Jump to navigation Jump to search Not to sons of norway lefse recipe confused with lutefish, freshwater fishes native to Africa. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. 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 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. Another option is to parboil lutefisk, wrapped in cheesecloth and gently boiled until tender. Lutefisk can also be boiled directly in a pan of water. Lutefisk may also be cooked in a microwave oven. 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.
The taste of well-prepared lutefisk is very mild, and the white sauce is often spiced with pepper or other strong-tasting spices. Lutefisk as a Christmas season meal has gained attention in Norway over the past 20 years. Far more lutefisk is consumed in the United States than in Scandinavia, much of it by Scandinavian Americans in Lutheran churches and fraternal lodges. Madison, Minnesota has dubbed itself the “lutefisk capital of the world” as well as claiming the largest per capita consumption of lutefisk in Minnesota. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota serves lutefisk during their Christmas Festival concerts. Many Lutheran churches across Wisconsin also serve Lutefisk dinners as a Christmas tradition. Lutefisk is also consumed in Canada because of its relatively large Scandinavian population, particularly in the traditionally agricultural, inland provinces of Western Canada.
As of 2016, there are about 463,000 Norwegian Canadians, 350,000 Swedish Canadians, 207,000 Danish Canadians and 143,000 Finnish Canadians. A legend has it that 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. There are many jokes about lutefisk.
Some of these jokes are printed on T-shirts, bumper stickers, and coffee mugs, e. Type of Portuguese cod dish: Portuguese dish also made of reconstituted dried fish. Erica Janik, Scandinavians’ Strange Holiday Lutefisk Tradition, Smithsonian, 8 December 2011. What Is the Scandinavian Food Lutefisk”. Stockfish empire: The Hanseatic League in Bergen”.
Culinary Camrose: Scandinavian delicacies and fresh farm produce”. There are many ways of flavoring lefse. The most common is adding butter to the lefse and rolling it up. Preferred toppings are added to taste. There are significant regional variations in Norway in the way lefse is made and eaten, but it generally resembles a flatbread, although in many parts of Norway, especially Valdres, it is far thinner. It is often used in place of a hot dog bun and can be used to roll up sausages. Norway’s Constitution Day on May 17 is one of the most popular days to eat the dish.
Salten district in Nordland in Northern Norway. Made of butter, syrup, sugar, eggs, and flour. Originally created in western Norway as a treat for fishermen who worked at the Lofoten Fishery. It resembles thin lefse but is slightly thicker, and it is stained by large amounts of whole aniseed.