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Pickled Herrings

A method of pickling herrings in vinegar with spices and salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Nutmeg and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 25% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,864 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Pickled Herrings

Ingredients

Directions

Layer the herrings

  1. Use a straight brown pan that allows the herrings to lay flat.

  2. Add a little spice and a layer of herrings to the bottom of the pan.

  3. Grate a little nutmeg over the layer.

  4. Sprinkle with salt.

  5. Add a bay leaf.

  6. Add another layer of herrings.

  7. Repeat the process.

  8. Press them close together.

  9. Pour enough vinegar over the herrings to cover them completely.

Cover and cook

  1. Cover the pan with a bladder.

  2. Cover the pan with a sheet of brown paper.

  3. Place the pan in a cool oven for 12 hours.

  4. After 12 hours, remove the pan.

Rest before serving

  1. Let it stand for 2 days before opening.

  2. Ensure the pan is thoroughly cold before opening.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Nutmeg + vinegartop 25% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,864 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Herrings
Form the main body of the dish, becoming tender and flavoured as they pickle.
Vinegar
Acidity that preserves the fish and gives it its sharp, tangy flavour.
Coarse sea salt
Draws out moisture and seasons the fish before it is covered in vinegar.

The step that matters

Covering the herrings completely with vinegar. Any fish left above the liquid is exposed to air and can spoil or dry out. Full submersion in acidic vinegar keeps the fish preserved and evenly pickled.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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