Why the Dutch LOVE herring | The Netherlands’ Best Street Food

No, it’s not just a fish! It’s the new herring - Nieuwe Haring as the Dutch call it. It’s the most popular street food in the Netherlands. Every year, towards the middle of June, the young herring is caught, soused and then enoyed by the herring-crazy Dutch. The arrival of the new herring is celebrated on a local holiday ,Vlaggetjesdag. So what makes this fish so special? We asked the herring itself and his partner in crime, Jack Buijs. Eet smakelijk!
CREDIT
Report: Andrea Horakh
Camera: Willy Schmidt
Edit: Philipp Czegka
Supervising Editor: Ruben Kalus
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:17 The finger monger
00:55 Herring season
01:27 My fans
02:01 How to eat me
02:43 My competitors
03:24 Insider herring tips
04:37 What to drink
04:51 Outro
#herring #dutch #netherlands
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe to DW Food:
bit.ly/DWFood_Sub
DW Food brings you the perfect blend of culinary trends, easy DIY recipes, exciting food secrets & a look behind the scenes of Europe’s culinary culture.

[@DWFood]

What's your favorite seafood dish?

[@freakyflow]

Grandfather Went to Holland before the war And had a great time there. During the war They sent him back in the Netherlands Bergen Op Zoom He traded a American for 2 cans of Herring And gave it to a family "We have not had fish for 4 years!" He returned later that day with ration packs of other food - He told me : If you ever get to go to Europe go to Holland The people are warm And friendly We are much alike Since the war They rebuilt faster then other countries Which means they are hard working. - Grandfather has since past. But How great is it this video has happy herring crazy people in it ? : ) Hello from Canada

[@architectgilbertperez6664]

In Dutch, they would say "Lekker!" Herring is rich in Omega 3 that prevents heart attack!

[@appiahisaac3106]

architecgillbertperez,are you sure about this,for saying Herring eating in Holland prevents heart attacks,you are dreaming. Go check from what's killing them,plus those herrings not from thier seas,illegal fishing 🎣 from them in morroccon waters plus the best herrings comes from ghana and the surplus from our fishermen is the ones they are enjoying. Is a fact. Check.Herrings season in ghana is I think August in the central region and the western region of ghana.

[@toolbaggers]

@@appiahisaac3106 The best herring are caught in the clean and cold Canadian waters.

[@thesushifiend]

I'm British and was introduced to these as Matjesbroetchen when I lived in Hamburg. But now I eat them like the Dutch, holding them by the tail. Unfortunately I can only get them from one place and they're frozen but still utterly delicious!

[@juxbertrand]

This summer on Zandvoort's beach. Was walking for 25 minutes then i saw a food truck close to the shore. Guess ?? Just herrings (harengs en Français) and fish. Many young people around the truck. Herring is not only a tradition in "les Pays-Bas", it is a "patrimoine" and i fell a lot of respect with that.

[@toolbaggers]

FYI - herring is fish so just say they served only fish.

[@shyamdevadas6099]

I attended a tech conference in Amsterdam a while ago and I'd developed such a respect for Dutch foods and traditions. I thought I would LOVE herring. I'd eaten raw fish for decades from many cultures. I've eaten and loved canned and pickled fish from different cultures. I had no aversion to briney or vinegary preserved foods. I thought for SURE that it would just fit into this seasoned palate on mine. But, at an evening event where multiple festive herring stations had been set up, I tried it 5-6 times. I can't say it was bad. It was obviously prepared with great care and tradition. But, every flavor and texture combination seemed alien to me. Something I'd never experienced and never expected. Of course, this has now created a personal challenge for me. I need to at least understand the flavor and texture profiles of this dish. I've vowed to try herring at every opportunity, until I resolve that I love it, or why I would hate it. (You can't just turn your back on something with this sort of tradition.)

[@PINKALIMBA]

I just left Rotterdam 3 days ago. It was winter and herring is not in season. But I found the packaged herring in Albert Heijn and I absolutely love it. I look forward to return to Netherlands during June or July to try the fresh herrings!

[@mercedesbenz2053]

I am from Saudi Arabia and I hope to try this meal when I travel to the Netherlands

[@GUTOMOFFICIAL]

Mmm herring! In Sweden they also eat pickled herring.

[@NS-un5lz]

This is brined herring.

[@MikeyRamone91]

You mean Surströmming 😅

[@ivaniii4135]

@@MikeyRamone91surströmming is fermented. Completely different from pickled

[@Beun007]

Great video!

[@martinr7728]

The 1st person perspective is a bit bizarre 😅

[@DWFood]

A bit or too bizarre? 😉

[@johngrey1074]

@@DWFood Too bizarre.

[@coolmojito]

@@DWFood it's goddamn cringe

[@fingerling54]

Probably only DW has this weird idea of telling the story of eating something from the perspective of this "something".

[@Buddhavibez]

I grew up eating rollmop herrings in a cream sauce with pickles. They used to seek them at the deli counter in Lewis’s department store. Lush

[@toolbaggers]

And this is why the British are known to have some of the worst cuisine in the world.

[@Zero-hl2zy]

No wonder they look soooooo healthy. Bon appetit

[@flymetomatteo]

Herring is the bomb! I'm Asian and I was in love the 1st time trying it

[@ihatedill2447]

Love it

[@SomePotato]

On a bread roll with some onions for me, please. I miss the fish stall at the local market. Had Dutch herring almost every week until they stopped coming. Side note: At 2:58, I'm pretty sure that's a kroket, not a frikandel.

[@andrewroberts4736]

I'm British and I LOVE herring. Pickled, floured and fried or smoked. So good!

[@blondstallion]

Our herring is neither pickled nor smoked, it's salted in brine. Huge difference

[@marcschnitfink]

Im expat living many years in us.still love the herring get it at alot of polish delis in north east part of us.also which i didnt see in video smoked eel which is widely loved and held dear in the netherlands..cant find that here local at all.but fortunattely i know the old way to smoke them.those two and rice table.cant spell tat corectly.anyway those three uumm uumm.and then some!

[@mahler58]

the snack from the 'automat'is not a frikandel, but a kroket, or maybe a kipcorn. And we don't eat roasted chicken as streetfood, it;s fries (patat) with anything, stroopwafel, kroket, frikandel, sandwiches (broodjes) with anything.

[@juxbertrand]

Febo ! I can challenge all the showcase :)))

[@DrGaryGreen]

It's true. It's FANTASTIC. I missed this year but next year I'll be there just for this.

[@user-wn2ut4kq8o]

I love herring !!

[@CL4MP]

best thumbnail I've seen in a while 😂

[@Beun007]

Right, herring is full of the healthy Omega 3!

[@guycalabrese4040]

Aha! So that's why in Sweden they eat matjes for the midsummer feast! Washed down with snaps, though. I don't know how different matjes is from this since matjes contains a lot of sugar and "christmas" spices.

[@scoonii4420]

This first person perspective from a fish about to be eaten is unsettling

[@peosforos13]

I missed herring so much! together with eel, so tasty!

[@nickmail7604]

Partial to a silver darlin' myself.

[@deanhankio6304]

I remember eating some at Zandvoort

[@user-ib3mh7su8h]

this Netherlands type of herring is espessially tasty

[@suchevski]

Yeah really good that.

[@wgnoob]

i love matjes 👍🏻

[@another_pointless_account4130]

2:50 - Rotisserie kip is not street food and that's a kroket not a frikandel.

[@mariussielcken]

No the chicken is often literally by the street

[@another_pointless_account4130]

@@mariussielcken street food is eaten on the street. The chickens are usually bought and taken home.

[@DWFood]

Yes, you're right it's a kroket. Thanks for the correction and apologies for the mistake!

[@DrGaryGreen]

@@DWFood Because you're so nice we forgive you.

[@marcobartolucci1285]

one of the few good things in netherlands

[@sigiloXXX]

"Freakendale." Frikadelle. Funny.

[@ronaldderooij1774]

I am Dutch, I hate to eat all kinds of fish, including herring. It still tastes like where it came from, seawater. I feel neglected in this video, haha.

[@MrWhitmen1981]

Go eat a muddy turnip😂

[@SaorAlba1970]

Haddock is the king of the sea, in Scotland Herring is either pickled or smoked then they are called kippers, they are a popular breakfast in Scotland

[@marcusfranconium3392]

Smoked salted Herring we call Bokking nothing better than one straight out of the hot smoker .

[@deetgeluid]

I love Haddock. Smoked in Cullen skink. I’m Dutch, but love the Scottish fish dishes.

[@yannisconstantinides7767]

Why is this narrated from the perspective of a herring

[@DWFood]

The question is: Why not? 😉Do you like it or is it too bizzare for you?

[@le2458]

@@DWFoodI like it

[@gregberry7647]

Because the dog was on holiday.

[@skellurip]

dutch colonize the spice island for hundreds of years and eat food like this...

[@martinr7728]

dUtcH cOlONiZe thE SPiCe isLAnD fOR HUnDrEds Of yeaRs And eAT fooD lIkE THIS...

[@mariussielcken]

Wild raw fish is the ultimate health food

[@arshadhussainchoudhury5806]

😂😂😂

[@mainsmain]

​@@captainhook5410that's also for every Friday but I don't see you doing it

[@user-vj2ng5el9r]

🐊 style

[@qualitytraders5333]

The herring isn't "new". There are warehouses full of them, caught years ago. On the other hand we have farmed out the work of fishing to the Scandinavians and only have large factories in, mainly, Norway for processing.

[@narvul]

What would be the benefit of that?

[@sibin3732]

I translated this to Indonesian with Euromaxx 😊

[@elvenkind6072]

Nice, this almost made me want to eat whole herring by the barrel, but the first person tale of the herring was a bit... strange...

[@gilanggilang9859]

is it raw or brined?

[@annakolisnychenko3071]

It’s brined. Usually it take a couple of days to be ready to eat because this type of herring is young.

[@stefandebruijn2654]

Brined. But also important, the pancreas is not removed, other organs are.

[@muhammadichsan3081]

As for us the Asian, we love shrimp paste

[@brooksbrown580]

Dutch Food is the best in Europe !

[@osmankalif3500]

In Norway we eat it year round

[@narvul]

In the Netherlands too.

[@elisislhyn6537]

the damn thumbnail got me. what a face hahahah

[@DWFood]

😅

[@michaelcooper4986]

Kippers 😋😋😋

[@karlscher5170]

Real Dutch Matjes are so mild and creamy in taste. Don't mix it up with the cheap knock off from the supermarket (Matjes"filet"). The original is delicious!

[@toolbaggers]

lol when people think sushi is gross.

[@BenKuipers]

I eat a herring as breakfast at 7:00 in the morning, no unions..the thing you showed out off a vending machine was NOT a frikandel..

[@henkhessel3651]

The only real food I see in this movie is herring. 2 at noon for me to start the day.

[@bensmith7536]

Texture would the selling point for me...... as long as there was no slimy mouthfeel I'd be all over that. Although I happily eat two dozen natural oysters with lemon juice, so I might not have such a problem with it. Solution: try it !

[@christophersaeli5620]

why is this recommended to me lol 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@PopPo-zh9up]

This is narrated from the perspective of the fish Strange

[@palantir135]

What you called frikandel is a kroket.

[@ttabood7462]

I like herring too but uh, not that much I don't think.

[@khaledenglishlearner8595]

have you heard of something called fire cave men

[@UnrealNarcissist]

That was a kroket not a frikandel

[@tristanr8535]

Nobody eats it all the time though. Certainly not Jack

[@bens3067]

Pickled herring seems like it would have a raw fish texture which is gross....the only way I'd eat it is fried or smoked

[@quantumpower]

2:53

[@quantumpower]

4:31

[@GrandTickler]

indeed

[@izzatfauzimustafa6535]

How salty is this?

[@Lividbuffalo]

Yes

[@NS-un5lz]

Not very.

[@gorillachilla]

Go down on your wife and ask the same question

[@marcusfranconium3392]

You dont even notice it .

[@Tatianaarc]

‘Isn’t that weird?’

[@therealdutchidiot]

Deutsche Welle: "we know just enough to not look stupid, but not enough to actually be correct".

[@DWFood]

We are always open to feedback, negative and positive. However, constructive criticism is always best. What do you think is incorrect in this report?

[@therealdutchidiot]

@@DWFood I would respond with the very sinple question of "what do you believe is actually correct?" Because it's much easier to go from there. There a lot of times when you are factually correct, but the reasoning is off.

[@BANANAT0R314]

​@@therealdutchidiotSo you don't have a clue, got it.

[@samsplayground8646]

Mentah?

[@ylvafreijters2535]

Ik heb het nog nooit gegeten, dat gaat ook nooit gebeuren ook. Kibbeling wel.

[@01adhdave]

Kibbeling is geen vis en heeft ook geen enkel gezondheidsvoordeel.

[@narvul]

@@01adhdave Wat is kibbeling dan wel?

[@igors.787]

Russians speaking like hearing as well.

[@ronm564]

nope

[@czecherst]

DW Food, I like your videos! But please don't put them in the first person from the perspective of the food! I think there's plenty of playfulness and lightness in your videos without using that particular sytle choice...

[@_Triple-B]

As a dutch person i have never seen someone eating a broiled chicken as street food. Also i think 80% of the dutch people hate raw herring

[@NS-un5lz]

80% of Dutch people love brined herring. You have to taste.

[@sit-insforsithis1568]

I don’t like herring but most of my friends do, I just don’t like fish, only kibbeling (probably because it’s fried

[@martinr7728]

I can't speak much for other regions, but in Brabant at the markets there is always broiled chicken

[@01adhdave]

@@sit-insforsithis1568 Kibbeling is not good for your health

[@marcusfranconium3392]

I think your mistaken as every one i know loves it ,

[@Bruno-tm3xo]

Disgusting

[@MrMotherfuck123]

Very disturbing that this Mini doc Was narrated by a dead Hering....