Lutefisk

Specialised

Stockfish rehydrated in a lye solution of birch ash or caustic soda, then soaked clean and baked, giving a translucent jelly-like fish eaten with bacon, pea purée, potatoes and mustard. A December dish, and a survival from the fasting calendar of Catholic Norway. ⚠ IT IS A BIGGER DEAL IN NORWEGIAN AMERICA THAN IN NORWAY, where it is a seasonal restaurant and julebord item rather than an everyday food. ⚠ SAFETY: the lye stage is genuinely caustic and the fish must be thoroughly soaked out.

Atlas — where and when

Communities and languages

Languages: Norwegian (Bokmål)

What is recorded

Lutefisk preparation involves a caustic lye stage. The fish must be thoroughly soaked out before cooking. The historical method is described here; it is not a modern procedure. documented

Related foodways

This foodway relates to

related to Norwegian-American Foodways documented
The lutefisk supper is a larger institution in Norwegian America than in Norway.
related to Swedish Foodways documented
Lutfisk is kept in Sweden and Finland on the same Christmas logic.