Forshmak (

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

: פֿאָרשמאַק,

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: форшмак), or vorschmack, from

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

''Vorgeschmack'' ("foretaste") or ''Vorspeise'' ("appetizer"), also known as chopped herring, is a traditional dish of

Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine is an assortment of Traditional food, cooking traditions that was developed by the Ashkenazi Jews of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, Northwestern Europe, Northwestern and Northern Europe, Northern Europe, ...

, particularly associated with the Jewish communities of

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

, including

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. It is a savory appetizer made primarily from chopped salted herring, hard-boiled eggs, onions, apples or potatoes, and bread or soaked

matzah Matzah, matzo, or maẓẓah ('','' : matzot or Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashk. matzos) is an Unleavened bread, unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which ''chametz'' (lea ...

, often seasoned with vinegar or oil. 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. It remains a popular component of the Russian

zakuski ''Zakuski'' (, ; ) is the term for an assortment of cold hors d'oeuvres, entrées and snacks in Russian food culture. They are considered to be an integral part of any Russian festive meal, as well as often everyday meals. Terminology Ori ...

tables on holidays and in social gatherings, where it is typically served with shots of vodka. Vorschmack_at_restaurant_Salve

According to

Jewish dietary laws (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashkena ...

, the herring-based forshmak is a

pareve In ''kashrut'', the dietary laws of Judaism, pareve or parve (from for "neutral"; in Hebrew , ''parveh'', or , ''stami'') is a classification of food that contains neither dairy nor meat ingredients. Food in this category includes all items tha ...

(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. Mannerheim may have brought vorschmack to Finland from his long and distinguished service in the Russian Imperial Army between 1891 and 1917. From

Kashrut (also or , ) is a set of Food and drink prohibitions, dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to halakha, Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed ko ...

considerations, the meat-based vorschmack cannot be consumed by observant Jews in meals that serve dairy dishes.

Ingredients

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. Finnish vorschmack includes pickled herring or anchovy fillets, onion, garlic, cognac, red wine vinegar, tomato puree, water, and either beef, veal or lamb.

References

{{reflist Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine Herring dishes Appetizers