Glückstädter Matjes

A Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) herring product from Gluckstadt, a small town on the Lower Elbe in Schleswig-Holstein. The Gluckstadt Herring Fishing Company was founded in 1893, and herring luggers sailed the North Sea until 1976 when fishing master Helmut Sievers continued the tradition on land. The original Gluckstadter Matjes is still processed by hand by local producer Plotz. Immature North Sea herring caught between late May and mid-June are frozen aboard vessels, transported to Gluckstadt, grooved, salted, and aged whole in barrels with the pancreas intact, its enzymes essential to the characteristic mild, buttery flavour. The annual Matjeswochen festival has been held since 1968.