Legend of lutefisk lives on despite enduring ‘yuck’ factor

The Washington Times ^ | 27 December 2012 | AP

[COBOL2Java]

Chris Dorff, president of Olsen Fish Co. in Minneapolis, holds pieces of dried ling cod from Norway before it is made into lutefisk. While America’s foodie culture has inspired a new generation of chefs who have created gourmet delicacies from ethnic food traditions, lutefisk — a dried white cod reconstituted in caustic chemicals — is one heritage dish that has remained stubbornly unimproved.(Associated Press)

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LITCHFIELD, Minn. — Dozens of Minnesota Scandinavians and the people who love them flock to the VFW Club in Litchfield every Thursday from November through January, where $20 will get you a big steaming hunk of the frequently mocked fish dish known as lutefisk. It comes with meatballs, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and the potato flatbread known as lefse — all of which helps to make up for the dubious entree.

“Butter helps it slide down your throat,” said Dennis Voss, the husband of a Norwegian-American, revealing his own survival secret for stomaching the gelatinous blob as they dined with friends on lutefisk amid a bustling lunchtime crowd.

America’s rising foodie culture has inspired a new generation of chefs and adventurous eaters who have mined ethnic and antiquated food traditions to create gourmet delicacies. Even Scandinavian cuisine, not usually considered the most savory, is sharing the spotlight. It is winning plaudits at restaurants from Minneapolis’ nationally recognized Bachelor Farmer to Copenhagen’s world-renowned Noma, where globe-trotting diners wait months for reservations.

Lutefisk is prepared for packaging at the Olsen Fish Co. processing plant in Minneapolis. The fish — dried white cod reconstituted in caustic chemicals — lives on despite derision where people of Scandinavian descent are numerous. (Associated Press)

[To-Whose-Benefit?]

“It was food for the very poor.”

More like insurance against starvation for the very poor, as stack of dried cod is about as perishable as firewood.

[Slings and Arrows]

[Thanks to Gefn for both link and LOLcat!]

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[Smokin' Joe]

as stack of dried cod is about as perishable as firewood.

Termites will eat firewood. Kept dry, I think the cod is ahead.

[Gefn]

I Wonder if Lutefisk is toxic to kittehs. I know I read somewhere that Vikings brought cats on boats to keep the mice at bay.

[Calvin Locke]

So they put it through the lye process to reconstitute it.

Ah. I had always thought the lye was to "cook" it. "It" being fresh fish, that is.

[To-Whose-Benefit?]

I refuse to eat anything needing a hatchet to chop it down into a size that will fit into the cook pot.

[Slings and Arrows]

I think lutefisk would be toxic to whomever tried to feed it to the ship’s cat.

[Gandalf_The_Gray]

Lutefisk: The piece of cod that passeth understanding.

Lutefisk: It smells like a shoe and tastes like glue!

Regards,
GtG

[Professional Engineer]

bfl

[Arrowhead1952]

I used to have a coworker that ate that stuff. He brought some to work and warmed it in the microwave. Stank up the entire breakroom. YUK.

[autumnraine]

I started liking coffee the first month I turned 21.

[autumnraine]

So was there a lack of cod in the ocean during the summer (ie: before refrigeration)

[Redcitizen]

Serious question. I guess it can’t be softened in plain water and eaten?

[Redcitizen]

Serious question. I guess it can’t be softened in plain water and eaten?

[21twelve]

I never could stand Lutefisk - but gravlax is pretty good.

From the interwebs:

During the Middle Ages, gravlax was made by fishermen, who salted the salmon and lightly fermented it by burying it in the sand above the high-tide line. The word gravlax comes from the Scandinavian word grav, which literally means “grave” (in Swedish, Norwegian, Danish), and lax (or laks), which means “salmon”, thus gravlax means “buried salmon”.

[dalereed]

Have always had lutefisk at christmas every year since 1937!!!

[DManA]

I saw on a cooking show once that (I think it was Portugal) they make what looked like a very good stew using dried cod.

I have no idea who or why they started soaking it in lye.

[Grammy]

"My theory about why it became a Christmas tradition is the old immigrant woman started getting homesick about that time of the year and the old immigrant man made them eat lutifisk to remind them why they left."

Lol..... you may very well be right.

[rmlew]

LOL.
Scandinavia and the World is funny.