Had a friend in high school who’s parents were Norwegian and Swedish.
His mom was only 17 when he was born, so she actually still looked like the blonde stereotype. Around Christmas she convinced me to try some lutefisk she had made. Against my better judgment, I tried a bite.
All these years later I still can’t kill the taste...
The wifey comes from Swedish stock, a small town in Kansas,
That stuff—lutefisk—is soaked in lye you know.
I’ve tried other such Wiking dishes. Rice pudding with lingonberries, good. The potato sausage makes me noisy.
Ham and dry beef in clear `gravy’. Dry bread. The coffee is made with eggshells and is as weak as tea. `Glug’ wine and paint remover.
Their dishes remind me of an Athenian’s observation on the Spartans: they were fierce due to their black bean porridge diet.
My husband’s maternal grandmother was 100% Swedish. She began teaching him to cook when he was around four or so, but never lutfisk, thank goodness.