WHO INVENTED SURSTRÖMMING?
Surströmming's history is quite fascinating, and opening the can today is like reliving that history all over again. Surströmming today has not changed much. Surströmming is, however, most famous due to its legendary taste. Fermented fish has been essential in Europe for a very long. Even if you've never tried surströmming, you might have heard the stories.
There are a few narratives around the history of surströmming and how it came to be, but the most interesting has to do with Finland. It has its roots back in the 16th century when the Swedish sailors ran low on salt. As the story goes, a group of Swedish sailors sold a barrel of "bad" herring at a Finnish port. Salt was a major ingredient used to preserve food, and their barrels of herring started to go bad.
The Swedish sailors sold fermented fish to some of the residents at the Finish port. But as the year passed, and when sailors returned, the Finns demanded more of the herring because they liked it so much. They urged the Swedish sailors to taste it themselves and produce more of the fish. This tradition is still being followed, with modern methods of the processing being used.
Keeping the legends aside, Surströmming came into existence when brine used to be very costly, and the weak brine was in the fermenting process to cut costs for preservation ended up giving birth to this dish. Keeping the fish in the wooden barrels was normal practice at that time. Families would make a group of the delicacy and consume it over time.
However, canning emerged in the nineteenth century, and that was when Surströmming became a profitable product. The old-style method to eat Surströmming as a delicacy for Swedes was with a tunnbröd, a thin bread that uses slices to make a sandwich.
Besides the fish, these sandwiches often contain onions and sliced potatoes and are widely known as "Surströmmingsklämma." Surströmmingsklämma remains widespread in Northern Sweden, where the dish originally instigates from. It is widely accompanied by butter, boiled potatoes, and red onions.
There are a few narratives around the history of surströmming and how it came to be, but the most interesting has to do with Finland. It has its roots back in the 16th century when the Swedish sailors ran low on salt. As the story goes, a group of Swedish sailors sold a barrel of "bad" herring at a Finnish port. Salt was a major ingredient used to preserve food, and their barrels of herring started to go bad.
The Swedish sailors sold fermented fish to some of the residents at the Finish port. But as the year passed, and when sailors returned, the Finns demanded more of the herring because they liked it so much. They urged the Swedish sailors to taste it themselves and produce more of the fish. This tradition is still being followed, with modern methods of the processing being used.
Keeping the legends aside, Surströmming came into existence when brine used to be very costly, and the weak brine was in the fermenting process to cut costs for preservation ended up giving birth to this dish. Keeping the fish in the wooden barrels was normal practice at that time. Families would make a group of the delicacy and consume it over time.
However, canning emerged in the nineteenth century, and that was when Surströmming became a profitable product. The old-style method to eat Surströmming as a delicacy for Swedes was with a tunnbröd, a thin bread that uses slices to make a sandwich.
Besides the fish, these sandwiches often contain onions and sliced potatoes and are widely known as "Surströmmingsklämma." Surströmmingsklämma remains widespread in Northern Sweden, where the dish originally instigates from. It is widely accompanied by butter, boiled potatoes, and red onions.
