"Stinger" wrote in message
. ..

It even has a bit on Ludifisk (or whatever that fish stuff is).

(The following is a public service announcement from the Minnesota
Department of Public Health).

Lutefisk (n., from Norwegian, "Lye Fish") (I am NOT making this up!) for
those of you who aren't married to a Norwegian, was a way of preserving
Atlantic cod in pre-refrigeration days-- i.e., placing layers of fish in
barrels filled with layers of caustic soda to preserve it for a long while--
then it was rinsed very well and then cooked to... umm... well, suffice to
say, lye has a way of breaking down the proteins in the fish so that it
becomes pliant... e.g., gelatinous... then it is served with butter and/or
cream sauce, depending on where your ancestors were from. I've had it once
and it tastes like fish, but the consistency is ungodly.

Nowadays, you can only find lutefisk in two places-- Ingebretsen's
Scandinavian Market on East Lake Street in Minneapolis (surrounded by
Mexican and Middle Eastern markets whose owners have no doubt complained to
the city council about the awful smell) and in your grandma Lena's kitchen
at Christmas.

I've lived long enough to realize that every culture has at least one
culinary perversity that usually gets dragged out around major holidays and
eaten to remind the younger generation of how difficult their ancestors had
it.

Now, I don't know about you, but there is just something that is inherently
wrong in thinking that someone can, and should, eat a fish that's been
soaked in drain cleaner for nine months, no matter how nicely you dress it
up. Not that my ancestors cornered the market on great cuisine (world's
shortest book: "Great Chefs of Ireland") but hey, even I have my limits.

Jackie
Irish-French-Mdewakanton Sioux