My Wife Tolerated LUTEFISK, and I’m Supposed To Be The Scandinavian

Today Kay Lynne spent most of the day at our church, helping serve Lutefisk and other Norwegian “delicacies” to over 1,000 diners who came from as far as California for the event.

The occasion was the 94th annual Lutefisk dinner (actually a fundraiser that has become a renowned event) held at the First Lutheran Church of Poulsbo.

Lutefisk is one of those (Scandinavian) “delicacies” that you either relish – or hate. Like caviar.

For starters, let me explain that the dish is basically a codfish carcass that’s been soaked first in cold water for five days, then in lye – you read right – (actually a caustic birch ash liquid) for two more days and then rinsed (soaked in water) for six more days, refreshing the water daily. It’s now ready for cooking (why would anyone want to eat this?).

On the day of the serving, the remaining fish glob is steam cooked for a time in the oven and then baked in a dish for an hour until it becomes creamy and jelly-like. “To enjoy lutefisk”, they say, it must be spooned onto Norwegian lefse (potato flat bread) that has been covered with soft, boiled potatos. Some require bacon, peppers or hot mustard (or all three) to be added before they can tolerate it.

CAUTION: If you don’t wash the cooking pots and pans immediately after usage, the fish (and odor) may never come off.

My wife said she actually liked it. She even brought home a sample carton of the “delicacy” along with delicious potatoes and lefse. I did eat some, but I much preferred the Norwegian meat balls that she also brought home.

How do you describe the taste and texture of lutefish? It’s not easy. I found this account on a blog:

“Lutefisk is pretty much what you'd expect of jellied cod; it is a foul and odiferous goo, whose gelatinous texture and rancid oily taste are locked in spirited competition to see which can be the more responsible for rendering the whole completely inedble.”

I don’t care for caviar in any form, and even though I’m a Finnlander, I’ll likely not look forward to eating Lutefisk again. I still have a fishy taste in my mouth.