Infamously pungent fermented Baltic herring, eaten on tunnbröd with potato and onion. It is made with deliberately too little salt to preserve it fully, and the tins swell as it keeps fermenting on the shelf — which is why they are opened outdoors, often under water.
It is a deliberately under-salted ferment of raw fish that is still active when it reaches the shop — the safety margin is intentionally absent, and the process is a licensed industry precisely because of that.
What goes into it
- Baltic herring, caught in spring before spawning
- a weak salt brine, deliberately below preserving strength
How it is made
The herring are caught in April and May, headed and gutted, and put into barrels of brine too weak to stop bacterial action — that is the entire trick. They ferment for one to two months, then are tinned while still active. The tin continues to ferment and bulges, and Swedish law once set a date before which it could not be sold.
How long it takes: one to two months in barrel, then it keeps working in the tin
How it is eaten
Opened outdoors, laid on tunnbröd with almond potato, onion, sour cream and dill, with beer and snaps.
History
Fermented Baltic herring, made with too little salt to preserve it fully; the swollen tins are opened outdoors and eaten on tunnbröd.
Frequently asked questions
What is Surströmming?
Surströmming is a fermented & pickled from Sweden: infamously pungent fermented Baltic herring, with flatbread and potato. Fermented Baltic herring, made with too little salt to preserve it fully; the swollen tins are opened outdoors and eaten on tunnbröd.
How is Surströmming made?
The herring are caught in April and May, headed and gutted, and put into barrels of brine too weak to stop bacterial action — that is the entire trick. They ferment for one to two months, then are tinned while still active. The tin continues to ferment and bulges, and Swedish law once set a date before which it could not be sold. It takes one to two months in barrel, then it keeps working in the tin.
Can I make Surströmming at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is a deliberately under-salted ferment of raw fish that is still active when it reaches the shop — the safety margin is intentionally absent, and the process is a licensed industry precisely because of that.
What goes into Surströmming?
Baltic herring, caught in spring before spawning, a weak salt brine, deliberately below preserving strength.
How is Surströmming eaten?
Opened outdoors, laid on tunnbröd with almond potato, onion, sour cream and dill, with beer and snaps.
