# Ludafisk **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 14, 2003, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ludafisk/175297 "2003-05-14T23:25:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![captainQwark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@captainQwark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/captainQwark)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ludafisk/175297/1 "2003-05-14T23:25:06Z")
What is it? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ludafisk/175297/2 "2003-05-14T23:30:28Z")
Do you mean lutefisk? From [here:](http://www.iphc.washington.edu/staff/joan/lutefisk.htm) > [@](#): > > Lutefisk is dried fish, soaked for several days in a lye and water mixture and then in plain water. It takes on a very gelatinous texture. It is served with a number of side dishes - how many and exactly what kind varies from region to region and even family to family - and large amounts of beer and akavit. For some Norwegian families, it is THE traditional Christmas dish. > > Norwegians and Swedes has eaten lutefisk for ages, but not as much and as often as now. In some groups it has almost become a kind of cult-food, there are groups that only works for lutefisk, and resturants are selling more and more of it now, towards xmas. I’ve never tried it but I know it’s huge in Minnesota in December. Haj ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ludafisk/175297/3 "2003-05-14T23:32:19Z")
Lutefisk is cod soaked in lye. It originated in Norway and is also found in the upper Midwest. Here’s the [recipe](http://www.sofn.com/norwegianculture/recipes/Lutefisk.html) from the Sons of Norway. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ludafisk/175297/4 "2003-05-15T00:49:18Z")
Here’s a great [story](http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=366D6520.217285D6%40cisco.com) about the stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ludafisk/175297/5 "2003-05-15T00:52:11Z")
What is lutefisk? Lutefisk is gross. Or perhaps a more politically correct answer…it’s an _acquired_ taste. blech. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ludafisk/175297/6 "2003-05-15T02:38:36Z")
Also known as _bacalau_ in the Portugese and Philippine cultures. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ludafisk/175297/7 "2003-05-15T03:21:09Z")
Lutefisk is _big_ attraction at the [Norsk Hostfest](http://www.hostfest.com/) . Trust me, I’ve been there. I’ve seen it. . . A lot of the attendees love it. Apparently, the King of Norway loved it when he was out here, too. Tripler Hostfest: too many old folk to count. ---
**Author:** ![JKB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@JKB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKB)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ludafisk/175297/8 "2003-05-15T03:47:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ruby \* > \*\*What is lutefisk? > > Lutefisk is gross. > > Or perhaps a more politically correct answer…it’s an _acquired_ taste. > > blech. \*\* I agree wholehartedly. This from someone who likes haggis and sushi. Tried it once, “once” being the opperative word. If they somehow find any of it in Iraq they can count it as a bioweopon. ---
**Author:** ![SnoopyFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@SnoopyFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnoopyFan)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ludafisk/175297/9 "2003-05-15T05:10:43Z")
I saw lutefusk mentioned in “Drop Dead Gorgeous.” I thought it was a joke until I asked a friend from Minnesota about it. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ludafisk/175297/10 "2003-05-15T10:24:53Z")
**Ludafisk** is that hot new Norwegian rapper from St. Paul. He wears a 5-pound necklace with a large golden fish pendant, and he sports a walleye lure hooked through his pierced eyebrow. He’s da bomb, ya know. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ludafisk/175297/11 "2003-05-15T15:50:04Z")
Once upon a time, a Minnesota man (not of Norwegian heritage) discovered skunks living under his house. After smoke bombs, loud noises, and hounds had failed to remove them, a neighbor suggested that he throw two pounds of lutefisk under the house and leave for two weeks. Desperate, the man dispensed two pounds of finely divided lutefisk under his house, and went on vacation for two weeks. When he returned, the skunks were gone, and he immediately went to thank his neighbor. "Ole, the lutefisk worked great – the skunks are gone. “Now, how do I get rid of the Norwegians?” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ludafisk/175297/12 "2003-05-15T15:54:15Z")
What on God’s green Earth ever prompted the first person to mix lye and fish? “Hey, Grog, I’ve got some fish. You got any tartar sauce?” “Nope. Got some lye, though.” “That’ll do, I guess.” WTF? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ludafisk/175297/13 "2003-05-15T18:45:30Z")
> [@](#): > > What on God’s green Earth ever prompted the first person to mix lye and fish? Presumably it was done to preserve said fish, on the principle that even food-spoilage pathogens have some sense of taste 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ludafisk/175297/14 "2003-05-15T18:57:45Z")
Isn’t lye poison? What do they do to neutralize that? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ludafisk/175297/15 "2003-05-15T19:07:18Z")
They soak it in regular water to remove the lye. Hominy is made using lye, too. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ludafisk/175297/16 "2003-05-15T19:24:22Z")
Baccala is the same stuff, minus the lye. Very tasty. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ludafisk/175297/17 "2003-05-15T19:28:42Z")
The fish is first dried to preserve it. You can’t make lutefisk out of fresh fish. Dried fish keeps a very long time. Unfortunately, it’s also about as easy to eat as a wooden plank. You have to add the water back somehow. This is going to involve soaking it, of course, but how the lye first got put in the soak water is a total mystery. As **An Arky** says, the fish is soaked in plain water - several changes of plain water, actually - to remove the lye, a process that takes days. No lye is left in the finished product, so it won’t kill you, although to my mind that’s about the only nice thing you can say about it. (Gawd help me, I’m married to a man who loves it.) ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ludafisk/175297/18 "2003-05-15T19:32:37Z")
Lutefisk is a great dish, no matter what those yahoos say about it. It’s the only fish you can spread on toast, don’tcha know? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ludafisk/175297/19 "2003-05-15T19:47:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > \*\*Lutefisk is a great dish, no matter what those yahoos say about it. > > It’s the only fish you can spread on toast, don’tcha know? 😃 \*\* I’m not sure the fact that you can spread it on toast is a recommendation. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ludafisk/175297/20 "2003-05-15T19:48:44Z")
Olives can be lye-cured as well, FYI. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ludafisk/175297.md?page=2)