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Ansjos (Norwegian Spiced Sprats)

Erken's homemade ansjos (1914), Norway's spiced sprats: 6 l of small herring/sprats sit for 4 hours in a brine of 3 l water and 1 l salt, are drained, and layered at once in a jar with oil in the bottom, belly up and every other layer reversed. Between the layers are strewn ground spices (pepper, allspice, clove, cardamom, mace, sugar) mixed with chopped hops, plus fine salt and bay leaf. The rest of the oil is poured over, weighted down, tied off, and matured cool for 6–8 weeks.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 119 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

Erken's instructions for putting up ansjos (Norwegian spiced sprats) from small herring at home. Anchovy herring was an autumn product; the book also explains how to tell the right quality – the fish should feel "sharp as a saw" along the belly.

How to make it

  1. 1

    Choosing the herring

    Use anchovy herring: it feels sharp as a saw when you run a finger along the belly from tail toward head. Best and fattest in September and October.

  2. 2

    Salt in brine

    Put the herring into the mixed water and salt as soon as possible. Let it sit in the brine for 4 hours, lift it out, and set it in a strainer.

  3. 3

    Layer into the jar

    Layer the herring at once into a jar or crock. Put half of the oil in the bottom. Lay the herring belly up, but so that every other layer is reversed head to tail.

  4. 4

    Spices between the layers

    Grind the spices well and mix them with the chopped hops. Strew the mixture between the herring layers along with salt and a couple of bay leaves.

  5. 5

    Fill and weight

    Continue this way until the jar is full. Pour the rest of the oil over and set a light weight on top to keep the herring down. Tie it off.

  6. 6

    Maturing

    Store cool. The herring can be used after 6–8 weeks. If it does not release enough brine, pour on a little brine of boiled, cooled water, salt, and a little sugar.

Changes from the original

Volume measures converted to liters/deciliters ("del." = dl). "Spanish hops" kept as in the original (dried hops for the spice mixture). Modern spelling in the steps; the quantities are otherwise unchanged.

Time machine – what changed?

Pick two editions and see what Henriette Schønberg Erken added, removed or changed between them.

From19141949Modernised
To19141949Modernised
1914 (proofread, p. 119) → Modernised~72% of the text changedremovedadded
6 1. smaa sild l småsild (brisling) (helst fra september–oktober). 3 1. vand til saltlaken l vann (til saltlaken). 1 1. l salt (til saltlaken). 5 dl fint salt (til lagene). 20 gr. g støtt pepper pepper. 5 gr. allehaande g allehånde. 5 gr. nellik g nellik. 10 gr. laurbærblade g laurbærblad. 10 gr. spansk g tørket humle 5 del. fint salt («spansk humle», oppkarvet). 2 gr. kardemome g kardemomme. 3 gr. muskatblomme g muskatblomme. 100 gr. sukker g sukker. 4 spiseskeer spiseskjeer fin matolje. Ansjossild kjendes paa, at Bruk ansjossild: den er kjennes skarp som en sag at kjende paa, naar man med fingeren når du stryker den fingeren langs buken fra halen mot hodet. Den regnes for bedst Best og fetest i september og oktober maaned i det sydlige Norge. Silden lægges oktober.. Legg silden snarest mulig i det blandede vand vannet og salt, ligger heri saltet. La den ligge i laken i 4 timer, tages op ta den opp og lægges paa sigt, derefter legg den på sil.. Legg silden straks paa glas. I bunden av glasset i glass eller dunken haves dunk. Ha halvparten av oljen; oljen i bunnen. Legg silden lægges med buken op, dog saaledes, opp, men slik at hvertandet hvert annet lag ligger omvendt med hode og hale. Krydderierne støtes hale.. Støt krydderiene godt og blandes bland dem med den opkarvede humle, strøes mellem lagene av silden tillikemed oppkarvede humlen. Strø blandingen mellom sildelagene sammen med salt og et par laurbærblade. — Saaledes fortsættes, laurbærblad.. Fortsett slik til glasset er fuldt, fullt. Hell resten av oljen heldes over, over og legg litt pres lægges paa press på for at å holde silden nede. Tilbindes. Opbevares paa et kjølig sted og Bind til.. Oppbevar kjølig. Silden kan tages tas i bruk efter 6 å 8 ukers forløp. etter 6–8 uker. Laker den sig seg ikke nok, ha saa paa hell på litt lake, laget lake av kokt, koldt vand, avkjølt vann, salt og litt sukker.

Note on Modernised

Volummål er omregnet til liter/desiliter («del.» = dl). «Spansk humle» beholdt som i originalen (tørket humle til krydderblandingen). Moderne rettskriving i trinnene; mengdene er ellers uendret.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you recognize true anchovy herring?
Anchovy herring can be told by the fact that it feels sharp as a saw when you run a finger along the belly from tail toward head. It is considered best and fattest in September and October in southern Norway.
How long should the herring sit in the brine?
The herring is placed as soon as possible into the mixed water and salt (3 liters water to 1 liter salt) and sits there for 4 hours. It is then lifted out into a strainer and layered into the jar at once.
How long does the whole process take?
The work itself is quickly done, but the maturing takes a long time – the stated total time is roughly 42 days (60,480 minutes) from the recipe in Stor kokebok 1914, p. 119.
Which spices are used in the ansjos?
Ground pepper (20 g), allspice (5 g), cloves (5 g), bay leaf (10 g), Spanish hops (10 g), cardamom (2 g), mace (3 g), 100 g sugar, 5 dl fine salt, and 4 tablespoons of fine cooking oil – half the oil goes in the bottom of the jar or crock.

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