Often the skin is still on the fish and it is served cold. The rollmops are often preserved in a can or a jar. There are many different varieties of this dish depending on what the fish are preserved in.
I was very apprehensive to try the rollmops. I generally do not like fish or pickles. I was very nervous when we pulled one out of the jar and it still had fins on it. It was difficult for me to eat, but I was able to take a bite and taste it. It was not my favorite food, but I am glad that I decided to try it! Would you try a rollmop?
The preparation is quite simple! You take a piece of herring that has been pickled or preserved and wrap it around a pickle. It is held together with a toothpick and placed into a liquid or oil to help to preserve it.
The food is definitely connected to the environment. Poland went through some difficult times during the 1900s. It was in the middle of several different wars and did not have true freedom until 1989 (when it gained independence from modern-day Russia). As a result, during these difficult times, the Polish people had to ration and preserve much of their food. Therefore, much of their food is pickled or fermented because it would last a long time and they could preserve it. This time period also explains why they have a lot of soups that are based on root vegetables because, during hard times, they were affordable to make, and beets and potatoes easily grow in Poland.
