Anchovies and herring are from the same family. The herring becomes tasty when it is at least 3 years old and can reproduce itself. The best herring is caught in the middle of July. The gibing (removing gills and part of the gullet) was invented somewhere between the 12th and the 14the century. In the old days, herrings were cured in barrels with lots of salt, and one had to soak them in milk to make them edible. Nowadays, they are frozen and a lot less salt is used, so that is no longer necessary.