A guide to the Swedish herring table

No Swedish holiday table is complete without herring. Sill (pickled herring) is served at Midsummer, Easter and Christmas, usually as the first course, in several flavours at once.

The classic flavours

• Löksill: herring with onion. Mild and tangy, the everyday classic.
• Senapssill: herring in a sweet mustard sauce.
• Matjessill: matjes herring fillets, tender and rich in flavour.
• Svartvinbärssill: herring in a blackcurrant marinade, fresh, sour and sweet.
• Smögensill: herring with dill, onion and roe.
• Torslandasill: herring with bostongurka, chives and leek.
• Stekt inlagd strömming: fried and pickled Baltic herring.

How to serve a herring table

1. Put out two or three herrings in separate bowls or jars.
2. Add boiled new potatoes, chopped chives, sour cream or crème fraîche, and sliced hard-boiled eggs.
3. Serve crisp bread (knäckebröd), dark bread and butter, and a mature cheese such as Västerbotten.
4. Traditionally, a small glass of snaps goes with it, with a song.

Tip

Keep herring in the fridge, spoon out only what you need, and use a clean spoon each time.

Find them all in our Swedish herring collection.

Ready for the table: Löksill, Senapssill, Matjessillfilé, Svartvinbärssill, Smögensill and Torslandasill.

See also: which herring to choose and what to drink with Swedish seafood.

Related: how to build a Swedish smörgåsbord and Swedish seafood apéro canapés.