Hollandse Nieuwe - Herring

Union Europea

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/ES/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52016XC0601(02)&rid=1

Hollandse Nieuwe 

Hollandse maatjesharing

Sold under the name Holländischer Matjes in Germany

Hollandse Nieuwe en Holanda, Matje en Alemania y maatje en Bélgica

Green Herring

Hollandse en Oyster Bar

In the past, these special herring were hard to find in the US—this 1981 article from The New York Times notes they were only available at Grand Central Oyster Bar in New York City. But Russ & Daughters has been importing them directly for years now, and you can purchase them at any one of their brick-and-mortar locations or online ($60 for a platter of 10 fish), as well as at Shelsky's of Brooklyn.

Matjes and maatje are derived from the word maagdje, which translates to "virgin," and are used to specify young, immature herring, ones that are of a specific size, are at least three years old, and yet have not fully developed their sexual organs. They should have a fat content of at least 16%, which only occurs after they start eating plankton in the spring, so the herring season spans May through August.

Aside from the physical characteristics of the herring themselves, what defines new catch Holland herring is the way they are processed. Instead of being gutted, the fish are de-headed or "gibbed," which means the gills, and most of the internal organs are removed, but the pancreas is left behind (if a fish is gibbed, the head will not still be attached to the fillets).

‘Hollandse Nieuwe’ (‘Holland’s new herring’) is the new herring of the fishing season. In the winter months, the fish doesn’t eat. Only in spring it starts to eat plankton. In May, when the fish has reached a percentage of 1% fat, the fishing season start.

The first ‘Hollandse Nieuwe’ arrives on the market in the beginning of June. The first barrel of herring is officially and joyfully auctioned in a feast. The raised money on the first auctioned herring goes to charity.

• Rotterdam - They prefer the less salted smaller herring, so called trotters. (9 to 10 in a kilogram)
• Amsterdam - They eat the tender well ripened larger herring (6 to 7 in a kilogram). They often cut it in sections and accompany the treat with onions and gherkin pickles.
• Groningen - Here they eat the coarser lightly salted herring (8 to a kilogram)
• Noord Brabant - These guys eat the smaller yet more salty and well ripened kind. (10 to 11 in a kilogram)