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''Surströmming'' (, Swedish for "sour herring"), is fermented Baltic Sea herring that has been a staple of traditional northern Swedish cuisine since at least the 16th century. Just enough salt is used to prevent the raw fish from rotting (chemical decomposition). A fermentation process of at least six months gives the lightly-salted fish its characteristic strong smell and somewhat acidic taste. When opened, the contents release a strong and sometimes overwhelming odour; the dish is ordinarily eaten outdoors. According to a Japanese study, a newly opened can of surströmming has one of the most putrid food smells in the world, even more so than similarly fermented fish dishes such as the Korean ''Hongeohoe'' or Japanese ''Kusaya''.〔(Excerpt from "''Hakkou ha chikara nari''" ), Takeo Koizumi, NHK Ningen Kouza 2002 ISBN 4-14-084183-4〕 The Baltic herring, known as ''strömming'' in Swedish, is smaller than the Atlantic herring, found in the North Sea, and traditionally the definition of strömming (Baltic herring) is herring fished in the brackish waters of the Baltic north of the Kalmar Strait.〔They are about one third the size of North Sea herring (Swedish ''sill'') that is adapted to salt water. (UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) )〕 The herring used for surströmming are caught just prior to spawning. At the end of the 1940s, producers lobbied for a Swedish Royal decree (''förordning'') that would prevent incompletely fermented fish from being sold. The decree forbade sales of the current year's production in Sweden prior to the third Thursday in August. The decree is no longer law, but the trade still abides by the date for the "premiere".〔(Ingeborg Borgenstierna och Thomas Larsson ''Festdagar – Från Vår fru till vår fru'' quoted by Nordiska Museet, Stockholm (Swedish) )〕 == Origin and legends == Fermented fish is an old staple in European cuisines; for example, the ancient Greeks and Romans made a sauce from fermented fish called ''garum'' and Worcestershire sauce also has a fermented fish ingredient. One explanation of the origins of this method of preservation is that it began long ago, when brining food was quite expensive owing to the cost of salt. The fish are marinated in a strong brine solution that draws out the blood, which is replaced by a weaker brine, and the fermentation is done in barrels prior to canning (nowadays made of plastic). As long ago as the 17th century, ''surströmming'' was supplied as army rations in the 30 Years' War. Swedish soldiers who did not come from the area where this was staple food, as well as foreign conscripts, refused to eat it. The canning procedure, introduced in the 19th century, enabled the product to be marketed in shops and stored at home, whereas at one time the final stage would have been storage in large wooden barrels and smaller, one-liter kegs. Canning also enabled the product to be marketed farther south in Sweden to homesick northern Swedes and to southern Swedes as a curiosity and party food, serving as a background to schnapps as other spicy herring preparations do. Historically, other fatty fish such as salmon and whitefish have been fermented in a way not unlike ''surströmming''; the original ''gravlax'' resembled ''surströmming'', whereas nowadays ''gravlax'' is made by covering the fish with a salt and sugar mixture that permeates the fish so that it is pickled without the type of fermentation used for ''surströmming'' occurring. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Surströmming」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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