Swedish Herring Foodways

Sill och strömming

Specialised

SILL is the larger Atlantic herring of the west coast; STRÖMMING is the smaller Baltic one, and Swedish keeps the two words apart. Salted, then soaked and dressed: inlagd sill in vinegar, sugar and onion; senapssill in mustard; matjessill, sweet-cured, eaten with new potatoes, sour cream and chives at Midsummer; glasmästarsill; and the smoked böckling. Fried strömming with mashed potato and lingonberries is everyday food.