Nieuws! - First new herring brought ashore

Radio Netherlands just announced that the first herring of the season, known as Hollandse Nieuwe, has been caught and brought ashore. The article says that according to experts, "this year's herring should be an especially good crop." The first barrel was sold at the Scheveningen auction today for €67,750.

"Flag Day" is the day that kicks off the official herring season in coastal Holland: fishing floats are decorated with strings of flags to celebrate the Hollandse Nieuwe's arrival and several coastal towns celebrate by having live music concerts, traditional arts and crafts and ofcourse, lots of fish for eating.

A herring fit for the Hollandse Nieuwe title is one that has at least 16% body fat, and is prepared following a traditional method: with a special knife, the fish's gills and entrails are removed, except for the pancreas. This organ releases enzymes that will "ripen" the fish. The fish is slightly salted and stored in a barrel for five to seven days, then sold.

Well, good! Unfortunately, here in the United States, we will miss out on the fishy fun. If you feel homesick, or just want to celebrate this day, try this pickled herring salad instead: it's quick to make and all the ingredients can be found at your local store!

7 comments:

  1. You don't have to miss it... I am getting mine from Russ & Daughters. http://shop.russanddaughters.com/store/product/862/New-Catch-Holland-Herring-Tray/ And there are places throughout New York that will be celebrating Hollandse Nieuwe!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You can actually order them online as well! www.typicaldutchstuff.com ships them to the US!

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Oyster Bar in New York City's Grand Central Terminal station has a yearly Dutch herring events, for three weeks in june. You can get tasty herring filets, and fries with mayo, coupled with a Dutch beer and a shot of jenever.

    And yes, seconding Russ and Daughters. They actually have fresh Dutch herring all year long.

    ReplyDelete
  4. More and more reasons to seek out a trip to NY! Thanks all for the suggestions and recommendations!

    ReplyDelete
  5. the number one thing I miss most from living in the NL, yes indeed I can buy them online, but $22,- for 300 grams? hmm dunno......LOL

    ReplyDelete
  6. They can be ordered from VanderVeen's, but the best quality that I found so far comes from Ouwehand, imported by a guy in Arkansas. https://squareup.com/market/northseaherring-dot-com Do not order in the summer, as it is too hot to ship.
    Ton Schoenmakers

    ReplyDelete

I welcome your comments! Please be so considerate as to include a name, as anonymous comments will be deleted. Comments will appear as soon as they are monitored (usually within 24 hours). If you have a direct question, please consider emailing me at nicole at thedutchtable dot com for a faster response, or post on our Facebook page.