Fish Stories
‘Fish stories’ have always been synonymous with far-fetched tales, but sometimes in food history, those fish stories turn out to be true. In this episode, we explore the unlikely story of a small fish with a big culinary impact: goldeye. We also explore the importance of pickled herring in preserving cultural traditions.
Episode Transcript
EPISODE CREDITS:
Written and narrated by Henry Vandenberg and Kent Davies
Produced by Kent Davies
Interview participants: Sonja Lundström, Mari Clovechok, Elaine Friesen, and Gunvor Larrson
Cooking demonstrations: James Rogowy and Kevin Funk
Hosted by Kent Davies and Janis Thiessen
Episode image: Smoked Goldeye by Mzajac
Theme music: Robert Kenning
INTERVIEWS
Sonja Lundström, Mari Clovechok, Elaine Friesen, and Gunvor Larrson. Interviewed by Sarah Story in Winnipeg, MB. Digital Audio Recording. Manitoba Food History Project, “Winnipeg Interviews,” Oral History Centre Archive, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB.
MUSIC
Lobo Loco – Searching for Wilderness, Forester, Old Land
Blue Dot Sessions – Paper Napkin, Threads and Veils
Kosta T- Uku for D.S., бабочка
Rosen Sisters - Hambo
Carl Jularbos Kvartett -Möjavalsen
SOUND EFFECTS
Kintana24 – Sweden Wallas Restaurant
Owl – Uppsala-streetbusker-accordion
lx-70 – On a wooden ship at sea
SOURCES
Barr, Elinor. Swedes in Canada: Invisible Immigrants. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2015.
Bodsworth, Fred. “That Glamorous Goldeye.” Macleans (September 1, 1950).
Cherney, Bruce. “Smoked Goldeye, a Dish Fit for a King.” Winnipeg Real Estate News (17 June 2016).
Cherney, Bruce, “Smoked Goldeye – A Lake Winnipeg Delicacy.” Interlake Spectator (August 8, 1984).
Drews, Nancy. “Gunvor Larsson – Winnipeg’s Swedish Matriarch,” Scandinavian Cultural Centre of Winnipeg, (2020).
Einarrson, Helgi. Helgi Einarsson: A Manitoba Fisherman. Winnipeg: Queenston House, 1982. Translated from the Icelandic by George Houser.
Etting, Vivian. “The great herring market in Scania.” In Queen Margrete I (1353-1412) and the Founding of the Nordic Union. Brill, 2004.
Foote, P. G. Olaus Magnus, A Description of the Northern Peoples, 1555. Volume III. Routledge, 2017.
Fredborg, Isabelle. “Easy Swedish pickled herring – and it’s long history,” Swedish Spoon (17 April 2020)
Henderson, Helene. The Swedish Table. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005.
Kurlansky, Mark. Salt: A World History. New York: Penguin, 2003.
Lantz, A. W., and D. G. Iredale. “Techniques in smoking goldeye: (Hiodon Alosoides).” Canadian Institute of Food Technology Journal 2, no. 4 (1969).
Lantz, A. W., D. G. Iredale, M. Vaisey, and R. York. “Processing Effects on the Texture of Goldeye: (Hiodon alosoides).” Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology Journal 5, no. 1 (1972).
Orton, David C. and James H. Barrett. “Cod and herring: the archaeology and history of medieval sea fishing.” Cod and Herring (2016).
Robertson, Joe D. Resource management: a history of the successes and failures of wildlife and fishery resource management in Manitoba. Dauphin MB: J. Robertson, 1913.
Royale, J.C. “Lowly Goldeye is Elevated to Dish Fit for a King by Mistake in Smoking: Robert Firth Had Last Laugh at Skeptics.” Winnipeg Tribune (August 19, 1937).
Rypel, Andrew L., Michael Angilletta, and Judith L. Bronstein. “The Cold-Water Connection: Bergmann’s Rule in North American Freshwater Fishes.” The American Naturalist 183, no. 1 (2014).
Zubrycki, Karla, Dimple Roy, Hisham Osman, Kimberly Lewtas, Geoffrey Gunn, and Richard Grosshans. “A Summary of the NCRB in Northern Manitoba.” Large Area Planning in the Nelson-Churchill River Basin (NCRB): Laying a Foundation in Northern Manitoba. International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), 2016.