Imagine dried fish soaked in lye. Yes, in lye!

Today, lutefisk is a traditional dish eaten in Norway, Sweden, and parts of Finland at Christmas, but its origins date back to Viking times.

According to legend, once upon a time, plundering Vikings burned down a fishing village, including wooden racks of drying cod. The returning villagers doused the racks with water to put out the fire.

Ash covered the drying fish, and then rain fell. The fish buried in the ash thus soaked up the lye slush. Later, the villagers were surprised to see that the dried fish had turned into something that looked like fresh fish. They rinsed the fish in the water to remove the lye and make it edible and then cooked it.

The story goes that one particularly brave villager tasted the fish and declared it “not bad.”

Well, in Scandinavia, fish, especially cod, have been hung to dry on tall birch racks for centuries. Dried fish is very rich in nutrients and for generations provided protein during the long winter months.

It is not known when people first started treating dried fish with lye.

So how does dried fish end up as yummy lutefisk? – First, the dried fish is soaked in cold water for a week with daily water changes. Then the presoaked fish is soaked in lye (sodium hydroxide dissolved in water) for two days, which reduces the protein content by about 50% and gives the fish its characteristic gelatinous texture. After such a bath, the fish is caustically alkaline (pH 11-12), so it is soaked in cold water for 10 days until it becomes nearly translucent. NOW THE FISH IS MADE EDIBLE!

Treated with lye and hydrated fish can be boiled or steamed, or it can be baked en papillote. Due to the gelatinous texture of the fish, it should be handled gently.

Lutefisk is traditionally served in Norway with fried bacon, pea puree, floury boiled potatoes, white sauce or melted butter, syrup, grated goat or aged cheese, and lots of aquavit and beer. In Sweden with boiled almond potatoes and béchamel sauce, in Skåne (southern part of Sweden) with mustard sauce.

In Norway, the dry fish is usually from cod, and in Sweden from ling.

I leave the issues of taste, smell, and texture of the dish to your own judgment.

Please note: If you are unaccustomed to preparing lutefisk, leave the above process to the professionals.

If by chance you find yourself in the Bergen area you can buy ready-to-cook lutefisk or eat it at Matthallen at the famed Fish Market.

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