A surströmming experience in Skagshamn, 17 June 2019

Up north again, we make a stopover in Skagshamn, interested to further understand how the surströmming is prepared. Who knows, maybe Belisama will enlarge its fermented stuff menu by adding surströmming?

Hail in Skaghamn

Skaghamn is a very small village centred around the surströmming factory and the chapel. It is part of the Skagen peninsula which includes as well Skeppsmalen, which we visited in 2016.

The surströmming factory wharf in Skaghamn.

The Skagshamn chapel

 The Skagshamn chapel is particular with its 2 metre long votive sturgeon! The chapel was used in the past to store fishing gear and salt tubs during the winter months. Sturgeons were common during the XIX century in Swedish waters and in river deltas but they have disappeared since. Only to be found stuffed in museums, or in chapels!

Votive fish and chip (!)

 The votive ship Oockan, from Gävle is typical of the "haxe" ships that the Gävle sailors were using all along the coast of the Bothnian sea for their seasonal fishing. They were flat-bottomed and rigged as schooners. They could carry up to 30 people. They were 60 of them in Gävle in the XVIII century, only half of this a century later. The last Gävle haxe, "Anna", sailed until 1899.

Votive ship Oockan from Gävle. 

Now comes the surströmming. We had a fantastic welcome by the manager of the factory who devoted one and a half hour to guide us through the process in the factory.

The factory gets 110 tonnes of herring every year brought to them by fishing boats during the hearing fishing season in April and May. In addition, they import another 30 tonnes of herring filets from Finland. As the fishes are arriving, they go through the machine below where they are aligned, beheaded and cleaned.

From there, they go in 120 litre barrels in a 23% salty brine for a short period in order to get the blood out. Finally, they end-up in a lighter brine until they are ready for canning. The place at this time of the year is piled with barrels. Checking the fermenting of the herrings require to check for bubbling, indicating a good fermenting process. The barrels are not closed air-tight to allow the fermenting gas to escape. When ready, after a few weeks, the herrings are moving up in the barrel. Over fermenting would affect the consistence of the herrings.

Part of the checking involves testing the fermented herrings directly from the barrel. Press the herring between two fingers to extract a filet and taste. In fact, strong taste, but not bad.

After canning, the surströmming should be kept in a fridge to stop further fermenting and avoid pressure building-up in the can. Surströmming is a must around midsummer in Sweden, accompanied by potatoes, red onion and thin white bread. The "surströmming premiere", meaning the consumption of the surströmming of the year starts the third Thursday of August.

There are quite a few myths around surströmming. Several airlines are prohibiting surströmming on board of flights in fear that it could explore. For this reason, surströmming is not allowed to be sold in Stockholm airports! The opening of the can is the most sensitive time, as pressure inside the can can project the smelly brine around. Not a good idea, and most Swedes will eat surströmming outside. You can put the can in water as you puncture it initially. Or you put one side few centimetres up and puncture on the top so that only the gas and no brine will be expelled.

We opened it, ate it, and we are still on the boat, without bad smell.