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Norwegian Lutefisk
People either love it or leave it. Growing up in Norway, I had no idea that anyone would find this traditional food repulsive, I always thought of it as a delicacy and still do. It is first dried - and then soaked in lye and you have the real thing. What is lye anyway? Oh, it is a strong-smelling solution made from birch ashes and water. You might wonder, how can anyone eat fish that has been soaked in birch ashes? To us aficionados of this "stinky-fish-stuff" - it does not matter. We love it and when/if you can get used to the jelly-like texture, you'll love it too. The food picture above shows this fish served with steamed potatoes, Clarified butter can be used instead of bacon.  Baking our favorite fish in a very busy kitchen My family bake it in the oven, some people wrap it in cheese cloth and poach it in a large pot of water.
You either love it or hate it -- there is no in-between. Me??? An old folk tale about the origin of this Norwegian delicacy, tells about when the Vikings were pillaging Ireland. St. Patrick sent men to pour lye on the stored dried fish on the Viking Longships with the hope of poisoning the Vikings and thereby ridding Ireland of these feared Nordic intruders. However, rather than dying of poisoning or starvation, the Vikings declared "this stuff" a delicacy and it has been a favored fare in Norway, ever since that day. Some Scandinavian descendants claim their strength and longevity derived from eating lutefisk once a year. All Rights Reserved
Foods of Norway after reading about Lutefisk
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