Pickled Herring

Saturday evening Golden Hour tonight. Dale made steak and brussels sprouts. For an appetizer he picked up some pickled herring. I grew up with pickled herring. We mostly had it around the holidays and I absolutely loved it. So did my Dad.

The following is from The Deluxe Food Lover's Companion:

herring: This huge family of saltwater fish has over a hundred varieties. The popular herring swims in gigantic schools and can be found in the cold waters of the North Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In the United States, two of the most popular members of this family are the American shad, and the alewife, both of which are anadromous, meaning that they migrate from their saltwater habitat to spawn in fresh water. Herring are generally small (ranging between 1/4 and 1 pound) and silvery. The major exception to that rule is the American shad, which averages 3 to 6 pounds and is prized for its eggs - the delicacy known as shad roe. Young herring are frequently labeled and sold as sardines.... Pickled herring have been marinated in vinegar and spices before being bottle in either a sour-cream sauce or a wine sauce. The term can also refer to herring that have been dry-salted before being cured in brine.

Christmas Traditions: The Christmas Pickle

It's a sham! Well, at least I think it is...

About a year ago I was shopping with a friend and I came across a glass pickle ornament. I mentioned that I thought it was a funny object for a Christmas tree ornament. She informed me that it was some German tradition and that because I have partial German heritage I should know all about it.

Well.

According to "tradition" the pickle is supposed to be the last ornament hung on the tree on Christmas Eve. The first child to find the pickle on Christmas morning gets an extra gift from Saint Nicholas. This doesn't hold up as the German St. Nick doesn't arrive on Christmas Eve but on the 5th or 6th of December. Also, German children don't open their presents the morning of Christmas but on Christmas Eve.

One story says that a Bavarian-born man who fought in the American Civil War was captured and began to die while being held prisoner. He begged a guard for a pickle before he died. The guard granted his wish and the pickle gave the man his strength and health back.

In another story, originating in Berrien Springs, Michigan, two medieval-era Spanish boys are traveling home from school for the Christmas holidays. They stop at an inn for the night but the innkeeper is a rotten fellow who stuffs the boys in a barrel of pickles. Saint Nicholas soon stops by and taps the pickle barrel with his staff and the boys are freed. Berrien Springs is the self-proclaimed Christmas Pickle Capital of the World. A parade which is part of its December Christmas Pickle Festival is led by a Grand Dillmeister who gives out real pickles along the parade route. You my then purchase German glass pickle ornaments at the town's museum.

Oddly, few in Germany ever have heard of the Christmas Pickle.

Scam or not, it looks like the 'legend' of the Christmas pickle is here to stay. I bought the one pictured above just for fun this past season. I even found smaller pickle ornaments packaged in a pickle jar at the Sur la Table kitchen store.

From The Deluxe Food Lover's Companion:

"pickle n. Food that has been preserved in a seasoned brine or vinegar mixture. Among the more popular foods used for pickling are cucumbers, pearl onions, cauliflower, baby corn, watermelon rind, pig's feet and herring. Pickles can be sour, sweet, hot or variously flavored, such as with DILL for the popular dill pickle. pickle v. Top preserve food in a vinegar mixture or brine."

Ginger

After the church service today at Gethsemane Episcopal Church in downtown Minneapolis, Joanne, the hospitality guru, directed me to the spread of cookies she had laid out. "You're own personal recipe?", I asked. Joanne's response: "Yeah, right." She pointed out the chocolate chocolate chip, butterscotch, oatmeal raisin, and the ginger cookies. Ginger snaps have long been one of my favorite cookies and not having had one in a long while, I went for those. Mmmmm. Even though they were store bought they were very tasty.

I love my mom's cookies. She recently brought me a bunch of her chocolate chip cookies. I usually put them in the freezer and eat them right from there. In fact, I have some on hand now and just ran to grab a few as I write this. She used to make ginger snaps too. I remember moving to my apartment on Girard Avenue in Minneapolis and mom phoning and asking me if there was anything I missed from home. My response?: "Ginger snaps". She made me a batch.

The following is from The Deluxe Food Lover's Companion by Sharon Tyler Herbst and Ron Herbst:

"Ginger; gingerroot. A plant from tropical and subtropical regions that's grown for its gnarled and bumpy root. Most ginger comes from Jamaica, followed by India, Africa and China. Gingerroot's name comes from the Sanskrit word for 'horn root,' undoubtedly referring to its knobby appearance. It has a tan skin and a flesh that ranges in color from pale greenish yellow to ivory. The flavor is peppery and slightly sweet, while the aroma is pungent and spicy. This extremely versatile root has long been a mainstay in Asian and Indian cooking and found its way early on into European foods as well. The Chinese, Japanese and East Indians use fresh gingerroot in a variety of forms - grated, ground and slivered - in many savory dishes. Europeans and most Americans, however are more likely to use the dried ground form of ginger, usually in baked goods."

Yes, I love that peppery and slightly sweet taste. Note to self: ask Mom for her ginger snap recipe. It's high time I start making these on my own.

Not too long ago Martha Stewart had an article in her magazine about ginger snaps in a February issue. It may have been in the Good Things section. Anyway, it said that ginger snaps go mighty well with raspberry jam. I thought I'd give it a try. Not having Mom's recipe, I went to the grocery store to look for some ginger snaps. In the cookie aisle along with all the Keebler brand cookies I found a bag of Rippon Good brand ginger snaps. The cookies come out of Rippon, Wisconsin and were quite good if but a bit drier than homemade cookies. And yes, they go extremely well with raspberry jam.