Fermented Herring

This is a quick note on one of the most memorable experiences in Sweden: the annual Chemistry lunch of fermented herring. The idea is to take this stuff and put it in bread, add potato, onion and herring.
Everyone is getting ready. The other "fermented herring virgin" is the young lady to the left. Everyone else is a veteran. The lunch had to be schedule after everyone else had used the lunch room as most people find the smell so offensive.
By this stage we have lost our young lady (She, quite sensibly, decided that the health risk and smell was just too great. I managed to get one down, but never could get past the feeling that I was poisoning myself. At any rate, I felt that I should be declared an honorary (Northern) Swede.

The veterans were making short work of the herring. I took this picture to show everyone what one faced when fishing a herring out of the brew.