Swedish expert set to disarm 24-year-old herring tin in Norway

A Swedish fermented herring expert has been called to help "disarm" a 24-year-old can of the odorous Swedish delicacy that managed to literally raise the roof of a cabin in northern Norway. "If there's any fish left in the can, I'm going to eat it," Ruben Madsen of Sweden's Surströmming Academy said. Madsen is set to travel to a cabin in the Norwegian mountains next week to help "disarm" a recently discovered can of fermented herring dating from 1990. Cabin owner Inge Haugen found the forgotten can after peeking under the eaves to find a swelling can of surströmming that had been expanding over the past two and half decades.



He reckoned the bulging tin had raised the cabin's roof by about two centimetres.The find left him concerned that the can might explode at any moment, prompting him to warn his neighbours. Norway's Armed Forces were also notified about the impending "stink bomb". Surströmming, or fermented herring, is a traditional Swedish delicacy, but its odour is notoriously foul. In the beginning of autumn, it’s not uncommon for Swedes to gather to enjoy the smelly fish at what is called a surströmmingsskiva (fermented herring party). Such parties are less common in Norway, which boasts its own fermented fish dish, known as rakfisk, which most often consists of trout that has been salted and fermented for several months.

Haugen's wife Bjørg saidthat the can was forgotten during one particular festive evening back in March 1990 when the couple hosted a party at their cabin, located in Trysil, with surströmming imported from Sweden. "We had three cans. We ate two and my husband took the third and put it up under the roof, because we had eaten enough. Then he forgot about it," she said. "There's going to be a gruesome smell." Despite initial fears expressed by Haugen and others, surströmming expert Madsen said the aging can of herring poses no danger to the public. "There really isn't any risk for an explosion. Of course, some fermented herring might come spurting out when we open it. And yes, it will smell," he said.



Madsen explained that he gets "two or three calls a year" from people who have found old cans of fermented herring and don't know what to do with them. However, the discovery of the can in Norway has the fermented herring aficionado's mouth watering at the prospect of tasting surströmming that's been aged to perfection over the past 25 years. "I have my own collection of vintage surströmming with several cans that are more than 15 years old," he said. "The taste certainly gets richer with age. The longer you wait to open a can, the more complex the flora of tastes you get." Madsen's biggest fear about his upcoming Norway herring adventure is finding there's no fish left in the 25-year-old can. "The biggest risk is that the fish never stopped fermenting and all that's left is a can of smelly sauce," he said.