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It’s best enjoyed on the rocks, or perhaps straight out of the freezer with some matjes herring: Bols Genever 100 percent malt spirit, $69.99 for 750 milliliters, warehousewinesandspirits.com.

In the bar, smoked pork shoulder; lettuce with smoked hake; matjes herring with potato; pancake with gooseberries and salted beef.

Mr. Seeger welcomed the return of matjes herring with an early-summer tartare that was bright with apples, cucumbers and the piercing taste of ginger.

Cool-weather Saturday-night meals went something like this: A quick drive into the city for dinner at the Czardas or the Budapest—plates of matjes herring, small bowls of pickled salad, platters of chicken paprikash; a strolling violinist so schmaltzy my father claimed his bow had been dipped in chicken fat—followed by dessert at Mrs. Herbst’s bakery, where we would order half a foot of cabbage strudel to-go for Gaga, my maternal grandmother, who waited at home for us in Forest Hills, Queens.

Pickled herring platter at Russ & Daughters, New York Yotam Ottolenghi Chef and food writer It was a platter of pickled herring fillets with three sauce options on the side – cream, mustard and curry – along with schmaltz herring fillets and then matjes herring fillets.