Lutefisk is one traditional Christmas food that often gets short shrift during a season when visions of gingerbread and fruitcake dance in the heads of foodies and nonfoodies alike. And perhaps with good reason. Who on earth would eat preserved fish that has a jelly-like consistency, much less reserve it for a holiday treat?
Norwegians and other Scandinavians, that's who. Lutefisk takes its name not from the Medieval stringed instrument, but from lye. Honest, it translates to "lye fish." This venerable holiday "treat" is prepared by adding lye to air-dried cod or other white fish. After the fish has been steeped in a noxious brew of cold water and lye it is actually caustic and must be soaked in several changes of water for almost a week to render it edible. Fans of the movie Fight Club will be intrigued to learn that if it soaks too long in the lye, the fats in the fish will render it into soap. Now, there's an item for a holiday gift basket, homemade fish soap.
During the Christmas season lutefisk is served in Scandinavia and in such U.S. states as Michigan and Minnesota. It's usually sided with bacon, potatoes and meatballs among other things. Many folks serve the fish with plenty of butter and black pepper. Lutefisk prepared from cod is reputed to have an evil smell, and has even inspired a spoof of the famous poem Twas the Night Before Christmas.Just as there Japanese folks who savor the flavor of fermented squid guts, I'm sure there are people of Nordic descent out there who feverishly count the days until lutefisk season. I think that my sympathies and palate lie with Jeffrey Steingarten. "Lutefisk is not food, it is a weapon of mass destruction. It is currently the only exception for the man who ate everything. Otherwise, I am fairly liberal, I gladly eat worms and insects, but I draw the line on lutefisk."
If none of the above has put you off trying lutefisk, you may wish to visit Olsen Fish Co. and order some. Who knows, maybe you can get it shipped in time for a New Year's Eve bash.
Cakes so amazing they'd be hard to cut into
Fruit juice: An invitation to diabetes?
Morbid thoughts? Have a cookie
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-26-2006 @ 5:28PM
Eric said...
*Ahem*
Let's step back a bit here - smelly salt cod products are a mainstay of both northern *and* southern European food cultures, and fermented fish products that are *MUCH* more room-clearing are found in virtually every coastal region of the planet. Making snarky jokes about stinky bacalhau, nuoc mam or katsuobushi and the people who eat them wouldn't be PC, but somehow it's OK to mock Scandinavians. White food, covered in white sauce, served on white plates by white people. Heee-larious. Now I understand.
The entire *idea* of the lye is to saponify the fats, which go rancid/off during storage. The protein damage is incidental, and mostly a texture play. By turning the fat into soap with the lye, you can then rinse the nasty stinky fat out, leaving high-quality fish protein behind. Unlike other preparation methods that simply soak salt cod, lutefisk is actually milder in flavor, and neither stringy or dessicated.
I'm not saying I'm such a fan that it enters my home regularly (although it has). . . there's an element of connection to heritage, community building and culinary history (pre-refrigeration, lots of cultures ate salted fish products as more than just a condiment).
Eric
Reply
12-27-2006 @ 10:55AM
calamari said...
I was about to comment that lye-soaked salted cod is one of the few dishes that shows up in *every* European culture -- the cooking magazine sitting beside me, which was published in Zagreb, includes three festive holiday recipes for "bakalar" -- but Eric beat me to it.
Never once was I offered lutefisk in Minnesota; I ate it for the first time in Venice. It's the preparation that's stinky. The fish itself is no stronger than a good smoked salmon.
Reply
12-27-2006 @ 11:37AM
peggy said...
i am also a little puzzled by your reaction to lutefisk, especially in light of your love for the kimuchi flavored snacks that yuou have highly praised, and the sense that i get from reading your contributions that seem to lean toward love of asian food. is it the whole "white" issue? i'd love to ridicule nato, or some of the snacks that line the shelves of my local asian and indian and other ethnic markets, but i don't. well, not in the public arena.
please do better research and think a little before you pass such broad judgement.
thanks
Reply
1-24-2007 @ 12:44AM
Varda said...
Come on...
Garrison Keilor's made a living out of ridiculing such things as lutefisk. It's part of the laugh-a-minute experience of being a Minnesotan, along with chipping your car out of the ice and the summer swarms of mosquitos.
There's a reason why the state bird is a loon...
Reply