I just received this stuff in the mail with my snus (Scandinavian tobacco).
Here’s a description of it from the linked website:
Let me tell you this. I like disgusting foods. The more wacky and wild it is, the more I’m willing to try it. I like herring. I like strong flavors. I like oddball ethnic foods. So I just had to try this stuff.
I cannot believe Swedes eat anything this bad.
I opened the can (outside) and was impressed by the pungency of this delicacy. It was exactly as bad as described. Usually, I’m disappointed at what people deem “disgusting” and “inedible.” Surstromming does not disappoint.
I was too impatient to make some boiled potatoes and onions to go with it, so instead I found a slice of bread to go with it. Plus some beer to help drain it down. I had once filet of surstromming, and, unlike my normal nature, I threw in the towel. This stuff is bloody awful. I did finish my one piece, but I tossed everything else in the rubbish. My brother–not an adventurous eater–was on hand just to get a whiff of the legendary aroma. He was not disappointed either.
Nor were the flies. The instant I opened the can, a swarm of flies apparently spontaneously formed and engulfed me. I accidentally spilled some herring brine onto the steps, and now I have about 100 flies feasting on surstromming juice.
I am happy, though–I have finally found one food that I legitimately
do not like on any level. I won’t say I’ll never try it again (who
knows? When in Sweden do as the Swedes…), but I won’t exactly go out
of my way to look for it.
I heard about this stuff from a guy who encountered it in Sweden. He described it as one of those things that the locals bring out only to dazzle the foreigners - they’d never actually eat it themselves. It’s apparently so pungent that seconds after you open it people hundreds of yards away are yelling at you to get rid of it.
A foreign exchange student from Uppsala in high school told me about eating ‘raw rotten fish’. I never got the name from him (or I don’t remember anyway).
I’ve heard that in Iceland they have something called hakarl, which sounds similar. It’s rotten shark.
The scary thing is, from all my research, there apparently are people who eat it for enjoyment. It frightens me.
This is serious Fear Factor food. They should have shots of surstromming brine as part of a challenge. I am SOOOO thankful I took the advice offered and opened this crap outside.
The Swedes in my family also ate lutefisk which is a nasty (but not rotten) fish. I love “sill” (pickled herring) but it’s the one and only time my husband will refuse to kiss me.
I haven’t had lutefisk in years, mainly because I recall it as being similar to a whale booger marinaded in codliver oil. I think it’s telling that it is generally only consumed once a year and needs to be covered with bacon grease and accompanied by prodigious quantities of booze, although there are some odd folks who love it.
An acquaintance visits Stavanger regularly and is frequently treated to a meal out by his local colleagues, mainly so everyone in hte restaurant can gawp at the freakshow:
“See the FOREIGNER who LIKES LUTEFISK!”
“Be AMAZED as he VOLUNTARILY orders it!!”
“MARVEL as he eats the WHOLE PORTION with ENJOYMENT!”
“GASP as he is asked if he would like a bit more and answers YES!!”
Surstromming is definitely one of those things to do before you die - just so you can say you have, more than for the possibility it will turn out to be the unsuspected taste highlight of your lifetime. Congratulations to **pulykamell ** for having done it! I will try to obtain some on my next visit to Sweden and join the club…
Surströmming is great. I can’t get enough of it. Ok, so that’s a lie. It’s bad stuff. But there is other raw fish that is actually good here in Sweden - the sill which has been mentioned. That is not bad at all. I don’t know anyone who enjoys surströmming though - well, I have met people who do, but nobody that I have ever had to eat with.
As for lutefisk - don’t go dragging Sweden into this bad food tradition. It is the crazy Norwegians who eat that stuff. (Ok, so there are some Swedes who eat this, but generally speaking it is a Norwegian thing)
How did you like the snus? Did you get portion (small packets of snus) or grov (where you press it together yourself)? There are also lots of different flavors now to appeal to a larger crowd who (rightfully) think that snus is bad stuff. Although, I imagine that sales have gone up after the recent ban on smoking in bars. Now they have snus ashtrays on the tables instead of cigarette ones.
(Maybe I should send some surströmming in a package for that candy thread? I’m sure people would love that.)
Man, that snus is freakin awful stuff. I’ve had it once and that is enough. I am, however, quote interested to find out if my daughter (2 1/3) will eat the surstromming. We have yet to find anything she won’t eat (including plain wasabi). Luckily we will be in Sweden this time next month, so I’ll let you all know.
I love snus. I’ve been snussing on and off since 2001, when my Norweigian and Swedish friends introduced me to it. I love the taste of it (unlike the nearest American equivalent, Skoal. BLECH!!!) You don’t have to spit, and now that I’ve been a non-smoker for two years, I don’t have to bug people with my smoke (and it’s A LOT cheaper to import snus into the States than buy cigarettes here.)
I only buy the grov snus now (more bang for buck, better flavor), and my favorites are Roda Lacket and Goteborgs Rape. In terms of harm reduction, I think it’s a much safer product than cigarettes, but, of course, not without risk of its own.
I hate Surströmming… However, I know many who love it, my dad for example - he still believes that his own son has disappointed him by not liking it!
I don’t think it’s suitable food for human beings. It simply cannot be. It’s just goddarned awful. Although I have to say, the smell is worse than the taste - but since the smell is akin to that of a rotting corpse, that’s maybe not saying so much.
A tip though, if you ever want to eat it again. Hold the can under water while opening it; that way the smell won’t be that bad.
I don’t agree with you about lutfisk (lutefisk in Norwegian) though. That is simply dried cod served in a special way. It doesn’t really taste anything at all - you have to drown it in spices and sauce to get any enjoyment from it.
For real enjoyment you could following my friend’s method:
[ol]
[li]Attend leaving party for swedish colleague[/li][li]Have a few beers, and rag on her for dipping snus all the time[/li][li]Accept offer to try one[/li][li]Have another beer[/li][li]Absent-mindedly accept cigarette from other friend[/li][li]Suddenly turn green and sweaty[/li][li]Discard snus[/li][li]Sit in the corner with head between legs until pulse, respiration and brain activity return to normal parameters[/li][li]Suffer endless teasing about it[/li][/ol] Whenever we go for a drink with a member of the snus contingent, we suggest he repeats the experiment but adds a nicotine patch and maybe one of those inhalers…