Bloater (herring)

For other uses, see Bloater.

Bloaters, a type of whole cold-smoked herring, are "salted and lightly smoked without gutting, giving them a characteristic slightly gamey flavour".^[1][2] They have a particular association with Great Yarmouth, England.^[3][4] Though popular in the 19th and early-20th centuries, the food has become rare.^{[5][6][failed verification]} Bloaters are sometimes called Yarmouth bloaters, although production of the product in Yarmouth appears to have now ceased in the town with the closure of its smoked-fish factory in 2018. The bloater is also sometimes jokingly referred to as a Yarmouth capon, a two-eyed steak, or a Billingsgate pheasant (after the Billingsgate Fish Market in London).^{[7][8][9][10]}

Bloaters on yellow paper, van Gogh, 1889

The bloater is associated^{[citation needed]} with England, while kippers share an association with Scotland and the Isle of Man (the Manx kipper).^{[citation needed]} Bloaters are "salted less and smoked for a shorter time", while kippers are "lightly salted and smoked overnight"; the preparation of red herring features more salt and a longer smoking-time.^[11][12]

Terminology

The name "bloater" most likely arises from the swelled or "bloated" appearance the fish assumes during preparation,^[13] while at least one source attributes it to the Swedish word "blöta", meaning to wet, soak, or impregnate with liquid (as in soaking in brine).^[14]

Bloaters, bucklings and kippers

All three are types of smoked herring. Bloaters are cold-smoked whole; bucklings are hot-smoked whole; kippers are split, gutted and then cold-smoked.

See also

• Food portal

• Fish preservation
• Herring as food
• List of dried foods
• List of smoked foods
• Red herring, a term for an irrelevant distraction
• Smoked fish
• Solomon Gundy