Misha in Sweden: Surströmming

This week was a pretty defining moment in my year; it was the week I ate surströmming. For those of you unfamiliar with the food, it is a fermented fish that is famous for the absolutely foul smell and taste it has. It's traditional in Swedish culture, but most Swedes I have met have not tried it. Words really cannot express to you the intensity of this pungent odor. It smells like an outhouse on the shore of a salty beach with dead, rotting fish all around you intensified and compressed into a can. It's an accomplishment to be sick after your first bite, as opposed to before. It is made from small Baltic herrings that are fermented (basically rotten). Surströmming is traditionally eaten towards the end of summer on a thin, hard bread with potato and onion and butter. A can of this must always be opened outside, but is probably best eaten inside because any fly that is within ten miles of this stuff will rush over (yes, it's that strong).

It is slimy and tastes just about the way it smells, but surprisingly more salty and even a bit sharp. The taste of this does not leave your mouth without hard work and it haunts you for a few days after you eat it with every little burp reminding you of your huge mistake. I had heard about this before I came to Sweden and it is amusing to see that Swedes are not in fact nonchalant about this because it truly is disgusting to like 99.999% of the world population. Most people I have met, especially my age, have not tried surströmming, so I joked with them that I am more Swedish than they are.

I got the opportunity to try this during a crawfish party, which is a tradition in Swedish culture. Towards the end of summer, friends and family gather for multiple crawfish parties and such. While surströmming is not a usual dish served, the people organizing this party thought it would be an interesting attraction. It was a lot of fun!