Oh, how I wish for some of my mama's herring roe on toast. Lake Cowart loves fresh river herring roe so much that he eats it directly from the can. The roe came in small cans labeled "Tidewater herring roe" and whenever we were in Virginia, my father always made a point of clearing out the entire inventory at Nick's market, carefully stashing the cans in the secret compartment in the back of our station wagon for the long drive back to Iowa. In a thin, leather-bound, twenties-era community cookbook, titled The League Cook Book and compiled by the Ladies of the School and Civic League of Crewe, Virginia, I found seven recipes for using canned herring roe. According to the Larousse Gastronomique, when caught after spawning, “the herring is said to be ‘spent’: it is only half the weight and flesh is dried.” People living along the rivers would have known this—that it’s right before they lay their eggs, when their sacks are full of roe, that their flesh is most succulent and fatty. By  Anonymous, at The title of this blog and the nom de plume of its founding blogger; 2. Thank you. Virginia’s full moratorium on fishing river herring began in 2012 (a partial ban had been in place since 2007). They may have some left, it would be worth a try.PERRY WYNNS FISH COPO BOX 85COLERAIN NC 27924. You can buy Tidewater Herring Roe online at www.manningshominy.com or call 804-529-6101. It’s so rare for younger people to have a taste for it; you’re doing your part to right that situation! Thank you for finding and reading my story. You will need about 2 thick-cut slices bacon to end up with ¼ cup finely chopped bacon. It was present at every breakfast on the weekends when my sister and I were children and as we grew older, it was on the table at every breakfast. Not surprisingly, he is already out of the 2017 catch. Grocery last holiday season, the ownership of the venerable grocery has changed, but they still sell canned fresh river herring roe (though I don’t know if it’s still shelved next to packs of cigarettes). The answer he gave me is that it’s hard to say why, as of yet anyway, because the scientific data recording on the fish in Virginia began only since the fishing moratorium went into place. By  Travis, at Have you been to that? Don’t forget to serve the cakes with lemon; it’s crucial. In any case, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your article about fresh water herring roe. “Not anymore, not at $10 or $11 a can!” In her early sixties now, she grew up eating roe cakes prepared by her mother. It makes for a very good looking and tasty meal, but I think the croquettes served simply with lemon wedges is even better. The fish itself would be eaten fresh, as well, or salted to be preserved for later. By  Roger Gathright, at Thu Jul 06, 03:54:00 PM: So sad.