Polish · appetizer
Śledź (Marinated Herring)
Śledź (Marinated Herring) reads sweetness 5.1, sourness 4.9 and umami 4.1 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Polish appetizer, about 15 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.
The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10
- Umami & Savory — 4.8 / 10
- Sweet & Fruity — 6.2 / 10
- Sour & Bright — 4.9 / 10
- Bitter & Earthy — 1.8 / 10
- Rich & Fat — 4.1 / 10
- Aromatic & Spice — 3.6 / 10
The measured notes (of 18)
Sweetness 5.1 · Sourness 4.9 · Umami 4.1 · Richness 4.0 · Fruity 3.8 · Allium 3.2 · Marine & Briny 3.0 · Warm Spice 2.8 · Funk & Ferment 2.5 · Floral 2.2 · Salinity 2.0 · Earthy 1.5 · Bitterness 1.3 · Heat 0.6 · Smoke 0.6 · Herbaceous 0.5 · Nutty 0.5
What's in it (10)
- 1 lb salt herring fillets
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced into rings
- 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 3 bay leaves
- 6 allspice berries
- 1 tsp peppercorns
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup sour cream (for the cream variant)
- 1 apple, peeled and diced
Time & effort: about 15 min · effort: medium
Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 185.4 kcal, 7.5 g protein, 8.2 g fat, 30.5 g carbs
Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.
How it's cooked (4 steps)
- Soak salt herring fillets in cold water for 12 to 24 hours, changing the water several times to remove excess salt.
- Slice the fillets and layer with thin onion rings, peppercorns, allspice, and bay leaves in a jar.
- Pour over a sweet-sour brine of vinegar, sugar, and water (or mix with sour cream and diced apple for the creamy version).
- Seal and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving with dark rye bread.
Dishes with a similar flavor shape
- Rotkohl (Braised Red Cabbage) — German
- Mediterranean Sweet and Sour Chicken — Mediterranean
- Bobotie with Yellow Rice — South African · Cape Malay
- Sauerbraten — German
- Pickled Herring (Sill/Sild) — Scandinavian
Keep reading: what sweetness, sourness, umami mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.
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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.