Distasteful Holiday Traditions Scandinavian vs Mexican “Delights” By Robin Dohrn-Simpson
Y
ou take a perfectly good piece of sh, soak it in lye and then bake it until it’s gelatinous like mackerel- avored Jell-O, only worse.” That’s what my husband says when recounting his rst Christmas being a part of my family.
Norway’s famous—or infamous—food, Lute sk, is a Midwestern Christmas feast tradition that dates to the Viking days. Goofy tales are recounted about how it came about. Perhaps somebody accidentally dropped the cod in an ash pile (Lye is made from ash). They were too poor to throw it out, so they soaked it in water and ate it anyway. Another story is that the Irish put lye in the Viking’s sh barrels to poison them and the Vikings liked the lye-poisoned sh. Lute sk is usually Cod, dried, and salted (a great way to preserve your sh for years) and then soaked in a lye solution of wood ashes soaked in water, to rehydrate it. It is then baked until it’s delicious (according to a few deeply disturbed Scandinavians) or outright nasty (according to any well-adjusted humans who walk upright).
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