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Lutefisk

January 01, 1970

Not to be confused with lutefish, freshwater fishes native to Africa.

Lutefisk (Norwegian, pronounced [ˈlʉ̂ːtfɛsk] in Northern and parts of Central Norway, [ˈlʉ̂ːtəˌfɪsk] in Southern Norway; Swedish: lutfisk [ˈlʉ̂ːtfɪsk]; Finnish: lipeäkala [ˈlipeæˌkɑlɑ]; literally "lye fish") is dried whitefish, usually cod, but sometimes ling or burbot, cured in lye. It is made from aged stockfish (air-dried whitefish), or dried and salted cod. The fish takes a gelatinous texture after being rehydrated for days prior to eating.[1]

Lutefisk prepared to eat

Lutefisk is prepared as a seafood dish of several Nordic countries. It is traditionally part of the Christmas feasts Norwegian julebord, Swedish julbord, and Finnish joulupöytä.[2]

Origin edit

 
Racks for drying fish in Svolvær, Norway
 
Fish drying in Svolvær, Norway
 
Dried fish

Preserved fish provided protein for generations in a part of the world with a strong fishing tradition. It is not known when people first started treating dried fish with lye. The reason was probably that the lack of major salt deposits in the area favored the drying process for the preservation of whitefish, a process known for millennia.[3][4]

Stockfish is very nutrient-rich and was consumed domestically, although it was during the boom in the stockfish trade in the late Middle Ages that it became accessible throughout Scandinavia as well as the rest of Europe. Higher-quality stockfish would be soaked in water, then boiled and eaten with melted butter. Lower-quality fish would be harder and require longer boiling, using more fuel; it has been suggested that adding ash from beech or birch to the boiling water would break down the protein chains and speed up the process. The introduction of lye in the preparation process might therefore have been incidental.[5]

Preparation edit

 
Lutefisk (on the upper left side of the plate) served in a Norwegian restaurant with potatoes, mashed peas, and bacon.
 
Lutefisk ready to eat.
 
Norwegian Constitution Day dinner in Minnesota, with lutefisk, lefse, and meatballs (Norwegian: kjøttkaker.
 
Lutefisk for sale in a Norwegian market.

The first step in preserving is soaking the fish for five to six days, with the water changed daily. The saturated lutefisk is then soaked in an unchanged solution of cold water and lye for an additional two days. The fish swells during this soaking, and its protein content decreases by more than 50 percent, producing a jelly-like consistency.

When this treatment is finished, the fish is saturated with lye and inedible, with a pH of 11–12.

To make the fish edible, a final treatment of another four to six days of soaking in cold water changed daily is needed. The lutefisk is then ready to be cooked.[4]

Cooking edit

After the preparation, the lutefisk is saturated with water and must therefore be cooked extremely carefully so that it does not fall to pieces.

To create a firm consistency in lutefisk, it is common to spread a layer of salt over the fish about half an hour before it is cooked, to leach some of the water out of the fish meat. The salt must be rinsed off before cooking.

Lutefisk does not need additional water for cooking; it is sufficient to place it in a pan, salt it, seal the lid tightly, and let it steam on a very low heat for 20–25 minutes. An alternative is to wrap it in aluminium foil and bake at 225 °C (435 °F) for 40–50 minutes.[1] Another option is to parboil lutefisk, wrapped in cheesecloth, until tender. Lutefisk can also be boiled in water, or cooked in a microwave oven. The typical microwave cooking time for a whole fish, supplied as a package of two sides, is 8 to 10 minutes at high power in a covered dish, depending upon oven power.[6]

Eating edit

Lutefisk is traditionally served with boiled potatoes, mashed green peas, melted butter and small pieces of fried bacon.

In Norway, Sweden and Finland, lutefisk is a part of the Christmas tradition and is mostly eaten with boiled potatoes, green peas and white sauce. Regional variations include a sprinkle of freshly ground allspice or black pepper and the addition of coarsely ground mustard in the white sauce (in Scania). In parts of Jämtland it is served on flatbread with whey cheese.[7]

In the United States, lutefisk is often served with a variety of side dishes, including bacon, peas, pea stew, potatoes, lefse, gravy, mashed rutabaga, white sauce, melted or clarified butter, syrup, and geitost, or "old" cheese (gammelost). It is sometimes eaten with meatballs, which is not traditional in Scandinavia. Side dishes vary greatly from family to family and region to region, and can be a source of jovial contention when eaters of different traditions of lutefisk dine together.[1]

The taste of well-prepared lutefisk is very mild, and the white sauce is often spiced with pepper or other strong-tasting spices. In Minnesota and Wisconsin, this method (seasoned with allspice) is common among Swedish-Americans, while Norwegian-Americans often prefer to eat it unseasoned with melted butter or cream sauce.[6]

Modern consumption edit

Lutefisk as a Christmas season meal has gained attention in Norway over the past 20 years.[8][9][10] The Norwegian Seafood Export Council indicated sales of lutefisk to restaurants and catering companies in Norway increased by 72% between 2005 and 2008.[8] A 2005 survey found 20% of Norwegians ate lutefisk during the Christmas holiday season, although only 3% would consider it for their Christmas dinner.[11]

Madison, Minnesota has dubbed itself the "lutefisk capital of the world" as well as claiming the largest per capita consumption of lutefisk in Minnesota.[3][12] St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota serves lutefisk during their Christmas Festival concerts.[13]

Many Lutheran churches across Wisconsin serve lutefisk dinners as a yearly tradition. Four popular churches are St. Olaf Lutheran Church in Dodge County, Christ Lutheran Church in DeForest, Orfordville Lutheran Church in Rock County and Northland Lutheran Church in Iola.

Lutefisk is also eaten in Canada, which has a relatively large Scandinavian population particularly in the traditionally agricultural, western inland provinces. As of 2016, there were about 463,000 Norwegian Canadians, 350,000 Swedish Canadians, 207,000 Danish Canadians and 143,000 Finnish Canadians.[14] Organizations such as the Sons of Norway hold annual lutefisk dinners. Lutefisk is sometimes available in specialty stores[15] and supermarkets where there are large Scandinavian populations. Kingman, Alberta proclaims itself on its greeting sign to be the "Lutefisk capital of Alberta".

Folklore edit

An article in Smithsonian magazine quotes some oft-rendered tall tales regarding the origins of the dish:[3]

A legend has it that Viking fishermen hung their cod to dry on tall birch racks. When some neighboring Vikings attacked, they burned the racks of fish, but a rainstorm blew in from the North Sea, dousing the fire. The remaining fish soaked in a puddle of rainwater and birch ash for months before some hungry Vikings discovered the cod, reconstituted it and had a feast.

There are many jokes about lutefisk, some printed on T-shirts, bumper stickers, and coffee mugs, e.g. "Legalize lutefisk" or "I have tried lutefisk twice, once going down, and another time coming back up".

The Season 3 King of the Hill episode "Revenge of the Lutefisk" features a plot where a new minister, Karen Stroup (Mary Tyler Moore), brings a dish of lutefisk to church to share a "Minnesotan tradition" in Texas. Bobby Hill secretly eats all the lutefisk, then has bad diarrhea in the church bathroom the next morning. To hide the smell, he lights a match and tosses the match in the garbage, thus accidentally committing arson and burning the church down, which Stroup perceives as a hate crime.[16][17][18]

Spellings edit

See also edit

  • Bacalhau – Type of Portuguese cod dish: Portuguese dish also made of reconstituted dried fish.
  • Baccalà, also known as clipfish – Preserved fish
  • Fish and brewis – Canadian dish
  • Hákarl – National dish of Iceland consisting of fermented shark
  • Surströmming – Swedish fermented Baltic Sea herring
  • Þorramatur – Selection of traditional Icelandic food

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Lutefisk". Nordic Recipe Archive. from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Lutefisk, Lipeäkala, Lutfisk". tasteatlas.com. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Erica Janik, Scandinavians' Strange Holiday Lutefisk Tradition, Smithsonian, 8 December 2011.
  4. ^ a b Kari Diehl (12 October 2022). "What Is Lutefisk - A Guide to Buying, Cooking, and Storing Lutefisk". The Spruce Eats.
  5. ^ Sean Munger. "Stockfish empire: The Hanseatic League in Bergen". seanmunger.com. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  6. ^ a b Stradley, Linda (22 July 2017). "Lutefisk History and Recipe". What's Cooking America.
  7. ^ "Eating Fish The Scandinavian Way". Ingebretsen's. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  8. ^ a b Jan Soppeland (9 October 2008). (in Norwegian). Aftensbladet. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011.
  9. ^ "Lutefisk er trendy – Møre og Romsdal" (in Norwegian). NRK Nyhende. 2 December 2009.
  10. ^ "Trendy med lutefisk" (in Norwegian). 20 December 2005.
  11. ^ Annechen Bahr Bugge, "Helt enkelt jul", Grøstad gård, 24 November 2005
  12. ^ Eric Dregni, Minnesota Marvels: Roadside Attractions in the Land of Lakes, University of Minnesota Press (September 2001), ISBN 978-0-8166-3632-7
  13. ^ Madison, MN Lutefisk Capital USA Manitou Messenger [ 16 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ [1] Canadian Census Profile, 2016 Census 17 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Johnston, Michelle. "Culinary Camrose: Scandinavian delicacies and fresh farm produce". RVWest. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  16. ^ Sfetcu, Nicolae (2014). About Christmas. p. 191.
  17. ^ Pinsky, Mark I. (2007). The Gospel According to The Simpsons, Bigger and Possibly Even Better! Edition With a New Afterword Exploring South Park, Family Guy, & Other Animated TV Shows. Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. p. 239. ISBN 0-664-23160-8.
  18. ^ "Revenge of the Lutefisk". www.imdb.com. IMDb. Retrieved 14 November 2023.

Other sources edit

  • Gary Legwold (1996) The Last Word on Lutefisk: True Tales of Cod and Tradition (Conrad Henry PR) ISBN 9780965202701
  • Mark Kurlansky Walker (1998) Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World (Penguin Books) ISBN 978-0140275018

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lutefisk.

January 01, 1970
lutefisk, confused, with, lutefish, freshwater, fishes, native, africa, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sourc. Not to be confused with lutefish freshwater fishes native to Africa This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Lutefisk news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Lutefisk Norwegian pronounced ˈlʉ ːtfɛsk in Northern and parts of Central Norway ˈlʉ ːteˌfɪsk in Southern Norway Swedish lutfisk ˈlʉ ːtfɪsk Finnish lipeakala ˈlipeaeˌkɑlɑ literally lye fish is dried whitefish usually cod but sometimes ling or burbot cured in lye It is made from aged stockfish air dried whitefish or dried and salted cod The fish takes a gelatinous texture after being rehydrated for days prior to eating 1 Lutefisk prepared to eat Lutefisk is prepared as a seafood dish of several Nordic countries It is traditionally part of the Christmas feasts Norwegian julebord Swedish julbord and Finnish joulupoyta 2 Contents 1 Origin 2 Preparation 3 Cooking 4 Eating 5 Modern consumption 6 Folklore 7 Spellings 8 See also 9 References 10 Other sources 11 External linksOrigin edit nbsp Racks for drying fish in Svolvaer Norway nbsp Fish drying in Svolvaer Norway nbsp Dried fish Preserved fish provided protein for generations in a part of the world with a strong fishing tradition It is not known when people first started treating dried fish with lye The reason was probably that the lack of major salt deposits in the area favored the drying process for the preservation of whitefish a process known for millennia 3 4 Stockfish is very nutrient rich and was consumed domestically although it was during the boom in the stockfish trade in the late Middle Ages that it became accessible throughout Scandinavia as well as the rest of Europe Higher quality stockfish would be soaked in water then boiled and eaten with melted butter Lower quality fish would be harder and require longer boiling using more fuel it has been suggested that adding ash from beech or birch to the boiling water would break down the protein chains and speed up the process The introduction of lye in the preparation process might therefore have been incidental 5 Preparation edit nbsp Lutefisk on the upper left side of the plate served in a Norwegian restaurant with potatoes mashed peas and bacon nbsp Lutefisk ready to eat nbsp Norwegian Constitution Day dinner in Minnesota with lutefisk lefse and meatballs Norwegian kjottkaker nbsp Lutefisk for sale in a Norwegian market The first step in preserving is soaking the fish for five to six days with the water changed daily The saturated lutefisk is then soaked in an unchanged solution of cold water and lye for an additional two days The fish swells during this soaking and its protein content decreases by more than 50 percent producing a jelly like consistency When this treatment is finished the fish is saturated with lye and inedible with a pH of 11 12 To make the fish edible a final treatment of another four to six days of soaking in cold water changed daily is needed The lutefisk is then ready to be cooked 4 Cooking editAfter the preparation the lutefisk is saturated with water and must therefore be cooked extremely carefully so that it does not fall to pieces To create a firm consistency in lutefisk it is common to spread a layer of salt over the fish about half an hour before it is cooked to leach some of the water out of the fish meat The salt must be rinsed off before cooking Lutefisk does not need additional water for cooking it is sufficient to place it in a pan salt it seal the lid tightly and let it steam on a very low heat for 20 25 minutes An alternative is to wrap it in aluminium foil and bake at 225 C 435 F for 40 50 minutes 1 Another option is to parboil lutefisk wrapped in cheesecloth until tender Lutefisk can also be boiled in water or cooked in a microwave oven The typical microwave cooking time for a whole fish supplied as a package of two sides is 8 to 10 minutes at high power in a covered dish depending upon oven power 6 Eating editLutefisk is traditionally served with boiled potatoes mashed green peas melted butter and small pieces of fried bacon In Norway Sweden and Finland lutefisk is a part of the Christmas tradition and is mostly eaten with boiled potatoes green peas and white sauce Regional variations include a sprinkle of freshly ground allspice or black pepper and the addition of coarsely ground mustard in the white sauce in Scania In parts of Jamtland it is served on flatbread with whey cheese 7 In the United States lutefisk is often served with a variety of side dishes including bacon peas pea stew potatoes lefse gravy mashed rutabaga white sauce melted or clarified butter syrup and geitost or old cheese gammelost It is sometimes eaten with meatballs which is not traditional in Scandinavia Side dishes vary greatly from family to family and region to region and can be a source of jovial contention when eaters of different traditions of lutefisk dine together 1 The taste of well prepared lutefisk is very mild and the white sauce is often spiced with pepper or other strong tasting spices In Minnesota and Wisconsin this method seasoned with allspice is common among Swedish Americans while Norwegian Americans often prefer to eat it unseasoned with melted butter or cream sauce 6 Modern consumption editLutefisk as a Christmas season meal has gained attention in Norway over the past 20 years 8 9 10 The Norwegian Seafood Export Council indicated sales of lutefisk to restaurants and catering companies in Norway increased by 72 between 2005 and 2008 8 A 2005 survey found 20 of Norwegians ate lutefisk during the Christmas holiday season although only 3 would consider it for their Christmas dinner 11 Madison Minnesota has dubbed itself the lutefisk capital of the world as well as claiming the largest per capita consumption of lutefisk in Minnesota 3 12 St Olaf College in Northfield Minnesota serves lutefisk during their Christmas Festival concerts 13 Many Lutheran churches across Wisconsin serve lutefisk dinners as a yearly tradition Four popular churches are St Olaf Lutheran Church in Dodge County Christ Lutheran Church in DeForest Orfordville Lutheran Church in Rock County and Northland Lutheran Church in Iola Lutefisk is also eaten in Canada which has a relatively large Scandinavian population particularly in the traditionally agricultural western inland provinces As of 2016 there were about 463 000 Norwegian Canadians 350 000 Swedish Canadians 207 000 Danish Canadians and 143 000 Finnish Canadians 14 Organizations such as the Sons of Norway hold annual lutefisk dinners Lutefisk is sometimes available in specialty stores 15 and supermarkets where there are large Scandinavian populations Kingman Alberta proclaims itself on its greeting sign to be the Lutefisk capital of Alberta Folklore editAn article in Smithsonian magazine quotes some oft rendered tall tales regarding the origins of the dish 3 A legend has it that Viking fishermen hung their cod to dry on tall birch racks When some neighboring Vikings attacked they burned the racks of fish but a rainstorm blew in from the North Sea dousing the fire The remaining fish soaked in a puddle of rainwater and birch ash for months before some hungry Vikings discovered the cod reconstituted it and had a feast There are many jokes about lutefisk some printed on T shirts bumper stickers and coffee mugs e g Legalize lutefisk or I have tried lutefisk twice once going down and another time coming back up The Season 3 King of the Hill episode Revenge of the Lutefisk features a plot where a new minister Karen Stroup Mary Tyler Moore brings a dish of lutefisk to church to share a Minnesotan tradition in Texas Bobby Hill secretly eats all the lutefisk then has bad diarrhea in the church bathroom the next morning To hide the smell he lights a match and tosses the match in the garbage thus accidentally committing arson and burning the church down which Stroup perceives as a hate crime 16 17 18 Spellings editDanish ludfisk or ludefisk Norwegian lutefisk earlier ludefisk spelling still sometimes used in English or lutfisk Swedish lutfisk Finnish lipeakala or livekala Northern Sami lovttaguolliSee also editBacalhau Type of Portuguese cod dish Portuguese dish also made of reconstituted dried fish Baccala also known as clipfish Preserved fish Fish and brewis Canadian dish Hakarl National dish of Iceland consisting of fermented shark Surstromming Swedish fermented Baltic Sea herring THorramatur Selection of traditional Icelandic foodReferences edit a b c Lutefisk Nordic Recipe Archive Archived from the original on 21 December 2022 Retrieved 18 November 2023 Lutefisk Lipeakala Lutfisk tasteatlas com Retrieved 1 March 2020 a b c Erica Janik Scandinavians Strange Holiday Lutefisk Tradition Smithsonian 8 December 2011 a b Kari Diehl 12 October 2022 What Is Lutefisk A Guide to Buying Cooking and Storing Lutefisk The Spruce Eats Sean Munger Stockfish empire The Hanseatic League in Bergen seanmunger com Retrieved 1 April 2020 a b Stradley Linda 22 July 2017 Lutefisk History and Recipe What s Cooking America Eating Fish The Scandinavian Way Ingebretsen s Retrieved 1 April 2020 a b Jan Soppeland 9 October 2008 Lutefisk til himmels in Norwegian Aftensbladet Archived from the original on 5 October 2011 Lutefisk er trendy More og Romsdal in Norwegian NRK Nyhende 2 December 2009 Trendy med lutefisk in Norwegian 20 December 2005 Annechen Bahr Bugge Helt enkelt jul Grostad gard 24 November 2005 Eric Dregni Minnesota Marvels Roadside Attractions in the Land of Lakes University of Minnesota Press September 2001 ISBN 978 0 8166 3632 7 Madison MN Lutefisk Capital USA Manitou Messenger Archived 16 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine 1 Canadian Census Profile 2016 Census Archived 17 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Johnston Michelle Culinary Camrose Scandinavian delicacies and fresh farm produce RVWest Retrieved 13 July 2017 Sfetcu Nicolae 2014 About Christmas p 191 Pinsky Mark I 2007 The Gospel According to The Simpsons Bigger and Possibly Even Better Edition With a New Afterword Exploring South Park Family Guy amp Other Animated TV Shows Presbyterian Publishing Corporation p 239 ISBN 0 664 23160 8 Revenge of the Lutefisk www imdb com IMDb Retrieved 14 November 2023 Other sources editGary Legwold 1996 The Last Word on Lutefisk True Tales of Cod and Tradition Conrad Henry PR ISBN 9780965202701 Mark Kurlansky Walker 1998 Cod A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World Penguin Books ISBN 978 0140275018External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lutefisk The History of Lutfisk at the Wayback Machine archived 2005 04 04 Lutefisk for Christmas Clay Shirky on eating lutefisk at the Library of Congress Web Archives archived 2001 11 29 Chemistry of Lutefisk at the Wayback Machine archived 2005 03 11 in Swedish Lutefisk Lament at the Wayback Machine archived 2006 11 06 Boone amp Erickson O Lutefisk Full lyrics Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lutefisk amp oldid 1219690322, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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