System Recovery

Surströmming

Aug 22, 2006 - 3 Photos

John was always the most Swede of them all. Despite the fact that he's tried surströmming several times before, he chose to bring a can of this stuff into our home. This is a Swedish traditional food that most Swedes are not too proud of, though there's an academy to this fermented fish - Surströmmingsakademien

When John opened this can of fermented herring a repulsive smell instantly filled the room. It's nice to know the gag reflexes are working though. After careful preparation, we actually ate some of it. Absolutely abhorrent. And while this may have been my worst culinary experience, I thank John for this experience. What doesn't kill you make you stronger. I'm now an elite Swede. Eating locusts and snails is no longer strange to me.

To add a little understanding, I bring to you words from the realm of Science - Harold McGee's "On Food and Cooking" page 236:


Lightly Salted, Strong-Smelling Fish: Surstrømming [sic]

Fish pastes annd sauces are cured with enough salt to limit the growth and activity of microbes. There are also fish fermentation that involve far less salt, so that bacteria thrive and have a far more powerful influence on flavor. One notorious example is the Swedish Surstrømming. Herring are fermented in barrels for one to two months, then sealed in cans and allowed to continue for as much as another year. The cans swell, which is normally a warning sign for the growth of botulism bacteria, but for surstrømming a sign of promising flavor development. The unusual bacteria responsible for ripening in the can are species of Haloanaerobium, which produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide gases, hydrogen sulfide, and butyric, propionic, and acetic acids: in effect a combination of rotten eggs, rancid Swiss cheese, and vinegar, overlaid onto the basic fish flavor.


My system is currently unstable, purging itself of this, trying to flush memory.