Last night, Jimmy and I thought "what the heck?" and decided to try lutefisk. For me it was a second try, a just to be sure I don't like it sort of trial. After take #2, I am convinced.
There are several things that alarm me about the dish:
1) it is cured in lye... lye! what we use to make soap! no one eats lye for fun (usually)
2) one needs an inordinate amount of butter to drown the sorrows of the lye-cured cod and make it edible
3) it is literally clear! for those of you who are not scandinavian or at a scandinavian school, picture this: it's a whitsh, gellatinous glob whose appearance warrants serious concern
4) the best description of how it feels in your mouth is nearly tasteless, fully colorless jello
The best way to approach the dish is to forget that it was at any time a living organism. Don't expect fish, expect nondescript food that jiggles on your fork. If you go into it thinking you'll be eating cod, you will be ALARMED at what sits on your tongue (if you manage to let it stay there for more than a femtosecond, that is).
It is quite endearing though to think that lutefisk, the butt of all scandinavian jokes concerning food, is alive (sorta?) and well especially at St. Olaf College.
In other notes, yes, it's Christmas Fest weekend. Finals are looming ahead but life continues quite merrily when the campus is transformed into an ice palace and Christmas spirit is increased with each cup of cocoa.
Sunday, December 04, 2005
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1 comment:
heeey! lutefisk is good! but you know what, the one I tried at St.Olaf last year was HORRIBLE! and now I am really nice! it does not at all taste like it does when we make it at home!
and just so you know the "lefse" they serve in the caf' is just potetkake!! (potato-cake that are best with hotdogs!) and be happy you don't eat meat, because it is nothing like the norwegian christmasfood!
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