Oct
10th
2014
Surströmming · 1:07am Oct 10th, 2014
There are a lot of really fun videos on YouTube featuring folks attempting to eat the traditional Swedish dish, surströmming. Surströmming is canned, fermented fish, usually eaten on some sort of flatbread with a name I can't remember at the moment. It is known for being very, very, very... er... pungent. Let's put it this way: people unfamiliar with the smell have been known to contact emergency services after encountering its distinct aroma (and as Dave Barry might say, I am not making this up).
But you know what's more amusing than watching idiots deliberately subject themselves to surströmming? Watching naive fools accidentally subject themselves to it. In a small, enclosed space.
Life is good.
Oh PewDiePie...
I wonder how many YouTubers actually know how to prepare and eat surströmming properly...
I have had it before and it does not smell nearly as bad as people make it out to be—it actually smells far, far worse.
However, if it is prepared properly (outdoors, downwind, rinsed in cold water), and served traditionally with sour cream, diced red onion, boiled potato on crisp buttered flatbread, it is actually quite tasty. The fermentation gives the fish a smooth, mild flavour that complements the astringency of the onion and the starchiness of the potato. Goes really well with the addition of some pickled capers.
2522348
My family is involved with the AFS exchange student program, and though that we have a number of Swedish friends.
Yeah, actual Swedish people don't eat that shit any more.
It's pretty much Swedish-Americans who keep getting told that it's "traditional" and want to connect with their "roots", and stupid foreigners who eat that shit.
If you're a Swedish-American and you want to experience a Swedish meal, order a pizza.
Can't help but wonder if there's a similar bit of chemistry going on here such as what happens in the preparation of garum? Garum is basically the MSG of the Roman era Mediterranean. It was made by fermenting heavily salted fish. The difference, is garum was the clear liquid, taken off the top of the... fish slurry. It was used as a flavor enhancer. This is different in that the fish meat itself is the actual fermented and consumed item...
The production of garum produces glutamic acid, one of the key amino acids that makes up all life forms. The fermentation process breaks down the cells and releases these amino acids, while the salt prevents the meat from actually out right spoiling (though you probably would think it had). Monosodium Glutamate is simply the salt of glutamic acid, and is used as a condiment because it enhances flavors. We detect the glutamic acid, and like it, because we tend to like things we are made of. The so called umami taste is heavily tied to our basic instinct to consume what our bodies are actually made of.
I personally tend to add MSG to any of my foods, where appropriate, and in turn, skip out on table salt. When MSG is taken in, the sodium is taken in by the body and can be used where sodium is required, but I think there is a tenancy to over salt foods. You don't need to use much salt if you already have MSG, and some people's bad reactions may in fact be a case of reacting to taking in too much sodium, which can screw with your body. That or overeating. Since MSG is a mane-stay of many asian buffets, that can actually become an issue! Sadly, MSG has gotten a pretty bad rap over some very bad
sciencegeneral assumptions by a piss poor doctor, who with a single article, created an entire environment of misplaced MSG fear.As for the video... I watched it with sound at 5%, and THROUGH a clear pop bottle... and I still GAGGED! Repeatedly.
I'm such a lightweight!
I normally avoid PDP like the plague, his videos do nothing for me (though the man himself sounds like a proper dude), but this was worth it to see the reaction. When the can popped, I nearly jumped back out of my chair!
Thanks to the glory that is QI, I already knew what this was and how bad it smells. Bad enough that the BBC would not allow Stephen Fry to open the can in the studio, mainly because the smell never really goes away.
Good god. We humans eat biological weapons.
2522661
Remember... There was once a first... Some fearless, stupid, dumbass that once said:
"WOW! I am SO *hurk* gonna put that in my *gag* mouth! Yup! Right down the face hole! *ughh*"
Reminds me of Þorláksmessa here in Iceland, on the 23rd of December. We traditionally have fermented skate (the fish) for lunch on that day which, well, I've known of chefs that show up for work on that day in disposable clothing. Geuh, that smell.
the bread is called "Tunnbröd", which directly translates to Thinbread
(Trust me, I'm Swedish.)
2522403
Both being swedish and living in sweden, i have to claim bullshit on that - it's eaten, not very often and only on a few occasions , but it is eaten!
2523140
My condolences
2523553
): I personally don't like it, but i don't like fish in general, so there's that - i'm gonna have to say that it's not that bad though, at least compared to what non-swedes make it sound/look like.
Assuming you're referring to eating surströmming (and not me being swedish
hehe, I was referring to eating surströmming.
Seeing as I cannot eat fish in general without getting really sick. (gotta love food alergies) this stuff probably would kill me!
2522403
Oddly enough, the family that showed my how to properly prepare it were expats from Östersund...
YOU MEANT TO SAY THIS WAS ALL FALSEHOOD AND DECEPTION?!!! HAVE I BEEN BELIEVING A LIE ALL THIS TIME?!!IS THIS SOME SORT OF CRUEL JOKE PERPETUATED BY THE SWEDISH CABAL UPON UNSUSPECTING AND GULLIBLE FOREIGNERS?!
(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
2523140
I am lost and baffled and do not know what to believe any more...
2524850
Actually, the situation described by Lithl sounds more like lutefisk, which is actually Norway's traditional disgusting preserved fish. (It involves soaking cod in lye and rehydrating it, and the end result is more or less fish jell-o.)
These days, lutefisk is more likely to be eaten in the midwestern United States than in Norway. In fact, the overwhelming majority of lutefisk sold in Norway is imported from the United States.
2522888 - Wait, Iceland has more than one traditional disgusting preserved fish? Wasn't hakarl bad enough?
2524850
When all else fails, just believe the voices in your head!
2524892
We also have the traditional dish Hrútspungar. Translating the name directly, it means Ram Balls. Which is exactly what it is.
2525279
Madness does not always howl. Sometimes, it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "Hey, is there room in your head for one more?"
I AM A POTATO!!!
Listen to your heart! Listen to the rain! Listen to the voices inside your brain! Come on guys! Let's get creative!
Um... can I join too? If you do not mind that is...
from Mind import voices
while True:
print "HEY! LISTEN!"
2525672
Rocky Mountain Oysters or Lamb Fries anyone?
2526186
Yeah, but you don't ferment literally everything <.<