Anyone out there have/having Lutefisk this holiday season?

My Minnesota snowbird friends love this stuff.

I had to look this up on the Internet. I had no clue what it was. After reading about soaking fish in water for several days, and it forms into a jello and then it's packed in lye for several days, it's like ... oh my! Sounds interesting, but WAY too time consuming for me. I barely plan out what we're having in the next hour, let alone a week into the future! Maybe a special meal like Christmas dinner or New Year dinner? No doubt, that's what the OP is planning for, New Year. Now .. add the goat cheese and you might have a winner!

I am of Norwegian descent, have never tried lutefisk and don't intend to although some of the relys actually claim to like the stuff.

Tom N wrote:My Minnesota snowbird friends love this stuff.I was born and raised in MN; am of Swedish and Norwegian bloodlines; and I still won't eat it unless I was starving to death and there was no other food available. Even then I'd have to think about it or look for bugs to eat instead.

I have never tried it, and probably won't in the foreseeable future. I have been eating a lot of Kringle recently, however.Miles

Lutefisk | Good Sam Community

magnusfide
Explorer II
Jan 22, 2016
:B
hokeypokey wrote:
DH's husband's family eats it. All I can say is: I gave some to the cat and he covered it up, so that's good enough for me to leave it alone. (Can't stand the stuff)
AmericalVette
Explorer
Jan 22, 2016
Lutefisk brings to mind.. Nuoc Mam (sp?)a fish sauce that the Vietnamese seemed to use on everything. The heat and humidity didn't help much either!
hokeypokey
Explorer
Jan 22, 2016
DH's husband's family eats it. All I can say is: I gave some to the cat and he covered it up, so that's good enough for me to leave it alone. (Can't stand the stuff)
SDPat
Explorer
Jan 10, 2016
Lutefisk is a waste of good butter. But I certainly wish I could master making lefse! Mine turn out like shoe leather.
bigred1cav
Explorer
Dec 30, 2015
Nastiest tasting Jello ever to hit my tongue. UGH
Quality_Johnson
Explorer
Dec 29, 2015
It used to be served at Grandma and Grandpa's house at Christmas dinner when I was a kid. Grandpa was the one who liked it, and everybody else ate a little to be polite. Haven't had any in probably 55 years or more.

The original reason for lutefisk was food preservation. Cod fillets were hung out on racks to dry in the summer sun and wind, and it took some work (and some lye) to get them back to an edible state.

Gjetost and fattigman are far better Norwegian treats, IMHO.
Mustycovers
Explorer
Dec 29, 2015
Love it Whimsy! 50 years old and hated/Loved Christmas dinner for years. Went to Grandma's, had Lutefisk, Sylta, Fruita Soupa, and the rest of the Sweedish traditional garnishes. Great memories! Did you have the candles that powered Christmas scene?

Living in WI. Three promises. Never live in WI. Never go to school in WI. And - Never marry a redhead. Never say never!
Wimsey
Explorer
Dec 29, 2015
We have it every year for Christmas dinner. Serve it in white sauce over rice cooked with milk in a double boiler Add a few lingonberries, sylta and limpa and you are all set!
dons2346
Explorer
Dec 29, 2015
uuuuuFFFFda
rexlion
Explorer
Dec 29, 2015
Pangaea Ron wrote:
When visiting my cousins in Finland, I joked about lutefisk, and I called it fish Jello. . . they didn't laugh. It's served on special occasions.

Do you know the difference between lutefisk and snot?

Kids will eat snot.

Snot is also quicker and easier to prepare! :D