SEASON'S GREETINGS FROM AMSTERDAM

It occurred to me that I had to, or rather should create a festive jpeg and send it to the people I care about. My absence on Facebook probably makes it difficult to connect with some friends, but I try my best to connect by writing personal emails. I wanted to design something to say Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. It took me a long time before I figured out what to put on my screen.

I thought it has to be something related to Holland. The windmill perhaps? The clogs? But when the weather turned for the worse, this image became apparent in my head. Waking up one morning and seeing the sight of icy pavements and grey skies, this rather pathetic yet funny image appeared. This is the famous Dutch soused herring, one of their national foods if I may say. I absolutely love the taste of soused herring, so this is not a piss take at all.

The term soused herring usually means 'soaked in a mild preserving liquid', and can be used to refer to raw herring in a mild vinegar pickle or the famous Dutch brined herring. As well as vinegar, the marinade might contain cider, wine or tea, sugar, herbs (usually bay leaf), spices (usually mace), chopped onion.

The word 'soused' can also describe a marinaded herring that has been cooked. The herring can be baked in the marinade or fried and then soaked in it. It is served cold.

The soused herring (maatjesharing in Dutch, or matjes in German and Swedish) is an especially mild salt herring, which is made from young immature herrings. The herrings are ripened for a couple of days in oak barrels in a salty solution, or brine. The pancreatic enzymes which support the ripening make this version of salt herring especially mild and soft.