Herring - more than a source of vitamin D

You can’t spend much time in Denmark without encountering that Scandinavian delicacy the herring (Clupea harengus). Perhaps best known among the endocrine community as a rich source of vitamin D, the Atlantic herring (or sild in Danish) leads an elusive life, preferring deeper waters during the day and only surfacing at night.

The difference between herring is more than salted, smoked or pickled – the North Atlantic herring is split into many stocks depending on where and when it spawns, with at least one stock spawning in every month of the year. Hatching from eggs laid on gravel or rock, the young herring rely on ocean currents to deliver them to their nursery and schooling grounds in the Baltic and North seas.

Both the female and the male reproductive sacs are edible, the latter particularly delicious when fried in butter and sprinkled with cayenne pepper and lemon juice, served on toasted bread (trust me!). The herring themselves feed largely on plankton, and serve as prey for cod, sea birds and whales. Killer Whales are known to follow the herring stocks during their annual migration.

The herring are a schooling fish, collecting in massive groups, which is perhaps where they got their name from (heri being the Old High German word for ‘host’ or ‘multitude’) although some suggest that the name is down to their colour (har is Old English for ‘grey’ or ‘silvery’).

The herring is an integral part of the North Sea and Baltic ecosystem both natural and human, and as a commercial resource it has been described as the silver of the sea thanks to its abundance, although stocks fluctuate and require management by national fisheries. It is a centrepiece of the Danish dinner table and, thanks to its high content of omega-3 oils and vitamin D, has been suggested as a contributing factor to the apparent eternal youth displayed by Scandinavians. Whether this is supported by the evidence or not, it’s still a very tasty fish. Velbekomme (bon appetit)!