casks. They require no further preparation after fillet and skin removal and can be eaten as a snack with finely sliced raw onion and pickles. As skin removal requires experience, fillets or double fillets should be attempted first. The soused herrings are silvery outside and pink inside when fresh, and should not be bought if they appear grey and oily. Whereas salt herrings have a salt content of 20% and must be soaked in water before consumption, soused herrings do not need soaking. Serving In the Netherlands soused herring is most often served as a snack, most frequently plain, or with cut onions. Whole herring is often eaten by lifting the herring by its tail and eating it upwards holding it over the mouth. Soused herring dishes in Northern Germany are traditionally served with potatoes boiled in their skins, French beans, finely sliced fried bacon and onions. It is also common in Germany to eat soused herring with sliced raw onions in a bread roll, in a dish called Matjesbrötchen. In some regions (e. g. Holstein), it is served on dark bread with a cowberry and cream sauce. Soused herring can also be served with cream or yogurt sauces containing onions and gherkins, or in salads. In Sweden matjessill is traditionally served with boiled potatoes, sour cream, chopped chives, crisp bread and snaps. Boiled eggs are popular together with this dish that is most traditionally served on Midsummer's Eve - Finland has a similar custom but silli is not associated with crisp bread. Nowadays most Swedes and Finns eat herring which comes in cans and are sliced and with added sugar. The Swedish matjessill is most often more strongly spiced than other varieties. See also Pickled herring Fischbrötchen Gwamegi Schmaltz herring Rollmops Sashimi References Herring dishes Snack foods Dutch cuisine German cuisine Swedish cuisine