SC - re: lutefisk!

[Jeanne Stapleton]

> kat wrote:
> 
> > I have long been amazed at the phenomenon of lutefisk... to the
> > point of disbelief at times.  My father says it's wonderful.  The
> > one time I tried it I was horrified... haven't had another
> > opportunity since (Swanson doesn't seem to ship their Lutefisk
> > frozen dinners to California...  <grin> )
> 
> I'm surprised. Svensen's doesn't make frozen Lutefisk TV dinners?
> 

I just found this....GROSS.  Frozen lutefisk dinners with lefsa in
one pocket and lingonberry cobbler in another?

Berengaria

> > First of all, is lutefisk period?  Second, are there better and
> > more appetizing methods of serving it besides the institutional
> > white plate with lutefisk, unflavored white sauce and cold boiled
> > potatoes that the local Sons of Norway's annual lutefisk-dinner
> > chef seems to prefer?
> 
> Lutefisk, in its primal form, is as period as all get-out.
> Or...well...yes, it's period. It is air-dried (as opposed to salt)
> cod, a.k.a. (m.k.a.?) stockfish, probably the single most common
> medieval food staple for Lent, if you go by the recipes. We really
> don't know how period Scandinavians would have eaten it, though. As
> with many bland foods (my favorite example being bean curd) it needs
> to be seasoned when cooked. For those cultures whose only seasonings
> extend to salt and pepper, that shouldn't be a problem. (I made a
> batch of haggis some months ago which brought tears to the eyes. The
> only spices in it were salt and pepper, but we seasoned them every
> step of the way, figuring they were sausages, for Heaven's sake, and
> could NOT, as Jerry Seinfeld says, not be spicy.)
> 
> I'm reasonably familiar with Lutefisk being served with melted
> butter (sometimes drawn butter, but not always) and potato-dough
> pancakes that the Norse call lefse, but the Swedes lompe. Hot dogs
> are also eaten in lefse/lompe, BTW. Makes 'em almost tolerable.
> 

an ex-boyfriend, whose father was a pastor in Petersburg, Alaska,
told me that lutefisk was a Norwegian's excuse to eat melted butter.

Good lefsa, now...wonderful stuff.

> > Seriously, now; I'm truly interested.  It would make one heckuva
> > interesting feast....
> 
> Hmmmm. It would, wouldn't it? Welcome to Lars' Viking Buffet!
> 
> I suspect that the long lines would form for the mutton prosciutto
> (fennlaer, IIRC), but there would likely be some diehard
> Scandamaniacs (a non-derogatory technical term describing people
> like my friend Ateno) who would feel quite at home with lutefisk and
> lefse, which, in this case, would be made with barley, rye, and
> whole wheat flour. It's kind of expensive and not always easy to
> find real torsk, though. Might have to make do with really well
> soaked salt cod or fresh cod. Don't forget the lingonberries and
> cloudberries!
> 
> Adamantius

I love the challenging feast themes people come up with one here.


jstaplet at adm.law.du.edu
University of Denver
College of Law
Ext. 6288
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