Dutch traditions, June
Hollandse Nieuwe: the day the first herring arrives
Music, beer, a whole barrel auctioned off and dancing into the night. One of the few food traditions that still stops a whole town.
Once a year the country loses its composure over a fish. The new herring comes in, a barrel gets auctioned off for an amount that would embarrass a wine merchant, a band plays, and the dancing runs into the night. We were there with a camera, because this is one of the few Dutch traditions that has not been tidied up for visitors.
What Hollandse Nieuwe actually is
Hollandse Nieuwe is herring caught in early summer, when the fish has fed all spring and its fat content has climbed past sixteen percent. That fat is the whole point. It is what makes the flesh soft and mild instead of sharp, and it is why the same fish caught two months earlier would not qualify.
The fish is gutted at sea, but the pancreas is deliberately left in. Its enzymes ripen the herring slowly in a light salt brine over a few days, which is a form of curing rather than pickling. Nothing about it is raw in the way people fear when they hear raw fish, and nothing about it tastes of vinegar.
The first barrel
The season opens with Vlaggetjesdag in Scheveningen, the fishing harbour beside The Hague, where the boats dress overall with flags and the town treats it as a public holiday. The first barrel of the catch is auctioned for charity and the bidding is a matter of civic pride, so the price has long since stopped bearing any relation to fish.
How to eat it
The image everyone knows, head tipped back and the herring lowered in by the tail, is real but is more of a Rotterdam and The Hague habit. In Amsterdam you will usually be handed a broodje haring: the fillets chopped, tucked into a soft white roll with raw onion and sweet pickle. Order it at a stall rather than a restaurant, eat it standing up, and do not skip the onion, which is there to cut the fat.
From June onwards the stalls are part of the ordinary street furniture in Amsterdam, and a walking tour can easily take a detour past a good one. If you happen to be here in the opening week, the festival version is worth planning around.
