[1] William Pokhlyobkin describes it as an originally East Prussian hot appetizer which was made of fried herring.

[4] The dish was adopted and brought eastwards by Ashkenazi Jews which transformed it into a cold appetizer, a pâté made of chopped brined herring.

[1] Traditional recipes include chopped hard-boiled egg, onion and grated fresh apple.

[1][4] Although nowadays vorschmack is mainly associated with Jewish cuisine in Russia,[4] historically different versions of this dish (Russian: форшмак) were known there.

It was in particular proposed to place the mixture of minced ingredients inside a kalach, cover it with grated cheese and bake it au gratin.

[8] As a cold pâté or a hot baked appetizer, various recipes of forszmak (the same pronunciation) are found in old Polish cookery.