Forshmak
Forshmak (Yiddish: פֿאָרשמאַק, Russian: форшмак), or vorschmack, from German Vorgeschmack ("foretaste")[1] or Vorspeise ("appetizer")[2], also known as chopped herring[3], is a traditional dish of Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, particularly associated with the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe, including Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Russia. It is a savory appetizer made primarily from chopped salted herring, hard-boiled eggs, onions, apples or potatoes, and bread or soaked matzah, often seasoned with vinegar or oil.[4] The dish is typically served cold, often spread on rye bread or crackers.
In a cross-cultural transformation, forshmak was the only Jewish dish to have been assimilated into Soviet cuisine.[5] It remains a popular component of the Russian zakuski tables on holidays and in social gatherings, where it is typically served with shots of vodka.
According to Jewish dietary laws, the herring-based forshmak is a pareve (neutral) dish and can be consumed by observant Jews in meals that serve dairy or meat. Beef or veal variations containing both ground meat and ground fish (herring or sprats) originated in Prussia and are especially popular in Finland, where they are called vorschmack. Finns consider vorschmack a national dish because it was the favorite appetizer of their national hero, Marshal Mannerheim, the commander-in-chief of the Finnish army in the 1939-1940 war against the Soviet Union and subsequently Finland's president.[6][7] Mannerheim may have brought vorschmack to Finland from his long and distinguished service in the Russian Imperial Army between 1891 and 1917.[8] From Kashrut considerations, the meat-based vorschmack cannot be consumed by observant Jews in meals that serve dairy dishes.
Ingredients
[edit]Jewish-Russian forshmak includes herring fillets, which may be skinned and soaked to reduce salinity, onion, bread soaked in water or milk, vinegar or lemon juice, vegetable oil, hard boiled eggs, and tart apples.[4] Finnish vorschmack includes pickled herring or anchovy fillets, onion, garlic, cognac, red wine vinegar, tomato puree, water, and either beef, veal or lamb.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ Cambridge dictionaries. "Vorgeschmack". Cambridge German-English Dictionary. Retrieved 2025-05-21.
- ^ Cambridge dictionaries. "Vorspeise". Cambridge German-English Dictionary. Retrieved 2025-05-21.
- ^ Jodi Luber (12 July 2016). "Chopped pickled herring". The Jewish Kitchen: Celebrating Modern Jewish Living Through Food, Tradition, and Family. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ^ a b Roden, Claudia (1999). The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand and Vilna to the Present Day. London, England: Penguin Books. p. 62. ISBN 0-14-046609-6.
- ^ Food perestroika: Adventures in Eastern Bloc cuisine (26 March 2019). "Forshmak: The improbable Soviet-Jewish dish". Food Perestroika. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ^ Moscow Times (2022-09-10). "Forshmak: A Russian-Jewish-German dieh". Moscow Times: Forshmak. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
- ^ Trove: Search newspapers and gazettes (1945-11-15). "Field Marshal Mannerheim "THE FATHER OF FINLAND"". The Father of Finland. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
- ^ Food Dictator (29 December 2018). "Jewish-Finnish Fish-Meat Pate: Vorschmack". Finnish vorschmack. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
- ^ New Scandinavian Cuisine. "Vorschmack". NSC: Vorschmack. Retrieved 2025-05-26.