
Netherlands fishmongers accuse herring-tasters of erring - lnguyen
http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21731656-can-dutch-still-trust-their-herring-tasters-netherlands-fishmongers-accuse-herring-tasters
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Kodix
Good lord, the author is having way too much fun with this article.

>Smell them and weep

>herring-tasters of erring

>the Dutch were shocked when accusations surfaced in November that there was
something rotten about the national herring test

>Mr Vollaard’s study has blown the lid off the sealed world of Dutch herring.

>Fishmongers [...] now say the test is rotten.

>The judge and Atlantic say they have been smeared, and that the statistical
evidence is a red herring.

>But the charges [...] have left the test’s reputation for impartiality
gutted.

~~~
eru
Par for the course for the Economist.

~~~
vidarh
The British press in general is obsesses with word play.

~~~
orf
There is nothing better than a good pub, especially in not very serious
subjects

~~~
tome
Also very British.

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bkor
> Two who received low ratings have vowed to sue the Algemeen Dagblad for
> defamation.

Interestingly, that same newspaper (AD) also runs another highly popular test
about: oliebollen (fried snack mostly eaten on or just before New Year's eve).
Being first (or even top 5) on that test means huge queues (loads of
customers).

From what I read about that test it's a blind test. Meaning: the testers do
not know where an "oliebol" is from. It's quite strange that there's such a
big difference in the setup of these tests.

AD also has a test for fries. No clue how that test is setup (blind test or
not). I tried a place they rated a 9 score and it was good, but was NOT worth
a 9.

~~~
misterdata
I'm also skeptical about how constant the quality of the fries from one place
will be. If, as I suspect, there is a large amount of variation over time,
this test is useless and more like a lottery.

~~~
djrogers
Not sure why you'd expect that much variation - a good fry shop can make
consistent and distinctive frites day after day. I don't know what all goes in
to making them like that, but I've experienced it first hand...

~~~
fian
The frequency of cooking oil change has a large impact on the taste of the
fried food. Some places will keep using the same oil for a few days, only
filtering it each day. Fries from a day when the oil is changed could be great
while 2 days later they will taste crap.

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grenoire
Economist authors are trying especially hard with puns these days.

~~~
dvanduzer
Well, the headline _rhymes_ , which is clever, and maybe a bit too on the
nose, but...

> "Mr Vollaard’s study has blown the lid off the sealed world of Dutch
> herring. Fishmongers who long suspected the judge of bias towards Atlantic
> now say the test is rotten."

No puns there.

> "But the charges of _belangenverstrengeling_ (conflict of interest) have
> left the test’s reputation for impartiality gutted."

Wait, is the definition of "pun" just that you're using words with a double
meaning? Rhyming "funny" in place of the original word isn't the main example
of the art?

> "No food is more loved."

Okay, I haven't been to the Netherlands in like 400 years, but I _know_ this
isn't true.

~~~
wjnc
-Rotten - both in use for fish and tests

-Blown the lid - Herring comes in caskets

-Gutted - obviously fish-related

Pretty smart writing!

~~~
dvanduzer
> Gritty tart biting!

^ So to be clear... That wasn't me making a pun, right?

~~~
snaily
Nope, not in the majority's book - you need to pass a bar of topical
cleverness in order to qualify as a pun.

Though, anecdotally, I've seen the type of wordplay you demonstrate referred
to as a pun among English speakers in South East Asia. Where do you hail from?

~~~
dvanduzer
Los Angeles, descended from early 17th century Dutch colonists. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

I must admit to feigning confusion about the definition of puns; I was keying
into the original commenter's complaint that the author was trying too hard on
the pun front. So I quoted examples of what I thought were exemplary wordplay
(i.e. not particularly forced puns).

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dep_b
Not mentioned in the article but the winner of this test had an apartment
above his store conveniently rented to...you'll never guess...

I don't have a cat anymore so I don't really miss reading newspapers.

~~~
posterboy
indeed, never

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peterwwillis
_> In the Netherlands haring must be lightly salted for preservation but
otherwise raw, dipped in minced onion and accompanied with a pickle._

For the uninitiated this is the best way to eat them, as it is effectively
Dutch sushi.

~~~
hencq
The pickle is a regional thing. In Rotterdam we eat them just with onion. I
was surprised to discover about the pickles when I got one in Amsterdam.

~~~
Fnoord
In Amsterdam, Purmerend, and Volendam you'll get the question "ui 'n zuur d'r
bij?" [1] in an almost incomprehensible Volendams accent. I got zero credit
though; my accent ain't from that region.

Instead of going for the volume deal like 4 for price of 3 I recommend to eat
one with bread and water. Else they're too salty and you'll be thirsty or get
stomach issues. YMMV.

[1] "onion and sour with it?" where sour means pickles.

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stevekemp
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark? Hamlet strikes again!

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richchurcher
Total lack of net neutrality.

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bayesian_horse
Fisherman's Fritz fishes fresh fishes...

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amelius
Paywalled

~~~
mcv
Opening in incognito mode works. Sites like these are pushing us to do our
entire web experience in incognito mode.

~~~
dyyni
I use Firefox containers for this. They’re not incognito, but they allow
opening more articles in my main window.

~~~
detritus
huh, I did not know that - finally, a use [for me] for them!

