Rigby’s Encyclopaedia of the Herring

aka The Herripedia

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AQUINAS, ST THOMAS

Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Miracle of the Fresh Herrings, a tale to confound all doubters, in particular Franciscans and radical Aristotelians

ARCHAEOLOGY

The earliest kitchen middens archaeological record of herring eating and why no earlier herring bones have been found

BALTIC HERRING

On the Baltic herring, Clupea harengus membras, found in the eastern and northern Baltic and in the Gulf of Bothnia

BLACK HERRING

On the ultra smoked and salted herring, a version of red herring, produced more for its preservation qualities than for taste or nutrition

BLOATER

On the original bloater, which may have evolved in the C17th, and the Yarmouth bloater, which was first produced there in 1835

BUCKLING

On the hot-smoked herring delicacy that is buckling and its spiritual home in the small fishing town of Gudhjem on the Danish island of Bornholm

CANNING

A history of canning, the derivation of 'can', sardines, pilchards, herrings and sprats, the great nations and the Great Sardine Litigation

CHOPPED HERRING

On the great Jewish dish, chopped herring or forshmak, a contested history and a range of possibilities

DRIED HERRING

An early method of preservation, continued in Native American cultures of the North West and South Korea

DUMAS ON HERRING

Dumas and his Grand Dictionary of Cuisine, a flawed translation corrected and all its herring jokes and recipes restored

FISH FINGERS

Birdseye Frozen Foods, Clarence Birdseye, Captain Birdseye and the original herring prototype for fish fingers

GOLDEN HERRING

On the golden coloured, more lightly smoked version of red herring, once sold extensively in the Mediterranean, together with recipes

GRANDMOTHER’S RECIPES

The self-indulgent inclusion of two herring dishes appearing in my Sussex grandmother's hand-written collection of strangely intermingled poems and recipes

GREEN HERRING

A very short entry explaining what green herring is, together with a visual explanation of why the silver darlings may have acquired that name

HARENG SAUR MONOLOGUES

The hareng saur of the Siege of Paris inspired poems by Cros, Huysmans and Richepin and, with them, the modern French monologue

HERRING BHURTA

Cross-cultural creation or adaptation of some genuine Indian recipe to the fish available to returning ex-pats? A dish from Harvey Day.

HERRING UNDER A FUR COAT

Various recipes explored for this classic Russian dish, together with a photograph of one I made earlier

JANSSON’S TEMPTATION

A description of this Swedish dish; consideration of when he was actually tempted and how this might impact on the authenticity of some recipes

JEWISH RECIPES

A selection of fine recipes reflecting the love of herring in the Jewish diaspora (not including ones treated individually in this encyclopaedia)

KIPPER

Oh! The kipper! One of the greatest inventions of the Railway Age! Its Northumbrian origins, preparation, variety and history explored

MARTYRED SAINT

The irreverently wonderful C15th northern French poem, The Life of Saint Herring, glorious martyr, introduced and translated into English

NASHES LENTEN STUFFE

A brief account of the writing of Thomas Nash's extraordinary late C16th work; its scurrilous red herring origin story extracted in full

NEUCRANTZ: ON HERRING (1654)

Including a complete, illustrated translation of Paul Neucrantz' C17th treatise on the herring together with notes on his sources

OATMEAL

The classic way with fried herring, together with recipe variations and some thoughts on just why oatmeal provides the perfect coating

OLIVIER, LAURENCE

The true story of Sir Laurence Olivier's heroic campaign to save the kippers on the Pullman Car breakfast menu of the Brighton Belle

RED HERRING

Not just a euphemism for a false trail, but a kind of smoked herring that has probably served as a euphemism for a false trail since at least the C16th

RED HERRING JOKE, THE

The story of the red herring gag shared between Shakespeare, Jonson & Nashe in at least six great literary works

ROLLMOPS & BISMARCKS

On the popular German vinegar-based cures, together with an origin story for one of them and a basic recipe for the marinade

SALT

An 8,000 year history of salt and salt pickling, paying particular attention to the preservation of herrings by the German Hanse, the Dutch and the British.

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