What tastes bland, has the consistency of jelly and makes half of Scandinavia shudder? Lutefisk of course. Half the Norwegians who immigrated across the Atlantic did so to escape the stuff, according to a Nordic saying, and they were the ones used to it.

 

The recipe is unnervingly simple. Take dried cod and soak it in a highly alkaline lye solution for a week. Then wash the lye off and bake it on a very low temperature, and you're all done. Soft, gelatinous gloop is served. You want sides to go with that? Take your pick from potatoes or mashed potatoes and enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The history of the dish is widely disputed, with Norwegians and Swedes both claiming to have invented it. As with many Nordic traditions, however, it’s thought to stem from Viking times.

 

Legend has it that a tribe of plundering Vikings came across an empty fishing village, full of dried cod hung up on racks. Wondering what to do, they quickly decided to burn it down, because why not.

 

The Vikings soon left and that’s when the villagers returned to salvage what was left of their homes. I'm sure they were a bit miffed about the whole thing, because now their lovely dried cod was covered in ashes and ruined. Suddenly it started to rain, and the burnt fish became soaked in a sort of lye slush.

 

Hours later, the villagers were amazed to see the dried fish had turned back into fresh fish. Rinsing the lye slush off, they boiled it and chose the most adventurous guy to see what it was like. Supposedly, his review was that it wasn’t half bad.

 

These days, lutefisk has become a large part of Christmas traditions. A recent survey found that one in five Norwegians ate the dish during the holiday season, and in many Swedish and Finnish homes it’s replaced turkey as the meal for the big day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many northern states in the US have also cottoned onto lutefisk, often with a traditionally American twist, such as serving it with bacon, meatballs or gravy. Finally, whilst you may be inclined to think that ‘the lutefisk capital of the world’ is somewhere in Scandinavia, it’s actually Madison in Minnesota.

 

Norwegians have actually complained about Madison’s self-proclaimed title, but the city holds annual lutefisk eating contests and parades and even has a 30-foot fish statue with the brilliant nickname of Lou T. Fisk. Top that Oslo.