by Tom Stobart
Bloater. A speciality of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, this type of smoked herring has been made for about 300 years. The herrings are sprinkled with dry salt and left overnight. The surplus salt is washed off and the fish is dried for several hours, then lightly smoked (at one time they were dried over a coke brazier). Bloaters are not gutted and so develop a somewhat gamey flavour. They do not keep for much more than a day unless refrigerated and were originally eaten locally in East Anglia, where – supply permitting – they are still popular. They are at their best in October and November, depending on the date when the herring shoals arrive off the coast. To prepare bloaters, open them down the back, bone them, butter the inside, refold them and grill. Bloater paste is a famous English delicacy, a favourite for tea time sandwiches. The soft roes of bloaters, dusted with cayenne pepper and fried in butter, were served on toast as a well-known Victorian savoury.
Bornholmere. Alternative French name for buckling *(see below). Bornholm is the Danish island at the entrance to the Baltic.
Bouffi. From the French bouffi meaning puffed or bloated. They are also called craquelots or demidoux. The French equivalent of the bloater, very lightly salted and smoked. Like Norfolk bloaters, bouffis do not keep. They are eaten both grilled and raw.
Bratheringe. A German delicacy of boned herrings, floured and fried, then marinated in vinegar with onion slices, bay, peppercorns and mustard seed.
Buckling. Originally a German speciality from the Baltic (the alternative French name is Bornholmere), this type of smoked herring is now produced in Holland and Britain. At one time, the Jewish population of London would accept these only if the box felt hot, so that the fish were still warm from the kiln.
After a light salting, the fish are hot-smoked and so are cooked. The skin is toughened and should easily lift off to disclose the moist flesh underneath. In this respect, buckling are rather like smoked trout. They are usually eaten without further preparation, accompanied by buttered brown bread, lemon, red pepper, and sometimes horseradish. Skinned, filleted and cut in pieces, they may be used in salads.
A sauce served with smoked fish in Sweden is sour cream spiced with one or more finely-chopped fresh herbs, such as chives or dill, parsley and maybe some chopped spinach.
Craquelot. French bloater – bouffi (see above).
Demi-doux. Alternative French name for bouffi (see above).
Gendarme. Popular name in France for a hareng saur (see below), but the name is also used for a type of dry smoked sausage made in Switzerland.
Groene haring. Dutch for ‘green herring’, in other words a matjes herring (see below).
Hareng saur. The French equivalent of a red herring, saur referring to the colour and derived from the same old French as our word ‘sorrel’, which is still used to describe the red-brown colour of horses. Unlike the British red herring, the hareng saur is still popular in France today, and the fish may be bought by the piece from the barrel. These, at least originally, were salted on board the fishing boats and later cold-smoked. Before being eaten, hareng saur are de-salted by soaking in milk, tea or white wine for a couple of hours and then cooked – usually filleted, buttered and grilled. The French also put the fillets to marinate in oil, and such marinated fillets can be bought in plastic packets, loose or in cans. They are used as part of an hors d’oeuvre. The smoked hard and soft roes are sold separately, often packed in wooden boxes, and used for the same purposes.
Kipper is, classically, a herring which has been split down the back, gutted, salted in brine for about 10-15 minutes, and then cold-smoked over oak sawdust for 6-18 hours. However, as oak sawdust is now practically impossible to obtain, mixed hardwoods are used instead. A kipper was originally a male salmon after spawning, or a smoked salmon, and not a smoked herring. The method was then applied to herring by John Woodger of Seahouses in Northumberland in 1840. Splitting before smoking made possible a less salty product which compared favourably with red herring (see below). However, the kipper does not keep so well and would perhaps not have replaced the red herring had it not been for railways and refrigeration. In any case, replacement was gradual. In books published around the turn of the century, there are many recipes for preparing red herrings, but few for kippers. Kippers should not have a gamey smell and should be fat and pale. Excellent kippers, such as those from Loch Fyne and Craster (Northumberland), can be bought outside their areas, and the difference between them and the ordinary run-of-the-mill, commercial kipper is enormous. Fine kippers should be put, head down, in a jug which is then filled with boiling water. After leaving them for 10 minutes, they are cooked. They may also be grilled. My uncle’s method is good for the more usual quality: butter the kippers, refold them, wrap them in greaseproof paper and bake the packets in the oven. Modern methods of selling kippers include packing fillets with butter in a plastic wrapper and also canning them. As with canned salmon, the bones are softened and the kippers can be broken up with a fork, spread on toast and lightly grilled.
Marinated herring of various kinds are especially popular in all the Scandinavian countries, where they are used in open sandwiches and, it often seems, as a starter for every meal. Great inventiveness has resulted in dozens of recipes, often secret, for herring fillets, which may be dark red, grey or pink, and in sauces that range from cream to mustard and wine. Denmark makes dozens of kinds of marinated salt herring, and many excellent ones are canned or packed in plastic and available as an export. Versions come in sauces including sweet-sour, tarragon, cherry, mustard, sherry and curry. These preparations are ready to eat without cooking, and usually need to be kept cool or in the refrigerator.
Swedish Marinated Salt Herring
The herrings recommended (by a housekeeper in Degafors) are the fat, wet, salted herrings that are exported from Iceland in barrels, but any good salted herrings will do. They are filleted and the fillets soaked in water overnight to remove most of the salt.
A marinade is prepared by boiling 300 ml (½ pt) water with a cup (or more to taste) of sugar, a good pinch of peppercorns and allspice, and a few bay leaves. When this is cold, add 1 cup vinegar with some sliced onion and carrot. Marinate the herring fillets in this for 2 days. Although the recipe is simple, the result is excellent.
Marinated Fresh Herring
Skin and fillet the herrings, sprinkle them with cooking salt, pack them in a dish and leave them 2-3 hours, then drain and dry. Pack them into a wide-mouthed jar and cover with the following marinade: To 300 ml (½ pt) each of white wine and vinegar add 4 onions cut in rings, 1 teaspoon peppercorns, 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, 6 cloves and 2 tablespoons salt. (The spices are an individual matter. You can use allspice berries, juniper berries, bay leaves, or what you will.) Leave at least 24 hours. This product will keep some 10 days in the refrigerator. The ideal quantities will vary with the ingredients used. A simple mixture of vinegar and water, when salted and softened with a little sugar, gives excellent results if it is formulated by taste before pouring over the fish.
Matie or Matjeshering is a herring in which the roe is not yet fully developed and is the first of the season’s herring. Maties are very lightly salted in a brine of salt, saltpetre and sugar. They are eaten raw with chopped onion and boiled green beans and are available in May. They are also salted in the normal way and are often used to make red herrings with a rather cheesy flavour. This is a German speciality which is also eaten in Belgium and Holland (where they are called groene haring – green herring and where, by tradition, the first barrel is offered to the queen). Elsewhere, maties are a rather expensive import.
Matjessill is a sweet pickled herring and is the traditional lunch for Midsummer’s Day in Sweden.
Red herring. In the Middle Ages, red herrings became an important product. After gutting, herrings were heavily salted and heavily smoked. This produced an article which would keep for some time, and which was tough, dry and easily transported inland. Red herrings were common until the beginning of this century, but were replaced by the k
ipper, which is less salty and needs no soaking. They are still produced in England (in Great Yarmouth) and are exported – Greeks eat them raw with bread and wine for lunch. Red herrings need several hours in lukewarm water or milk before they are ready for cooking. The exact time depends on the saltiness of the herring and on personal taste. They can then be slashed – the simplest method – or split down the back, boned, buttered and refolded, before being grilled. Red herrings are to be found with difficulty in Britain but the French hareng saur (see above), while not identical, is similar.
Rollmop. Butterfly fillets of herring, rolled around a stuffing of onion, gherkin and spices, held with a wooden splinter, and marinated in vinegar and salt solution. The fish is not cooked and is hardened instead by the salt and the acetic acid of the vinegar. Commercial rollmops can be bought loose or in jars.
Rollmops
Take 4 salted herrings and soak them for 12-24 hours in water – the time depends on the saltiness. Fillet them and strip the skin from them. Place skin side down and spread with German mustard. Put on top a teaspoon of mixed sliced onion, pickled gherkin and capers. Roll up and skewer with a toothpick. Pack the rolls in a glass jar.
Make a marinade of 1 cup white vinegar diluted with 3½ cups water (taste to get the right sourness as the exact quantities depend on the strength of the vinegar). Add 2 sliced carrots, 2 sliced onions, 1 teaspoon peppercorns, 8 juniper berries, 1 teaspoon white mustard seed, 2 bay leaves. Bring this to the boil and allow it to cool. Pour this marinade to cover the rolls of fish and fill the jars. Leave for a week before using. Some recipes use a mixture of vinegar and white wine, and some stuff the rollmops with other mixtures which may include sliced peppers and even chillies. In others, the prepared mustard is omitted.
Salt herring. Before the days of refrigeration, herrings had to be salted down in barrels, on board ship or ashore, and formed the starting point for all the herring products. In some cases, the fish rested temporarily in the salt or in brine and were then smoked; in others, they were heavily salted and packed for shipment in sealed casks. Scandinavians argue about which is the best salt herring, but for most people the argument is academic as they have to use whatever salted herring they can get. If salt herrings are not available, they can be made at home. Scale and gut the fish, leaving the roes in. Then soak them in brine (strong enough just to float an egg) for 14-16 hours; drain them well and pack them into jars with a layer of salt between each herring layer. Keep them tightly covered and below the surface of the liquid that forms, otherwise they will develop rancid flavours. A quick method given in Jane Grigson’s Fish Cookery (Penguin) is to soak boned herring in a 10% brine for 3 hours. Herrings may also be salted with the addition of spices such as pepper, allspice and bay. Anyone interested should consult Mrs Grigson’s admirable book.
Smoked herring. Types include bloater, buckling, hareng saur and kipper (see above).
[Herring – French: hareng German: Hering Italian: aringa Spanish: arenque]
HICKORY is closely related to the walnut. Most species are indigenous to North America; the most famous is the *pecan. Other species have been neglected by breeders in spite of their excellent nuts, because the relatively thick shells make the nuts difficult to crack. So, in general, hickory nuts have been collected from wild trees in the forest and sold in local markets. They have rarely been exported, and in general are known only by name outside America. However, with improved commercial varieties and hybrids, this situation may alter. Hickory nuts keep well and many have an excellent flavour.
Shagbark hickory (Carya ovata) is the best of the hickories and is found particularly around the Great Lakes and in the Ohio River Valley. Its nuts were an important food of the North American Indians, who pounded them (apparently not bothering to shell them) with water to make a nut milk. This was added to corn cakes, soup and sweet potatoes. It was also evaporated to a thick cream for storage in jars or fermented to make a drink called pawcohickora. Hickory-nut oil was also important to the early settlers.
Big Shell-bark hickory (C.laciniosa) has a slightly coarser flavour than the Shagbark, but runs it a close second for quality. It is common in bottom lands of the Ohio and Mississippi river basins. The nut is rather large and has a thick, spongy husk.
The Pignut or Switchbred hickory (C. glabra) and Mockernut or Common hickory (C. tornentosa) both produce good nuts, though much inferior to those mentioned before. Other hickories may be eaten locally, but they are mainly too small or too hard to be worth cracking. Some, like the Small-fruited hickory (C. microcarpa) are sweet, but others like the bitternut (C. cordifornis) are full of tannin. Hickory sawdust is important in the US for smoking hams, etc.
[Hickory – French: carya German: Hickorynuss Italian: noce blanco Americana Spanish: nuez americana]
HOMINY or hulled corn. Hulled maize, one of the staples of the South and North American Indians, was adopted from them by the pioneers. Taking its name from the Algonquin, rocka-hominy, it was originally made by soaking and boiling maize in wood lye (ashes and water) until the outer skin of the grain could be rubbed off. Boiled whole, it was used as a starchy food instead of potatoes and, when dried, could be ground into coarse grits – hominy grits.
Hominy is particularly a food of the southern states. Although available canned, it is not difficult to make from maize, but all varieties are by no means equally good. American seedsmen sell hominy corn with a white kernel for those who like to start even earlier in the process and grow their own.
Hominy grits may be boiled in salted water, served as a breakfast food with milk and a lump of butter, or may be made into puddings and breads, like other ground cereals.
Hominy
Prepare a solution of bicarbonate of soda, 1 teaspoon to a litre (2 pints) of water, and soak the maize in it overnight. Next morning, boil it rapidly for about an hour until the hulls start to loosen and slough off. Rinse the maize in cold water, rubbing it to free the skins. Wash the skins away in clean water (which will also remove any remaining soda), put the hominy in fresh water and boil it until it is tender. The hominy may be dried in the sun or a very cool oven. When thoroughly dry, it will keep like any other grain. lt may be ground into grits in a mill and may also be frozen.
HOMOGENIZING. A process applied to milk, which breaks down the fat globules to roughly the same small size and so stops the cream rising to the top. It is done by forcing the milk through small nozzles. (A similar technique is used to make emulsions like fake mayonnaise and reconstituted cream.) Homogenized milk is more digestible than ordinary milk, as it does not form tough curd in the stomach, but cooks would usually like to have the practice of homogenizing milk stopped, disliking the dead quality of the liquid and missing the useful creamy top.
[Homogenizing – French: homogénéiser German: homogenisieren]
HONEY is the most ancient sweetening substance and, in the past, was the basis of the confectioner’s art. A complete Roman confectioner’s shop was excavated at Herculaneum together with all its moulds, pans and implements, which proved very similar to those used to this day. In those days honey was boiled, but unlike cane sugar (which came much later) it contains large amounts of glucose and fructose, formed when the sucrose, the sugar in nectar of flowers, is broken down by the saliva of the bees. An average honey contains 38% fructose, 31% glucose, and 7% maltose with other substances as well. Honey will granulate easily if the percentage of glucose in it is high (as in alfalfa, clover or buckwheat honeys), and almost always if kept long enough. The crystals are mainly glucose and the liquid fructose. It will become runny again (and will not easily regranulate) if kept for half an hour at 60-65°C (140-150°F), as the tiny glucose crystals dissolve and do not easily form again. On the other hand, stirring honey encourages it to granulate. (Granulation is not due to added sugar as some suspect.)
Honeys vary a great deal, according to the flowers from which they come. A bee-keeper can take out what is gathered from each honey-flow, thus getting honey with a preponderanc
e of flavour from a single flower. There are several hundred different honeys available in the US alone, and they vary in colour from white or cream, to brown, purple or even black. A few are red or green. The flavours also vary greatly. Some are even poisonous (if, for instance, the bees have been taking the nectar from a lot of oleander trees). A very special honey is heather honey from the ling (Colluna vulgoris). lt is gelatinous in texture, full of air bubbles and does not flow when the comb is cut. (Honey from other heathers flows normally.) Heather honey contains a lot of protein and so granulation is slow – it takes two years even to start. If honey is heated in cooking, then the heat drives off its special aromatics, and the sugars begin to caramelize, so delicate honey is spoiled. (Heather honey also stiffens.)
Fine honeys should always be kept for eating raw and for sweets that do not need to be cooked. A delicious one which will be acceptable to the most dedicated health food fan, is thick creamy yoghurt, honey and wheatgerm. Honey is the basis for several liqueurs, including those made from Scotch whisky, and, of course, the famous AtholI Brose. A turn-of the-century cookbook gives the following recipe:
‘Upon virgin honeycomb pour the oldest procurable French Brandy and the best old Scotch Whisky in equal proportions. Allow this mixture to stand for five or six days in a large earthen pipkin in a cool place, strain it, and it is ready for drinking.’ Other recipes incorporate oatmeal and cream.
[Honey – French: miel German: Honig Italian: miele Spanish: miel]
HOPS. The hop plant (Humulus lupulus) belongs to the same family as hemp (cannabis) and is a perennial climber native to both Europe (including Britain) and North America. It can sometimes be seen growing wild in its natural state, sprawling over hedges and bushes. The use of wild hops for flavouring and preserving *beer seems to have started in Germany some thousand years ago; records show that they were being cultivated on a small scale at least as early as 1079. Hopped ale gradually increased in popularity in Europe and, by the middle of the 14th century, it was being brewed commercially in Holland. Hops not only give a refreshing, bitter taste to ale, but they are also a preservative; a hopped ale keeps about twice as long as ale brewed without them. Substances in the hop also have a calming and sleep-promoting effect on the human system, according to the herbalists.