Herrings pickled in vinegar are called “Bismarckhering“. There are multiple stories as to why the pickled fish bears the name of a renowned statesman.

The most known one goes back to the tradespeople Johann and Karoline Wiechmann of Stralsund at the Baltic Sea coast. They won some money in a lottery and opened a fish business. But they were also admirers of Bismarck so they sent him a small wooden barrel with herrings in vinegar and spices for his birthday. Then for the proclamation of the German Empire in 1871, they sent him another barrel and included a note this time asking if the herring could be called “Bismarck-Hering”. The chancellor granted their request in a handwritten note which was kept in the offices of the Wiechmann company until it got destroyed during the bombing of Stralsund in 1944.

Or maybe the herring and Bismarck got associated because Bismarck supposedly said: “If the herring were as expensive as a lobster, it surely would be considered a delicacy by the upper classes.”

However the herring pickled in vinegar and spices got its name, you can eat it on a bun or with fried potatoes and eggs, or, my personal favorite, in a creamy sauce with Pellkartoffeln (jacket potatoes).

You can also take the herring without any of the marinade and roll it around a pickle. That’s a “Rollmops” and supposedly helps with a hangover which is why it’s often eaten on New Year’s Day.