Eating herring in the Netherlands: all you need to know about the ‘Hollandse Nieuwe’

Expats, are you 'herring' this?

The large-scale herring fishing in the Netherlands started during the Golden Age. Since then, Dutch herring and the ‘Hollandse Nieuwe’ have become a delicacy with culinary fans all over the world. 🐟

The herring fleets of the 15th century also gave birth to the all-powerful Dutch merchant navy.

To the Dutch, herring had become an indispensable source of proteins and nutrients, thanks to which the population could grow (really, really tall).

Herring in the Netherlands: the basics

Eating herring in the Netherlands is a Dutch tradition. Lots of tourists find it exciting to buy herring for the first time, grab the whole fish by its tail, and let it slide down their throats in typical Dutch fashion.

The Netherlands and herring are inextricably linked, and no fish is more Dutch than the popular so-called Hollandse Nieuwe!

READ MORE | The Dutch ‘fish doorbell’ has been pressed 150,000 times so far this year

A herring is a small, slender, silvery fish. About a quarter of its body weight can consist of fat. Herrings can become eight to ten years old.

After two to three years, the herring is mature and about twenty centimetres long. For a while, the herring was heavily overfished and almost on the brink of extinction.

Thankfully, the species is thriving again due to global quotas restricting the number of herring fishermen are allowed to harvest at a time.

Where exactly does the herring come from?

Herring comes from the eastern part of the North Sea, and most herring can be found in the waters around Norway and Denmark.

Some can also be found a little bit to the eastern part of the North Sea, near Scotland.

Haring-with-onions-and-pickles-in-the-netherlands
Hold up — does that mean my herring ain’t Dutch?? 😳 Image: Depositphotos

Almost all the herring eaten in the Netherlands is caught by Danish and Norwegian companies, while Dutch companies with factories in Skagen, Denmark, prepare them and bring them back to the Netherlands to sell.

The opening of the herring season in the Netherlands

The traditional auction of the first keg of herring takes place in Scheveningen every year, with proceeds going to charity. In 2009, a record revenue of more than €66,000 was gained from the auction.

A day after the auction, the herring season officially starts, and the following Saturday is called Flags Day.

Traditionally, the auction only involves the sale of Dutch herring called Hollandse Nieuwe. 👇

What is Hollandse Nieuwe Herring?

The name can sometimes be confusing. It raises the question: when is a herring both Dutch (Hollandse) and new (Nieuwe)?

Well, herring may only be called Hollandse Nieuwe if it has a certain percentage of fat — at least 16% — and has been cleaned the right way.

It is typically caught between May and September and can be quite scarce in the winter months.

The name maatje or maatjes herring is derived from virgin herring. This means that the herring caught does not yet contain a roe and may not be ready for the Hollandse Nieuwe name.

Vlaggetjesdag (Flags Day) in the Netherlands

Vlaggetjesdag (Flags Day) has a long and interesting history, though it has only had its name since 1947.

According to history books, there was a ban on catching too many herrings from the sea in the 18th century. Due to the ban, fishermen had to focus on other species such as the flatfish.

Only a limited number of fishermen were allowed to sail out to catch the herring — usually, only about 10 boats were allowed to leave every day.

image of Minister_Braks_eating_herring_flags_day
Lekker! Dutch Minister Gerrit Braks eating herring at Flags Day in 1983. Image: Rob Croes/Wikimedia Commons/CC0 1.0

The first herring caught by any of the 10 boats was traditionally awarded to a high-ranking person (like a mayor, or even stadtholder). The tradition started because Stadtholder Willem V was present on a regular basis to check the departure of the boats.

The fishermen enjoyed the statesman’s official presence and decorated their villages with flags to welcome him (hence Flags Day!).

An official Vlaggetjesdag Committee was established in 1950 and has been in charge of all the festivities surrounding Flags Day ever since.

Preparing herring or ‘gibbing’

Gibbing is the process of preparing salt herring, which en-tail-s (get it 😉) the removal of the gills and part of the gullet with a specially designed knife.

However, the liver and pancreas remain untouched because they release enzymes essential for flavour.

Gibbing also involves the removal of the heart and the intestines, after which the fish is stored in a wooden barrel with salt. In this way, the herring can be stored for long periods and transported more easily.

Dutch herring being prepared
Cleaning a herring is a fine craft. Image: Takeaway/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0

Haringhappen in the Netherlands

Haringhappen is a Dutch tradition that was borrowed from the Catholic faith. During Lent, Catholics are prohibited from eating meat so Dutch Catholics ate herring to usher in the fasting period after the carnival.

These days, Haringhappen is a regular part of the festivities surrounding carnival in the Netherlands.

The Wednesday after carnival is officially called Ash Wednesday and has traditionally been a Catholic event where Christians get an ash cross on their forehead — as a sign of penance and a moment of contemplation.

After getting their ash crosses, Dutch locals usually tuck into some herring at home. Thus began the tradition of eating herring on Ash Wednesday and also during Lent.

How to eat herring in the Netherlands

For tourists coming to the Netherlands, especially for the first time, eating herring is something that must be done the right way to avoid judgmental looks from Dutch locals.

@dutchreview Did somebody say lekker?! #dutchfood #dutchmemes #dutchlife #expatlife #expatsinthenetherlands #thenetherlands #dutchreview #meme #memecut ♬ original sound – DutchReview

So without further ado: it’s customary to grab a salty herring by the tail and then let it slide down your throat.

Often this is done with onions to somewhat neutralise the strong taste of the herring. Tourists usually find it a disgusting way of eating fish, and there are lots of Dutch folks who don’t like it either.

READ MORE | The complete guide to eating herring in the Netherlands (without traumatising yourself!)

But you don’t necessarily have to eat herring raw. It can also be eaten fried or smoked.

photo-two-men-eating-herring-in-the-netherlands
Eating herring in the Netherlands: You either love it or hate it. Image: DutchReview

Some fun facts about the Dutch herring

  • About 50 billion herring swim in the North Sea every year.
  • At a certain point during the Dutch Golden Age, the Netherlands had 80% of the herring market and made so much money from the herring trade that they were easily among the top three richest countries in Europe.
  • You can use your phone to judge how fresh your herring is. The app “How fresh is your fish?” can be used to determine and judge the freshness of 15 fish species, herring included. The app is free to download for iPhone and Android phones.
  • The closing of the North Sea to herring fishing in 1977 forced Dutch fishermen and herring buyers to move to some Scandinavian countries permanently. Denmark turned out to be the most suitable place for them.
  • More than 80% of the herring eaten in the Netherlands isn’t caught here. Only two ships in the Netherlands are actively catching herring in Scheveningen.
  • You can only eat herring during the herring season and in the Netherlands, the season starts in the month of June. In Scandinavia, that is usually in the period from May to July.
  • Eating herring is healthy because it’s a fatty fish. Herring contains omega-3 fatty acids, which act as protection against heart diseases.

So whether you live in the Netherlands or you’re just visiting, don’t forget to take part in the popular Haringhappen.

But whatever you do, please don’t eat herring with cutlery. Pick it up by the tail and slide it down your throat like a true Dutchie!

Have you ever tried eating herring in the Netherlands? Did you like it? Tell us in the comments!

Feature Image:Dreamstime
Chuka Nwanazia
Chuka Nwanaziahttps://www.beejonson.com/
A renegade wordsmith, freelance writer, poet, and digital marketer based in Amsterdam. Besides writing, he extremely enjoys traveling around Europe in search of old and rare books, writing poems while riding the train to nowhere, performing at poetry events, spending too much time reading books, contemplating the meaning of life, preparing tasty dishes and desserts, and searching for the perfect bookshelf.

Liked it? Try these on for size:

What do you think?

9 COMMENTS

  1. Being Dutch, living in Australia, there is nothing nicer than a salted herring…with finely diced onions.

    Roll mops are nice also.

  2. Being half Dutch, living in the Netherlands, there is nothing nicer than Hollandse Nieuwe with Soya/ketjap sauce or with pepper.

  3. Good article however a ridiculous way of describing how a Dutchman eats a herring. “Sliding it down their throat.” A seagull does that. A Dutchman chews before swallowing his food.

  4. Its disgusting indeed! But being a Dutchman….one herring has more omega3 then a 20 euro pot off omega3 pills,cheers! And i dont chew my food,saves my teeth!

  5. I’m italian, born and raised in Sardinia, where most of the the people are sea food lovers, and surely I am no exception! As such I love herring, specifically Dutch herring, whenever possible I route my flights through Amsterdam to enjoy some delicious herrings, at the airport!

  6. Carla
    Carla

    The Real Person!

    Author Carla acts as a real person and verified as not a bot.
    Passed all tests against spam bots. Anti-Spam by CleanTalk.

    The Real Person!

    Author Carla acts as a real person and verified as not a bot.
    Passed all tests against spam bots. Anti-Spam by CleanTalk.

    I love herring! Only I never can find it in the United States. The only way I find it is pickled in wine sauce. Which is not to bad either. But no fresh once’s

  7. I worked in Amsterdam for a few months 40 years ago and discovered a Brown Bar on a corner of Plantage Middenlaan.
    My first Nieuwe Herring became a favourite and I’d have it every other day.
    Back in the U.K. I could only find rollmop soused in small tubs which weren’t the same and now trying to find fresh herring near me quite impossible. I’d like to buy a dozen to put in my smoker.
    However, a trip into my local LIDL last week I found jars of Polish pickled herring, still not the raw fresh, but bought 4 jars anyway.
    Tomorrow I’ll be back and buy up however many that I can find 🙏

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related posts

Latest posts

Fun fact: Schiphol has some of the longest walking distances in Europe

Do you ever feel like the walk between Schiphol's security and your gate is so long that you might as well take a few...

A small school with a big heart: Meet Nord Anglia International School Rotterdam

The school years are some of the most formative of our lives — a time of growth and self-discovery. That’s why enrolling your children...

Dutch Quirk #70: Eat too much and have to uitbuik afterwards

Imagine this: you just finished having a delicious meal with your Dutch friend when they all of a sudden sit back, undo the top of their...

It's happening

Upcoming events

The latest Dutch news.
In your inbox.