Salty in taste and nice and fat. That is what we mainly hear from Zoetermeer herring grabbers who let the new herring slide down the back of their throats by the tail.
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Lovers of the Hollandse Nieuwe can be found scattered throughout the day in the Zoetermeer fish shops. Some eat not one, but sometimes four in a row. “Only after the fourth do you really taste the taste.”
Zoetermeerders don’t want to pay the main prize
It is pleasantly busy at Vishandel Volendam in the Rokkeveen shopping center. Owner Peet (Peter) looks forward to this festive day every year. “Zoetermeerders are real herring eaters. Some customers insist on tasting the first herring freshly cut by me. They are at the door early in the morning.” Like many things, the herring has also risen in price. “With us you don’t pay 3 euros but 2.40 euros each. We are the cheapest in Zoetermeer. Zoetermeerders do not want to pay the top prize.”
dirty fingers
At Vis van Lon in the Dorpsstraat a few men are waiting for their freshly cleaned herring. “We come here especially for that,” explains one of the men. They patiently wait for the shop assistant who can barely keep up with the demand. She doesn’t like herring at all, she says.
“Of course we eat the animal by its tail,” the man continues. Some don’t want to get dirty fingers. But that’s just part of it, isn’t it?”