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It was ten below in the Catskills as I forked up some pickled herring while squinting at the frozen river from my window. I was wondering why they put onions in the jar. Then I remembered that onions are bactericidal, which led to further speculations, as pickled herrings tend to do – whether or not they are red ones. Not for nothing did Bertie Wooster ascribe the mighty intellect of his butler, Jeeves, to the effect on his brain of the fish he ate. So many of our acquired tastes