For love of lutefisk

Red Wing Republican Eagle (Minnesota) ^ | today | Ruth Nerhaugen

[Rodney King]

When you marry a Norwegian, you gain more than just a bride or groom. When John Hinsch, a German, married Jan Hilan, who is both Norwegian and Swedish, he acquired a set of Christmas food traditions that encompasses what many consider the best and the worst of culinary options.

The best: Who could turn down rosettes and krumkake, lefse, meatballs and rommegrøt?

The worst: By reputation - lutefisk. Songs, jokes and entire humor books have been written poking fun at the shimmering white fish which is a staple in Scandinavian-American households at Christmastime.

"I ate about a half-teaspoon of lutefisk the first year when Jan and I got engaged," he recalled. That first Norwegian Christmas was Dec. 24 of 1955 at the home of his future mother-in-law, Myrtle Hilan of Goodhue.

"The first year I was just pretty polite," Hinsch admitted. "I ate more the next year. I acquired a taste for it. ... We never had it when we were kids, being German." His family feasted on oyster stew Christmas Eve, and herring that came out of wooden crocks.

He still likes those foods, but lutefisk became his favorite as he returned to his mother-in-law's table each year.

Unfair reputation It has always a been a staple for the holidays, Jan Hinsch said. Growing up, she was required to sample all the foods, and "I learned to like it." Now she likes it just as much as her husband does.

Lutefisk has an unfairly earned bad reputation, they said. "People judge it without every having tasted it," she said. "They talk about the smell. I don't think it has a smell."

Throughout the years, lutefisk became a regular part of their menu at home in Red Wing. They'd buy it and have it whenever the mood struck.

Jan learned to prepare it just the way he likes - boiled till it's firm and flaky - and to prepare the strong mustard sauce he prefers instead of gravy or cream sauce.

Good to last slurp Hinsch's liking for lutefisk won him a coveted prize at the Nordic Fest in Decorah, Iowa, about five years ago - third place in a lutefisk eating contest.

The competition was to see who could empty a plastic cereal bowl full of lutefisk the quickest. He molded the bowl into a funnel, slurped down the fish and plopped the bowl on top of his head - just seconds behind an Englishman and a Japanese man. His prize was a Nordic Fest coffee mug.

Not only do the Hinsches eat lutefisk regularly at home - about 2 pounds per meal - but they also travel throughout the region attending lutefisk suppers. They counted 15 lutefisk meals this year. Who makes the best, other than Jan?

"It's a draw between Vang Lutheran Church and St. John's in Kasson, and Our Savior's in Beldenville - they're all good, really," he said.

They enjoyed the Elks Club, a Christmas party at Welch Church, United Lutheran and First Lutheran meals in Red Wing, and a new one they learned about just this year in Somerset, Wis., plus the Sons of Norway lodge suppers in Rochester and in Red Wing.

Getting their fill The Hinsches need to get their fill now, because they'll have no more opportunities once they head to Texas for the winter.

Curiously, the Hinsches will not serve lutefisk at home Christmas Eve, because their two children won't eat it.

Perhaps the key is to be married to a lutefisk lover. "My brother married a Norwegian," Hinsch said, "and he likes lutefisk."

Not serving lutefisk Dec. 24 is OK, because "We have it many times during the year," she said. "We bought some in Minot (N.D.) at the Hostfest that was shipped in from Alaska," her husband said. "That's right," Jan said. "I've got 10 pounds in the freezer right now."

[Rodney King]

Actually, it's pretty bad.

[ecomcon]

Hee Hee, now I gotta try it!

[martin_fierro]

I've always wondered how it was possible to eat anything soaked in lye.

lu·te·fisk \´lüd·e¸fisk, ´ lüe-\ or lut·fisk \´lüt¸f-\ also lu-
de·fisk \´lüde-\ or lud·fisk \´ lüd¸f-\ n -s [lutefisk fr. Norw,
fr. lute to wash in lye solution + fisk fish; lutfisk fr. Sw, fr.
luta to wash in lye solution + fisk fish; ludefisk & ludfisk fr.
Dan ludfisk fr. lude to wash in lye solution + fisk fish; Norw
lute, Sw luta, Dan lude akin to ON laug bath, hot spring; Norw
& Sw & Dan fisk fr. ON fiskr fish -- more at LYE, FISH]
: stockfish that has been soaked in lye water, skinned, boned,
and boiled

[Lady Jag]

I'll trust you on this. It sounds pretty bad.

[coloradan]

Olives are soaked in lye. Yum yum.

[Salvation]

My husband was Norwegian. And I tried all the foods. However, lutefisk was the one I could not acquire a taste for. The others are fine.

I'll stick with my oyster stew.

[KineticKitty]

LOL, they say it's actually good, but alot people admit it took at least a year to "get use to".

This is a tip off to me personally that the a dish probably is not very good, seeing as how people had to "get use to it". But this is just MHO.

I know I shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but in this instance, I'll pass thanks.

[HairOfTheDog]

Silly. Norwegians don't actually EAT Lutefiske...

It is a little joke we play on the outsiders when we invite them over. Particularly new boyfriends meeting the family for the first time.

[Aracelis]

Don't forget us Swedes! I serve it with a nice cheese sauce...a vast improvement over the weird mustard sauce my grandmother used to make.

[dalereed]

"It sounds pretty bad."

Actually it's good.

We used to have it every christmas until my uncle passed away a couple of years ago. The only reason we don't any longer is that the smell that people talk about is when it's cooking and the women in the family used to bitch about it so when my uncle died they said NO MORE!

[NativeNewYorker]

My mother-in-law is Norwegian.

Lutefisk is simply awful. There is no other word for it.

I ate small portions while I was courting her daughter, but refuse to even look at it now, after more than a decade of marriage.

[SoDak]

Lutefisk is only served if old Norsky rellies show up to Christmas dinner. Otherwise, we don't touch the stuff. I'm almost 100% Norwegian but I won't eat it, even to be polite. Lefse, however, rules.

[dogbyte12]

I am a first generation american... I won't touch the stuff. My dad, who was born in Norway, won't touch it. My grandparents just loved it. We tried, whenever, we visited to sneak it to the dog, but even though he had a cast iron stomach, lutefisk was the one thing that even he wouldn't try.

Now, I will have pickled herring, herring mayo, dried peas, cabbage soup, lefse happily. Lutefisk... NO.

I have a t-shirt btw that says.. "If you ban lutefisk, only outlaws will eat Lutefisk."

[xJones]

Carlo, oh meister chef. I didn't think you'd want to miss the lutefisk thread. :)

Actually, the worst Scandinavian fish recipe is the Icelandic method. shark.

"Traditional method: Take one large shark, gut and discard the innards, the cartilage and the head. Cut flesh into large pieces.Wash in running water to get all slime and blood off. Dig a large hole in coarse gravel, preferably down by the sea and far from the nearest inhabited house - this is to make sure the smell doesn't bother anybody. Put in the shark pieces, and press them well together. It's best to do this when the weather is fairly warm (but not hot), as it hastens the curing process. Cover with more gravel and put heavy rocks on top to press down. Leave for 6-7 weeks (in summer) to 2-3 months (in winter). During this time, fluid will drain from the shark flesh, and putrefication will set in.

When the shark is soft and smells like ammonia, remove from the gravel, wash, and hang in a drying shack. This is a shack or shed with plenty of holes to let the wind in, but enough shade to prevent the sun from shining directly on the shark. Let it hang until it is firm and fairly dry: 2-4 months. Warm, windy and dry weather will hasten the process, while cold, damp and still weather will delay it."

Yum yum! LOL.

[martin_fierro]

You lyer! <|:)~

[lepton]

like grits?

[Rodney King]

Really, what's Lefse? I've never heard of it.

[zeaal]

Growing up I knew if we went our Grandpa and Grandma's house in Kansas for Christmas that Lutefisk was on the, gulp, menu.

Memories are powerful.

[SoDak]

Sort of like tortillas made of mashed potatoes. A little butter, a little sugar and cinnamon, yum. Or, a little ham and cheese. Either way, it's good stuff. Before Christmas, I went to the new Wal-Mart grocery in town to get some things, and couldn't find any lefse. I went back to shopping locally.

[dogbyte12]

Lefse is like a Norwegian tortilla, is the best way to describe it. It is a flat bread made with potato flour. It is really delicious with just butter spread on it, or my favorite way, with butter, sugar, and cinnamon, rolled up.