Soused herring

Soused herring is raw herring (a variety of fish) soaked in a mild preserving liquid. It usually consists of raw herring in a mild vinegar pickle or Dutch brined herring. As well as vinegar, the marinade might contain cider, wine or tea, sugar, herbs (usually bay leaf), spices (usually mace), and chopped onion. The word 'soused' can also describe a marinated herring that has been cooked. The herring is usually baked in the marinade, although it is sometimes instead fried and then soaked in the marinade. Soused herring is served cold. The soused herring (maatjesharing, although referred to as maatjes in Netherlands, or Matjes/matjes (in Germany and Sweden) is an especially mild salt herring, made from immature herrings. The herrings are ripened for a couple of days in oak barrels in a salty solution, or brine. The pancreatic enzymes which support the ripening make this version of salt herring especially mild and soft. Raw herrings pickled in vinegar are called rollmops. Dutch-made Hollandse Nieuwe, Holländischer Matjes and Hollandse maatjesharing have TSG Certification within the European Union, and German-produced Glückstädter Matjes, produced in Schleswig-Holstein, has PGI certification.