Lizzie Kander’s Pickled Herring

At the turn of the century the herring catch in Lake Michigan totaled some 41 million pounds a year. As it proliferated in cans and jars, preserved in harsh wine or brutal vinegar, its very abundance made it scorned. But not among the Germans and other émigrés from the Baltic and north seas of Europe, who brought with them centuries-old traditions of pickling and preserving. Because herring is a relatively fatty fish, it takes well to curing by salt and vinegar to counteract its oil. No cou