View source for Lutefisk

{{Short description|Nordic dried fish dish}}
{{distinguish|lutefish|text=[[lutefish]], freshwater fishes native to Africa}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
[[File:ForkLutefisk.jpg|thumb|Lutefisk prepared to eat]]

'''''Lutefisk''''' ([[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], {{IPA|no|ˈlʉ̂ːtfɛsk|pron}} <small>in Northern and parts of [[Central Norway]],</small> {{IPA|no|ˈlʉ̂ːtəˌfɪsk|}} <small>in [[Southern Norway]]</small>; {{langx|sv|'''lutfisk'''}} {{IPA|sv|ˈlʉ̂ːtfɪsk|}}; {{langx|fi|lipeäkala}} {{IPA|fi|ˈlipeæˌkɑlɑ|}}; literally "[[lye]] fish") is [[dried fish|dried]] [[Whitefish (fisheries term)|whitefish]], usually [[cod]], but sometimes [[common ling|ling]] or [[burbot]], [[Curing (food preservation)|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.<ref name=nordarchive>{{cite web|url=https://www.nordicterritory.net/gourmet/lutfisk.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221221113956/http://www.dlc.fi/~marian1/gourmet/lutfisk.htm|archive-date=21 December 2022|title = Lutefisk|website=  Nordic Recipe Archive|access-date=18 November 2023}}</ref>

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]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.tasteatlas.com/lutefisk|title = Lutefisk, Lipeäkala, Lutfisk |website= tasteatlas.com |access-date=March 1, 2020}}</ref>

== Origin ==

[[File:Svolvær fish drying.jpg|thumb|right|Racks for drying fish in [[Svolvær]], [[Norway]]]]
[[File:Dried fish in Svolvær.jpg|thumb|right|Fish drying in Svolvær, Norway]]
[[File:Dried fish in Greenland.JPG|thumb|right|[[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.<ref name="Janik">Erica Janik, [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/scandinavians-strange-holiday-lutefisk-tradition-2218218/?page=2 Scandinavians' Strange Holiday Lutefisk Tradition], ''[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]'', 8 December 2011.</ref><ref name=diehl>{{cite web|url= https://www.thespruceeats.com/lutefisk-fish-2952909 |title = What Is Lutefisk - A Guide to Buying, Cooking, and Storing Lutefisk|website= The Spruce Eats|author= Kari Diehl |date=12 October 2022}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://seanmunger.com/2014/11/25/stockfish-empire-the-hanseatic-league-in-bergen-part-i/|title = Stockfish empire: The Hanseatic League in Bergen|website= seanmunger.com |author= Sean Munger |access-date=April 1, 2020}}</ref>

== Preparation ==

[[Image:Lutefisk.jpg|thumb|right|Lutefisk (on the upper left side of the plate) served in a Norwegian restaurant with potatoes, mashed peas, and bacon.]]
[[File:Fish Lutefisk.JPG|thumb|right|Lutefisk ready to eat.]]
[[Image:17MaiLutefisk2006-05-17.JPG|thumb|right|[[Norwegian Constitution Day]] dinner in [[Minnesota]], US with lutefisk, [[lefse]], and meatballs ({{langx|no|kjøttkaker}}.]]
[[Image:Norway-Lutefisk-01.jpg|thumb|right|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.<ref name=diehl/>

==Cooking==
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 [[Steaming|steam]] on a very low heat for 20–25 minutes. An alternative is to wrap it in [[aluminium foil]] and bake at 225&nbsp;°C (435&nbsp;°F) for 40–50 minutes.<ref name=nordarchive/> 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.<ref name=stradley>{{cite web | last=Stradley | first=Linda | title=Lutefisk History and Recipe | website=What's Cooking America | date=22 July 2017| url=https://whatscookingamerica.net/history/lutefiskhistory.htm}}</ref>

==Eating==
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 seed|mustard]] in the white sauce (in [[Scania]]). In parts of [[Jämtland]] it is served on flatbread with [[whey cheese]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.ingebretsens.com/culture/traditions/eating-fish-the-scandinavian-way|title = Eating Fish The Scandinavian Way |website= Ingebretsen's |access-date=April 1, 2020}}</ref>

In the United States, lutefisk is often served with a variety of side dishes, including bacon, peas, pea stew, potatoes, [[lefse]], gravy, mashed [[rutabaga]], [[Béchamel sauce|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.<ref name=nordarchive/>

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.<ref name=stradley/>

==Modern consumption==
Lutefisk as a Christmas season meal has gained attention in Norway over the past 20 years.<ref name="Soppeland">{{cite web |author=Jan Soppeland |url=http://dinmat.aftenbladet.no/Temasider/Artikler/Mattrender/Nordisk-kj%C3%B8kken/Lutefisk-til-himmels |title=Lutefisk til himmels |publisher=Aftensbladet |language=no |date=2008-10-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005175417/http://dinmat.aftenbladet.no/Temasider/Artikler/Mattrender/Nordisk-kj%C3%B8kken/Lutefisk-til-himmels |archive-date=5 October 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/distrikt/more_og_romsdal/1.6891615 |title=Lutefisk er trendy – Møre og Romsdal |publisher=NRK Nyhende |language=no |date=2009-12-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rb.no/lokale_nyheter/article1877805.ece |title=Trendy med lutefisk |language=no |date=2005-12-20}}</ref> The Norwegian Seafood Export Council indicated sales of lutefisk to restaurants and catering companies in Norway increased by 72% between 2005 and 2008.<ref name="Soppeland"/> A 2005 survey found 20% of Norwegians ate lutefisk during the [[Christmas and holiday season|Christmas holiday season]], although only 3% would consider it for their Christmas dinner.<ref>Annechen Bahr Bugge, [http://www.sifo.no/files/file61281_bugge-helt-enkel-tjul.pdf "''Helt enkelt jul''"], Grøstad gård, 24 November 2005</ref>

[[Madison, Minnesota]], US has dubbed itself the "lutefisk capital of the world" as well as claiming the largest per capita consumption of lutefisk in Minnesota.<ref name="Janik"/><ref>Eric Dregni, ''Minnesota Marvels: Roadside Attractions in the Land of Lakes'', University of Minnesota Press (September 2001), {{ISBN|978-0-8166-3632-7}}</ref> [[St. Olaf College]] in Northfield, Minnesota serves lutefisk during their Christmas Festival concerts.<ref>[http://fusion.stolaf.edu/mess/index.cfm?section=article&article_number=1642&issue_volume=117&issue_number=18&issue_date=5/7/2004 Madison, MN Lutefisk Capital USA]  Manitou Messenger  [ {{web archive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816220836/http://fusion.stolaf.edu/mess/index.cfm?section=article&article_number=1642&issue_volume=117&issue_number=18&issue_date=5%2F7%2F2004 |date=16 August 2011 }}</ref>

Lutefisk is eaten in Canada, which has a relatively large [[Nordic and Scandinavian Canadians|population of Scandinavian heritage]] 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.<ref>[https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=48&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&SearchText=Alberta&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=Ethnic%20origin&TABID=1&type=0] Canadian Census Profile, 2016 Census {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130085348/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=48&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&SearchText=Alberta&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=Ethnic%20origin&TABID=1&type=0|date=30 January 2021}}</ref> Organizations such as the [[Sons of Norway]] hold annual lutefisk dinners. Lutefisk is sometimes available in specialty stores<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.rvwest.com/article/camrose/culinary_camrose_scandinavian_delicacies_and_fresh_farm_produce |title= Culinary Camrose: Scandinavian delicacies and fresh farm produce |last= Johnston |first= Michelle |date= 24 December 2012 |publisher= RVWest |access-date= 2017-07-13}}</ref> and supermarkets where there are large Scandinavian populations. [[Kingman, Alberta]] proclaims itself on its greeting sign to be the "Lutefisk capital of Alberta."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kemball |first=Terri |date=5 November 1991 |title=Kingman called Lutefisk capital of Alberta |url=https://members.tripod.com/kingman_2/page2.html |access-date=13 February 2025 |work=The Tofield Mercury}}</ref>

==Folklore==
An article in ''[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]'' magazine quotes some oft-rendered [[tall tale]]s regarding the origins of the dish:<ref name="Janik"/>

{{blockquote| A legend has it that [[Vikings|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.}}

Jokes and humor about lutefisk have been cited as prevalent among Scandinavian-Americans, such as "I have tried lutefisk twice, once going down, and another time coming back up."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Danovich |first=Tove K. |date=2016-12-15 |title=What's A Holiday Without Lutefisk And A Little White Lye? |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/12/15/505389094/whats-a-holiday-without-lutefisk-and-a-little-white-lye |access-date=2025-02-13 |work=NPR |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-01-13 |title=Smell and texture make lutefisk a tough sell |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/food/smell-and-texture-make-lutefisk-a-tough-sell/ |access-date=2025-02-13 |website=Las Vegas Review-Journal |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hayes |first=Ken|date=2022-04-01 |title=Top The Tater Pranks Us With A New 'Minnesota-Themed' Flavor, But Would You Try It? |url=https://b105country.com/top-the-tater-pranks-us-with-a-new-flavor-but-would-you-try-it/ |access-date=2025-02-13 |website=B105 |language=en}}</ref>

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 burning the church down, which Stroup perceives as [[arson]] and a [[hate crime]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sfetcu |first1=Nicolae |title=About Christmas |date=2014 |pages=191}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pinsky |first1=Mark I. |title=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 |date=2007 |isbn=978-0-664-23160-6 |publisher=Presbyterian Publishing Corporation |pages=239}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Revenge of the Lutefisk |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0620297/ |website=www.imdb.com |publisher=IMDb |access-date=14 November 2023}}</ref>

*''[[Drop Dead Gorgeous (film)|Drop Dead Gorgeous]]'' dialog:
:'''Brett Clemmens''': [after Becky has tossed her food tray in, splattering Amber who's working in the cafeteria with its contents – Brett looks apologetic] Oh man...you got some lutefisk in your hair.
:'''Amber Atkins''': (upbeat) Then it must be Wednesday!
:'''Iona Hildebrandt''': (speaking to camera) Lutefisk is codfish that's been salted and soaked in lye for a week or so. It's best with lots of butter.
*In the video game ''[[Dungeons of Dredmor]]'', there is an item called the Horadric Lutefisk Cube, which turns any item placed in it into a lutefisk. Lutefisk can be eaten, but it can also be given to the Lutefisk God.
*In the Disney animated film ''[[Frozen (2013 film)|Frozen]]'', a shopkeep hurls [[Kristoff (Frozen)|Kristoff]] out of his store, after which he tells [[Anna (Frozen)|Anna]] (in a strong Norwegian accent) "I am sorry for this violence, I will add a quart of lutefisk, so we have good feelings."

==Spellings==
* {{langx|da|ludfisk}} or {{lang|da|ludefisk}}
* {{langx|no|lutefisk}} (earlier {{lang|no|ludefisk}} spelling still sometimes used in English) or {{lang|no|lutfisk}}
* {{langx|sv|lutfisk}}
* {{langx|fi|lipeäkala}} or {{lang|fi|livekala}}
* {{langx|se|lovttaguolli}}

==See also==
{{div col}}
* {{annotated link|Bacalhau}}: [[Portuguese cuisine|Portuguese]] dish also made of reconstituted dried fish.
* {{annotated link|Dried and salted cod|''Baccalà''|aka=clipfish}}
* {{annotated link|Fish and brewis}}
* {{annotated link|Hákarl}}
* {{annotated link|Surströmming}}
* {{annotated link|Þorramatur}}
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Other sources==
*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==
{{Commons category|Lutefisk}}
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050404173231/http://www.surfminnesota.net/lutfisk.html |title=The History of Lutfisk |date=2005-04-04}}
* [http://www.seattlepi.com/local/51040_lutefisk18.shtml Lutefisk for Christmas]
* {{webarchive |url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20011129110948/http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~atman/ic/lutefisk.html |title=Clay Shirky on eating lutefisk |date=2001-11-29}}
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050311021729/http://faculty.millikin.edu/~kborei.library.mu/Swede-L/santess/chemstry/lutfisk.htm |title=Chemistry of Lutefisk |date=2005-03-11}} {{in lang|sv}}
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061106224933/http://www.oldlutheran.com/humor/lutelament.html |title=Lutefisk Lament |date=2006-11-06}}, Boone & Erickson
* [http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/o_lutefisk_o_lutefisk.htm O Lutefisk] (Full lyrics)

{{cod topics|state=expanded}}
{{seafood}}

[[Category:Christmas food]]
[[Category:Fish dishes]]
[[Category:Norwegian cuisine]]
[[Category:Swedish cuisine]]
[[Category:Finnish cuisine]]
[[Category:Scandinavian cuisine]]
[[Category:Cuisine of Minnesota]]
[[Category:Cuisine of Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Cuisine of the Midwestern United States]]
[[Category:Cod dishes]]