more thing. In sweden we call the pickled herring sill and that is the name of the fish along the west coast and on the eastcoast up to between Oskarshamn and Västervik then it is strömming.
>
>/Mattias
>
>----- Ursprungligt meddelande ----- 
>Från: "charlie hill" <chill8 at cox.net>
>Till: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>Skickat: den 4 maj 2005 16:26
>Ämne: Re: [AT] OT- Grits in Sweden
>
>
>  
>
>>Cecil when you say here I guess you mean in New York.  You sure don't mean 
>>in eastern North Carolina!  With all the retirees we have here we get our 
>>share of bagel shops and things that were totally foreign to us 20 years ago 
>>but to my knowledge there is little or no pickled herring to be found in 
>>these parts.  With any luck it will stay that way!  I don't want the prices 
>>to go up for yous guys.  LOL
>>
>>Charlie  (on the Carolina coast where we eat our fish freshly caught)
>>
>>----- Original Message ----- 
>>From: "Cecil Monson" <cmonson at hvc.rr.com>
>>To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>>Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2005 7:22 AM
>>Subject: Re: [AT] OT- Grits in Sweden
>>
>>
>>    
>>
>>>>Hmmm pickled herrings...  that could be almost anything. If you mean
>>>>        
>>>>
>>>a herring dish that comes from here and want me to say something about
>>>
>>>it please tell me and you will get a ramble back.
>>>      
>>>
>>>>/Mattias
>>>>        
>>>>
>>>Most of our pickled herring seem to come from the Scandinavian
>>>countries, Mattias. It is herring, cut into chunks, and pickled in spices 
>>>and vinegar as you would cucumbers. Here it is generally packed
>>>in small glass jars for sale in stores. I've also seen it packed in
>>>small barrels in the past. As a kid in Minnesota in an area with mostly
>>>farmers of Norwegian descent, most stores carried herring - either
>>>pickled, smoked, or smoked and heavily salted and dried. Most good meat
>>>markets carry pickled herring - either in a pickled brine or sour cream
>>>- year around here. Sometimes we see brat herring also but almost never
>>>the good old fashioned dried, heavily salted and smoked kind that I used
>>>to like so much.
>>>
>>>Cecil
>>>
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>>>      
>>>
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