Herring salad (Finnish: sillisalaatti, Swedish: sillsallad, Norwegian: sildesalat) is a mixed salad consisting of cut and salted herring, beetroot, potato, onion, mayonnaise and sour cream.
Ingredients, preparation, and history
Scandinavian herring salad is made of salted or pickled herring, cooked potatoes, and beetroot, cut into small cubes and served on a tray.[1] It can also contain cucumber,[2] apple,[3] carrots, and onion. If the salad does not contain herring it is called beetroot salad. The salad can be eaten with a sauce made of sour cream and lemon juice or vinegar.[4] Recipes often recommend refrigerating the salad overnight or for a few hours to set, before serving it chilled.[5]
The Finnish name for herring salad, rosolli, comes from the Russian language. The original Russian word rassol meant a brine of pickled gherkins; the Estonian rosolje is a similar dish.[6] The Swedish word sillsallad is thought to have inspired the word sinsalla which is used to refer to rosolli in Ostrobothnia.[citation needed] In the United States, herring salad prepared in this style is associated with Scandinavian immigrant communities in the upper midwest.[7]
References
- ^ Guinn, Jeff (2012-10-25). Santa's North Pole Cookbook: Classic Christmas Recipes from Saint Nicholas Himself. Penguin Publishing Group. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-399-16064-6.
- ^ "Herring Salad (Sill Sallad)". New Sweden Cultural Heritage Society. Retrieved 2025-11-26.
- ^ "This Herring Salad is a Swedish Dish". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1930-07-11. p. 33. Retrieved 2025-11-26 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Scandinavian Salad; Top with Sour Cream for a Zesty Treat". Clarion-Ledger. 1965-05-20. p. 43. Retrieved 2025-11-26 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Sandvold, Irene O.; Sandvold, Edward O.; Sandvold, Quinn E.; Baugh, Ingeborg Hydle (2012-05-29). Gudrun’s Kitchen: Recipes from a Norwegian Family. Wisconsin Historical Society. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-87020-572-9.
- ^ "Rosolje: Traditional Salad From Estonia". TasteAtlas. Retrieved 2025-11-26.
- ^ Lewis, Anne Gillespie (2008-12-25). "Love=Herring salad, Swedish meatballs". Star Tribune. pp. T2. Retrieved 2025-11-26 – via Newspapers.com.
See also
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