#003 MUST-TRY WEIRDEST FOOD IN THE WORLD - plus Recipe and Production

SURSTROMMING also known as 'sour herring' in Sweden. It is fermented Baltic sea herring. It has been the traditional Northern Swedish cuisine since the 16th century.

Strong brine is used to prevent the raw fish from rotting which is known to be chemical decomposition. A fermentation process of at least six (6) months then gives the lightly-salted fish its characteristic strong smell and a kind of an acidic taste.

PRODUCTION 

1. Catch or buy the herring around April or May when they are still in prime condition and just about to spawn.  Prior their spawning, they have not yet fattened.
2. Put the herring in a strong brine (salt solution) for about 20-24 hours to remove all blood.
3. Remove the head, gut it; and then put it into a weaker brine or salt solution.
4. Then place the barrels in a temperature controlled room under 15-20 degree Celsius.
5. Fermentation continues (either in can or barrel) from the beginning of July for the next five (5) weeks or Mid-August.
6. Often preferably to be eaten with two pieces of the hard and crispy kind of tunnbröd with butter, boiled and sliced or mashed almond potatoes, garnished with fillets of the fish together with finely diced onions.

NOTE: The fermentation process depends on the lactic acid enzyme in the spine that is activated, if and only if the temperature and brine concentration conditions are right. The low temperatures in Northern Sweden is one of the parameters that affects the final product.

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