My First Taste Ever Of The Dutch Haring

My first haring courtesy of my husband. In a tosti with old cheese. They all took my worries away!

I remember one time, one of my friends in our congregation told me, "your husband said that you love seafoods." Yes, I am. I love fish, I love shrimp, crabs, and the inky squid adobo is a real treat for me. But haring or herring is something new to me. We live in Vlaardingen, the old and historical town in North Holland and is famous as the haring capital of the Netherlands. I migrated in the Netherlands after our wedding in the Philippines, so I live here for 5 years now. Only after five years that I have tried out this interesting fish, the haring. My husband bought it in the supermarket, ready to eat, in a jar, raw but deliciously sour. In the Philippines, we have kinilaw (fermented) na dilis which my parents enjoy. In the Netherlands, it is like kinilaw na haring. In the Philippines, we use vinegar and lemon to make kinilaw, in the Netherlands, they use pickles.

My very Dutch mother in law enjoying a fresh haring.

The herring (Clupea harengus) is a ray-finned fish from the northern hemisphere. It has long been a popular consumption fish, which is heavily fished. The history of the herring is therefore one that is intertwined with overfishing and government measures to prevent this.

Herrings were among the most important fish in the fishing industry for centuries. Probably the heyday of Dutch herring fishing in the first half of the 17th century. The herring was caught mainly in the North Sea, where they were chased and salted at sea. In, among others, the former Zuiderzee and off the coast, herrings were also caught that were intended for fresh sales.

Fermented in pickles.

Overfishing was already going on in the 17th century, when regulatory measures were already taken. In the twentieth century, the herring stock declined so strongly in various places that the government decided on a six-year ban on fishing (1977-1983). Due to strict European catch limits, which still apply today, the haring has been able to recover and nowadays thrives again relatively well.

About 90% of the caught herring is processed into fishmeal in Denmark and Norway.

Like tuna, haring is a fatty fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Perhaps, while you are reading this, you are thinking to add haring now in your bucket list.