Enjoying (?) a Scandinavian treat for the first time

My family couldn’t believe I would, and my husband has never been more proud.

I ate lutefisk for the first time. 

I’m sure my Grandma Borghild and Grandpa Torjus are looking down at me thinking “What took so long?” 

On the other hand, my first-generation relatives — Gunhild and Halvor and Ingvald and Ingeborg, all Norwegian born — are probably asking themselves, “What went wrong? Why did no one make this for her until now?”

I have a couple of answers. Even though my mother was 100% Norwegian, I don’t remember lutefisk being served in our home; I also don’t remember my folks going out of their way to get a lutefisk dinner, like at the Scandinavian Feast my husband and I attended in Braham on Sunday. 

The other answer? 

I have heard so many horror stories about lutefisk, that I was hesitant to try it. My brother and his wife, who live in Waite Park, love a lutefisk dinner  and travel all over Minnesota and the Dakotas, seeking out the lye-soaked delicacy. They had attended the Scandinavian Feast last year. When they asked if we wanted to go with them this year, we agreed. 

Sure, I could have said no to the traditional cod main dish; there was plenty of food. But what kind of Scandinavian would I be if I attended a feast created explicitly for those of us whose ancestors hailed from the land of fjords and cold, hard winters, and didn’t try the controversial fish dish?

So try it I did. 

And it wasn’t terrible.

The butter certainly helped, as did the salt and pepper I generously sprinkled over the gelatinous glob. Otherwise it had no flavor. 

The texture was, indeed, a little hard to get used to. I have several other foods and substances I could compare it to, but I have decided to forgo my metaphors. Instead I will say it was soft and jelly-like. 

And white. 

One of the volunteer servers mentioned that without the peas and rutabagas on the side, all of the food would have been the same color. Even the Swedish meatballs.

Will I eat it again? Probably not, unless I made a side sauce myself, something with a little lemon, a little zing. A little flavor.

But I’m glad I tried it. Even just to be able to tell people it isn’t as horrifying as it’s made out to be.

The best part of the whole day? Seeing so many like-minded people gathered on a chilly Sunday to enjoy a meal served by skilled cooks, the same type of meal enjoyed for generations, possibly even by Vikings. And keeping those traditions alive is the best part of any feast.

Hope Murray is the editor of the Kanabec County Times. She can be contacted at editor@moraminn.com or by calling 320-225-5128.