Conference turris::scandia

Well, if you're really desperate,

	Fisher's Market, North Main St. Brockton, MA  (617) 586-7277
or	The Gift Chalet, Rt. 20, Auburn MA, (617) 755-3026

If you subscribed to Gult och Bl�tt i Boston, you'd have their
Christmas Shopping List.

If you can't find lutefisk in the shops, you can make an excellent
substitute by boiling a cake of Ivory soap until its tender, then
serving it with a white sauce.

On A Prarie Home Companion, Garrison Keillor told the story of the
woman (not Norwegian Luthern) who had skunks under her front porch.
She asked her Pastor for advice, and he suggested putting a dish
of lutefisk under the house.  A week later, he asked her if it worked.
"Yes, it got rid of the skunks, but what do I do about the Norwegians."

Martin 

(not a lutefisk lover, as you might have guessed.
Ahh, but surstr�mming...  there's a delicacy.)

    Re: 0: 
    
    Lutefisk is a variety of Cod that has been lime-cured.  It should
    be available ready for cooking in Scandinavian delicatessen stores,
    especially as Christmas time approaches.
    
    Re: .1:
    
    Surstr�mming, Martin?  You've got to be kidding.  I've heard that
    at one time, Swedish apartment complexes had rules prohibiting the
    indoor opening of the cans.  [This is rotted Baltic herring, for
    those of you unfamiliar with the term.]

    
    The only sensible way of using surstr�mmningar is to give a can
    of them as a gift to some poor, ignorant person. You'll have a good
    laugh if you're able to see his/her face when the *horrible* smell
    comes out of the can (that's of course, if you are not fainting
    yourself).
    
    Juha

    
    Re: Surstr�mming
    
    We could argue about the pro et cons concerning surstr�mming in
    eternity, BUT, I know it is a delicacy and thats final!!
    By the way, surstr�mming is NOT rotten herring, it's FERMENTED.
    
    Hmmph!
    Bo

    
    	Just make sure the can is open outdoors, and facing away from
    you.  If I remember correctly, the pressure built up in the can
    sprays the juice a good distance.
    	My Swedish brother insisted that it was good, but I couldn't
    get it close enough to my nose to put it in my mouth.  It's strange
    what people eat in different cultures.  He was shocked that we eat
    corn on the cob.  It's pig food!
    
    						-Jerry
    

Amazing, Sweden finally gets a national dish that can proudly take
its place with Dun Dun Noodles, Tex-Mex Salsa, and Vindaloo Curry, and
all you can think of is "rotten fish."

For the benefit of the non-Swedes in the audience, surstr�mming is
made by taking Baltic herring, and fermenting them in a saltpeter
brine.  The herring are canned and an anaerobic bacterium does its
thing, releasing a rather smelly gas.  They are eaten with raw
onions, flat bread and vodka (if you're from Central Sweden) or
milk if you're from the North.

Martin.

    Re: .6
    		"...*rather* smelly...", you said. I would recommend you to
    		go and visit your doctor and have your nose checked.
    
    		OK, I admit that the taste isn't as bad as the smell
    		is, otherwise nobody could eat the stuff, not even with
    		a few bottles of vodka. (I have eaten (yes, it's true !)
    		surstr�mming, so my dirty opinions aren't just fantasy
    		and prejudicies).
    

    Returning to the base note, I don't suppose you've come across some
    dried fish and want to know how to lime cure it do you?
    
    I have the instructions if you do.  2.5 pounds of dried fish (spring
    'ling' cod) yields about 10 pounds of cured fish after the soaking is
    done. You begin with fish, slaked lime, soda and water. To have the
    fish cured by Xmas Eve, you should start the process around December 6. 

yes this time of year you can find "lutfisk" in all starmarkets [ frozen
    food section] just ask the deli dept. be sure to serve it with a
    good "senaps sas" god jul   charlotta

It's that lutefisk time of the year again! 
    
    Since their didn't seem to be a listing of stores that sell the
    stuff in the midwest (actually Chicago area), I thought I'd contribute
    the location of a vendor. Lutefisk, or lutfish as it is occasionally
    spelled around here for some reason, can be purchased at the Boston
    Fish market in Chicago. It is located on west Irving Park Road,
    just west of Cicero Av. My parents always got it there and it
    supposedly was the best(!?). I haven't had it in year since my Swedish
    wife is not fond of it (she's adopted so that may explain it).
    
    A footnote on lutefisk...
    I belong to the "Torsk Klub" in Arlington Heights,Illinois. [It
    meets at the Scandinavian Club from September to May on the second Saturday
    of the month, with the sole purpose of eating Torsk (fresh,boiled
    codfish, potatoes and carrots ) I thought I'd get in a plug]
    
    During one meeting, I sat next to one gentleman who was born and
    raised in Norway. We got to discussing lutefisk. He remembered that
    in his youth,  it was not the Christmas delicacy that it seems to
    be now in America. Lutefisk was made and dried from the fish that could not
    be sold at the market. It was a kind of a "factory second", he said
    and more or less a common man's dinner much as we eat hamburger meat
    in America.  The fish was dried and thrown in a pile out in front
    of the store to keep cool.  This man also informed me that joke
    that was told in his youth revolved around the lutefisk getting
    its flavor from the dogs in the neighborhood.
    
    I also heard a good receipe for preparing lutefisk from fresh fish.
    
    
    Take the fish and nail it to a board. Rub the fish with soap. Put the
    board on your roof for a couple of days. Instant lutefisk.
    
    Most people would throw away the fish and eat the board.
    
    KOL                                                   
    on a hot summer day 

    Re: .10
    
    Lutefisk isn't as common as it were. People still eat it, but I
    think it reached it's hight during the war when food was hard to
    get. Yes it was regarded as "poors mans food".
    
    I liked the receipe! :-)
    
    			Terje.

    RE: It is only called Lutefisk if you happened to be
    Norvegian,otherwise it is Lutfisk. Bon appetite and don't forget
    the mustard sas.

    I am not much of a noter, but LUTEFISK caught my eye.  I am of
    Norweigian descent, my father was the only one of his family born
    in the states, all his brothers and sisters (10 of them) were born
    in Norway.  I mention this to give unquestioned authority to which
    I am about to speak.
    
    Lutefisk came to being during the Irish famine which was also caused
    by the Vikings to some degree.  Anyway, the Irish were having their
    problems with food, and the Norwiegians were out "Viking".  The
    Irish knew they were coming and did not want to part with their
    scarce food supplies.  So, they took all the rotting fish they could
    find, placed it where the Vikings were expected to land and then
    covered it with caustic lye.  Smart Irish huh?  Kill two birds with
    one fish, if you will.  Get rid of the bad fish and the terrible
    Vikings.  
    
    Well the Irish missed the boat, the caustic Lye (remember soap was
    mentioned in some of the other articles) caused a chemical reaction
    which neutralized the effect of decaying meat.  The Vikings loved
    it and it became a Norweigian delicacy. 
    
    It may later have become a poor mans food, but I have difficulty
    believing that.  I don't know the time it takes to prepare, but
    one article mentioned starting it on Dec 6th in order to have it
    ready for Xmas, not many poor people will invest that kind of time
    in preparing  a meal!
    
    Another Norweigian has spoken..
    
    Don

  While I'm third generation US, the blood and customs have stayed pretty much
  pure (okay okay, so I'm only 50%, but my mom is still 100% nor/scan :-) ).

  My great grandmother, Mor, (actually Borghild Paulsen in SLC, she just passed
  away last year in Nov at 92), made a Xmas eve dinner for everyone in the
  family who happened to be in SLC at Xmas (99% of the relatives live there so
  of course it was always a crowd).  I was often there too, though we were
  at the time in Phoenix (now in Pepperell MA).  The dinner was always
  Lutefisk, potatoes, and carrots.  The Lutefisk never really turned me on
  but it wasn't that bad.  Fish isn't (sadly) my great love (must have come
  from my dad :-)  ).  My brother, who was in SLC at Christmas last year,
  where the tradition is continuing, ate some Lutefisk and then exclaimed
  that he understood how Jesus could feed 5000 with a few fishes, he said
  it must have been Lutefisk!  :-)

  Chad

    RE: .13  "the real story"
    
    This also explains the Irish roots of the word "lutefisk" which
    is what the Vikings misunderstood the Irish to say in describing
    the Norse culinary tastes as "ludicrous".
    
    
    

        I thought some of you might enjoy this.  I came across it some
        time ago and was going to enter it in this notes file.  I
        don't believe I ever did enter it.  Any way I recalled putting
        an inquiry into this notes file quite some time ago.  I
        thought this would be a great place to include the entry.

        Ken
        


        		LUTEFISK LAMENT

        Adapted from a poem by Don Freeberg and reprinted without
        permission from the Cut Bank(Montana) Pioneer Press.


        Twas the day before Christmas, with things all a bustle 
        As Mama got set for the Christmas Eve Tussle
        Aunts, Uncles and Cousins would soon be arriving
        With stomachs all ready for Christmas Eve dinning.
        While I sat alone with a felling of dread
        As visions of Lutefisk danced in my head
        The thought of the smell made my eyeballs start burning
        The thought of the taste set my stomach to churning
        For I'm one of those who good "Norskies" rebuff
        A Scandahoovian boy who can't stand the stuff;
        Each year, however, I played at the game
        To spear Mama and Papa the undying shame
        I must bear up bravely, I can't take the risk
        Of relatives knowing I HATE LUTEFISK
        I know they would spurn me, my presents withhold
        If the unthikable, upspeakable truth they were told.

        Then out in the yard I heard such a clatter
        I jumped up to see what was the matter
        There in the snow, all in a jumble
        Three of my uncles had taken a tumble
        My Aunts, as usual, gave them "what for"
        And they soon were up and through the door
        Then with talk, and good cheer, an hour was passed
        As Mama finished the Christmas repast.

        From out in the kitchen an odor came stealing
        That fairly set my senses to reeling!
        The smell of Lutefisk crept down the hall
        And wilted a plant, in a pot, on the wall.
        The others reacted as though they were smitten
        While the aroma laid low my small helpless kitten
        Uncles Halvor and John said, "Oh my, that smells yummy"
        And Kermit's eyes glittered while he patted his tummy.
        The sent skipped off the ceiling and bounced off the door
        And the bird in the cuckoo clock fell on the floor.

        Mama announced dinner by ringing a bell
        They rushed to the table with whoop and a yell.
        I lifted my eyes upward and I sighed
        And a rose up on the wallpaper withered and died.
        With leaden legs I found my chair
        An sat in silence with an unseeing stare
        Most of the food was already in place
        There remained only to fill the Lutefisk's space.
        Then Mama came proudly with a bowl on a trivet
        You would have thought the crown jewels were in it.
        She placed it carefully down and took her seat
        And Papa said grace before we would eat
        It seemed to me, with my whirling head,
        The shortest prayer he'd ever said!

        Then Mama lifted the cover on the steaming dish
        And I was face to face with that quivering fish!
        "Me first" I heard Uncle Kermit call
        While I watched ALL the wall paper peel off the wall
        The plates were passed for Papa to fill
        I waited, in agony between fever and chill.
        He would dip in the spoon and hold it up high
        It oozed onto the plates, I thought I would die!

        Then came my plate and to my fevered brain
        There seemed enough Lutefisk to derail a train.
        It looked like a mountain of congealing glue
        Oddly transparent, yet discolored in hue.
        With butter and cream sauce I tried to conceal it
        I salted and peppered, but the smell would reveal it.
        I drummed up my courage, I tried to be bold
        Mama said, "Eat it before it gets cold."
        I decided to face it, "Uff da!" I sighed
        "Uff da, indeed," my stomach replied.

        Then I summoned that resolve for which our breed is known
        My hand took the fork as with a mind of its own.
        And with reckless abandon that Lutefisk I ate
        Within 20 seconds, I cleaned up my plate.
        Uncle Kermit flashed me an ear-to-ear grin
        As butter and cream sauce dripped from his chin.
        Then, to my great shock, he whispered in my ear
        "I'm sure glad this is over for another year."

        It was then that I learned a great and wonderful truth
        That Swedes and Norwegians from old men to youth
        Must each pay their dues, to have the great joy
        Of being know as a "good Scandahoovian boy."

        And so to you all, as you face the great test
        Happy Christmas to you and to you all the best! 

    Ken
    
    I took the liberty of placing your last entry as a "reply" into the
    notes conference SNORRE::NORGE, which, despite its name, is located in
    Valbonne (started by Norwegian ex-patriates, linking them to the home
    base). You will find it under base-note 3, "Akevit og Lutefisk" (which
    translation I will leave to the reader).
    
    The NORGE conference might be of interest to some of the readers of
    this one; only problem is that it is mainly conducted in Norwegian.
    
    Thanks, again, for an enjoyable read
    
    Mauritz
    

RE: .17

>>> I took the liberty of placing your last entry as a "reply" into the
>>> notes conference SNORRE::NORGE, which, despite its name, is located in
>>> Valbonne (started by Norwegian ex-patriates, linking them to the home
>>> base).

Mauritz - SNORRE:: is located in the building next to you, across the
parking lot right here in Oslo. It is one of the bootnodes in OSLLAV::, 
the Local Area Vax Cluster of CS in Oslo. 

	Tor

    Ahhhhhghghghg!!!
    
    You got me, Tor!
    
    I already had a slightly sick feeling when we met last week, when
    you used the node-name "snorre" to explain some of our wonderful
    network management capabilities.
    
    However, I was lazy, and did not rush to this notes conference to make
    the correction---after all, who would ever find out???
    
    (Remember, Big Brother is ALWAYS watching)
    
    Mauritz
    

    From: [email protected] ("Johnson")
    Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
    Subject: Lutefisk poll
    Date: 25 Nov 91 16:26:16 GMT
    Sender: [email protected] ("Johnson")
    Organization: Motorola LMPS Research, Schaumburg, IL
 
    In article <[email protected]>,
    [email protected] (Steinar Bang) writes:

   >      ...
   >(And hey! I must say I am no real fan of Lutefisk meself! My mom
   >>family...:-). And at that I am luckier than a childhood friend of mine
   >whose mother insisted on lutefisk on christmas eve... The poor kid
   >never could understand what was so great about christmas...)
 
    Like your friend, I have been given the opportunity to "enjoy" lutefisk
    on each Christmas eve.  I couldn't understand the reason for it back
    then, but as I grew older, I found that it was worth eating a bite of
    lutefisk once a year so that I could be in on all of the lutefisk
    jokes.  They  really can't be understood by anyone who hasn't tasted
    it...
 
    The best time I had with lutefisk was when a friend of mine stopped by
    on Christmas eve.  My mother, a hard-core Norwegian, was appalled by
    the notion of anyone who waited until the 25th to start celebrating, so
    he was invited for dinner.  He was greatly impressed by the potatoskorf
    (sp?), bond-ost, gjetost, etc. and thus had a lot of momentum going by
    the time he got to the lutefisk.  (Of course, nobody warned him,
    although we were all watching with evil glee out of the corners of our
    eyes.)
 
    Needless to say, a large mouthful of lutefisk stopped him in his
    tracks. He tried unsuccessfully to swallow it several times before
    excusing himself to the other room.  Unfortunately, we were not able to
    stop laughing before he came back.
 
    But to the subject at hand:  I've heard rumors about people who
    actually like lutefisk.  I'll volunteer to take an email poll to see
    what percentage of s.c.n readers love or hate it, and post the result
    along with a synopsis of the best anecdotes, if there's sufficient
    response.  Respond by email please; I don't want to clutter the group
    with a(nother?) trivial thread.

--
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  "Johnson"       | Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not    |
|  [email protected] | out to get you.                                          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Disclaimer:  According to my latest profit-sharing report, I speak for     |
|               a little less than 0.00001% of Motorola.                      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

I like Lutefisk!

This year was the second time that I have eaten it, I tried it in California, and
I did not like it that time, must have been the cooking method.  I do not think
I could manage a steady diet of Lutefisk, however.

Dave

    My mother-in-law got me a great seasonal sweatshirt.  It has pictures
    of disgusted-looking people, a big circular no-sign and a caption
    saying "LUTEFISK! Just say no."  Just thought I'd mention it...

   Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
   From: [email protected] (Cynthia Kandolf)
   Subject: Re: Old Traditions
   Sender: [email protected] (NetNews Administrator)
   Organization: University of Trondheim, Norway
   Date: 10 Nov 93 22:29:47
 
    Joern Aabakken writes:

   > Does anyone know how Lutefisk was conceived?  Someone told me the
   >first time Lutefisk was created was in the Viking era when the old
   >Norsemen brought dried fish (toerrfisk) to England.  Those old Brits
   >wanted to make life miserable for our old forefathers by pouring lye
   >on their foodstock.  However, that old gang of die-hards wanted to
   >show those stuffy Brits that nothing could stop them, and preceeded to
   >publicly eat the lye-treated fish, much to the disdain of their by now
   >perturbed subjects!  Anyone know a better one?:-)
 
    Don't know if this is a better one, but it's a different one: A farmer
    was taking some dried fish out to the storehouse, but the storehouse
    was dark and he tripped on a loose floor board.  Some of the fish fell
    into a barrel of lye which hadn't been sealed properly.  Well, the
    farmer was a poor man and couldn't afford to throw food away.  On the
    other hand, he didn't dare try to eat the fish!  So he rinsed it off as
    best he could and served it to his old father, who was sick and
    half-dead anyway.  But instead of dying, the old man got better and
    kept asking for more of that wonderful fish he'd been served...
 
    Now _that's_ a tough old man.  8-)
 
  -Cindy Kandolf
   [email protected]
   Trondheim, Norway