Dutch Delicacy Delight: Pickled Herring

 
One of the best ways to discover what a country is all about is through their food. The Netherlands is no exception. We checked around and discovered that one traditional local food is none other than “Pickled Herring”.

 

The small raw fish are pickled whole in salt, and then in vinegar. In The Netherlands they are served as a street food with pickles (the cucumber kind) and onions. There are two varieties of this Dutch delicacy, Amsterdam style and Rotterdam style. The only difference is in the presentation, not in the herring itself. Simply put, Amsterdam style is served whole and Rotterdam style is served with the fish cut into bite size pieces. We opted for the Rotterdam style, since we would be sharing.

 
I have to admit it was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. Not even as salty as I thought it would be. Kathy did try two bites, and I actually managed to eat four bites. The remainder went in the rubbish bin.

 
See the whole escapade here as Kathy and I try pickled herring for the first, and probably last, time.

 

 
I think I would rather have some Flemish Fries with mayo and a Heineken. I could eat pickled herring again if necessary but only to be polite, not by choice.