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Lutefisk is prepared as a seafood dish of several Nordic countries. Norwegian julebord and Swedish julbord, as well as the similar Finnish joulupöytä. Preserved fish provided protein during the long winter months 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.
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 the product became accessible throughout Scandinavia, as well as the rest of Europe. The higher quality stockfish would be soaked in water, then boiled and eaten with melted butter. For it to become edible, lutefisk must again be soaked in cold water. 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.
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. This will “release” some of the water in the fish meat. The salt must be rinsed off carefully before cooking.