The Last Word on Lutefisk reviewed by Ruth Paget

The Last Word on Lutefisk reviewed by Ruth Paget 

The Last Word on Lutefisk: True Tales of Cod and Tradition by Gary Legwold records a Norwegian-American food tradition that is of interest to anthropologists, younger Norwegian-Americans, and fundraisers from many types of organizations. 

Legwold’s book contains information on lutefisk production and church lutefisk dinner fundraisers in the United States in the form of memoirs. 

Legwold begins his discussion of lutefisk in the Lofotens Islands off the coast of Norway where he goes fishing for cod that will eventually be made into lutefisk in the US. 

Once the cod is caught, it is air-dried on the Lofotens into stockfish. The cod in the stockfish reduces to 1/3 of its original size and becomes as dry and hard as 2x4 plank of wood. It is similar to salt cod for being dried and hard, but stockfish is not salted like salt cod. 

Stockfish with the bones in is sold throughout the European market. Cod that has its backbone and all other bones removed and trimmed and air-dried is called ling. Ling is sold to the American market to be made into lutefisk. 

To rehydrate ling, it is soaked in lye and rinsed to soften it. Once rehydrated, the ling is soaked in hydrogen peroxide to whiten it and rinsed. At the end of this process, you have uncooked lutefisk. 

Lutefisk can be baked or boiled. It is tender and flaky when cooked correctly. If it is overcooked, it becomes a gummy mess.  

The beauty of lutefisk is that in its dry ling form, it can be stored for decades. During years with crop failures, it was a welcome source of food. 

Church lutefisk dinners provide a yearly occasion to teach the importance of lutefisk to Norwegian-American survival in the United States. The smallest lutefisk summer usually serves 600 people served in ticketed shifts for sit-down meals. 

Lutefisk suppers help Lutheran churches raise money for an upcoming church season. Legwold has an important shopping list on page 64 for a 600-person lutefisk supper. This list provides for 600 pounds of lutefisk – 1 pound per person – and the ingredients for Swedish meatballs and gravy for 600 people. 

Legwold also provides numbers for the amount of potatoes, corn, and rutabagas to purchase for a 600-person dinner. This list is useful for event planners, who might not eat lutefisk. You can substitute fresh fish for lutefisk in the ingredient list or just serve Swedish meatballs as a fundraiser dinner. 

People who like food and travel writing will also find many interesting trips and travel ideas in the US and Norway in Gary Legwold’s anthropological memoirs entitled The Last Word on Lutefisk: The Tales of Cod and Tradition. 

Note: My family attended a lutefisk dinner in Wisconsin.  The following blog describes our fun outing:

https://ruthpaget.blogspot.com/2012/03/norwegian-lutefisk-dinners-in-wisconsin.html?m=1

My husband Laurent and I ate a great lunch at the Norske Nook on our recent trip to DeForest, Wisconsin.  We bought Legwold’s book in the souvenir shop at the Norske Nook.  Our lunch is described below:

https://ruthpaget.blogspot.com/2026/08/norwegian-noshing-at-norske-nook-in.html?m=1

I wrote about Scandinavian culture in general in my blog post about a family visit to Door County Wisconsin where we ate a  liking Fish Boil meal.  The blog follows:

https://ruthpaget.blogspot.com/2012/03/fish-boils-and-egg-wars-in-door-county.html?m=1

I learned a few things about about Norwegian culture from a Norwegian-American author on a trip I took to Minnesota in the following blog:

https://ruthpaget.blogspot.com/2012/03/sweet-minnesota-travel-next-state-over.html?m=1

Bon Appétit! 

By Ruth Paget 

-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books 

-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games

-developer of food and beverage knowledge games -creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center 

-creator of French travel and culture games 

-writer of 1900+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs  

-family genealogist 

-developer of 9 music theory games

Norwegian Noshing at Norske Nook in DeForest, Wisconsin by Ruth Paget

Norwegian Noshing at Norske Nook in DeForest, Wisconsin by Ruth Paget 

There is a large population in DeForest, Wisconsin which has Norwegian ancestry that can support two Lutheran churches and a Norske Nook Diner. (The other Norske Nook Diner is located in Osseo for this franchise-ready operation.) 

My husband Laurent brunched on Norwegian pancakes with lingonberries. Lingonberries are similar to cranberries and grow in the Northern US, Canada, and northern Europe. 

The Norwegian pancakes looked like thick crêpes folded over twice into fourths. Laurent said they were eggy good.

I ate a Wisconsin reuben sandwich with bread that was made with cranberries and brown rice from Minnesota or the lower reaches of the Mississippi River. The tart and savory bread tasted very nice with the savory corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and Thousand Island dressing. I liked Norske Nook.

They have a souvenir section where we bought a calendar with scenes of Norway and art entitled Norway: Visions and Verse of Viking Land by Nancy Schmidt. I thought this calendar was great for designing imaginary lands for a fantasy book. 

I bought a book entitled The Last Word on Lutefisk: True Tales of Cod and Tradition by Gary Legwold. Lutefisk is eaten throughout Scandinavia. It is air-dried cod that is rehydrated and boiled or baked.  It is usually served with melted butter and is flaky when well cooked.

Lutefisk is the centerpiece of Norwegian Lutheran Lutefisk Suppers that can serve 600 to 1400 in about four seatings as fundraisers. My family has attended a lutefisk supper at the Vermont Lutheran Church where we all ate lutefisk and Swedish meatballs and gravy to participate in local community life. 

After our pretty delicious brunch at Norske Nook, Laurent and I returned home, did some reading, and got ready for one more day of touring before our return to California. 

Wisconsin Dairyland Vacation Day 6 Complete! 

By Ruth Paget 

-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + other Kindle books 

-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games 

-developer of food and beverage knowledge games 

-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center 

-creator of French travel and culture games 

-writer of 1900+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs 

-family genealogist 

-developer of 9 music theory games

Solvang Viking Museum - 2 Replica Viking Ships on View reposted by Ruth Paget

Vacationers looking for an overnight recharge trip with a cultural outing to write about might be interested in the Solvang Viking Museum on California’s Central Coast.

One of the current exhibitions is about Viking ships.  Two reproduction ships the Snorri and Godfried are on view.

There is a weapons exhibit for lovers of Norse myths as well.

Minecraft players would probably find the whole town interesting and the Viking restaurants.

For more information, check out the Solvang Viking Museum website below:

https://solvangvikingmuseum.com/

Reposted by Ruth Paget

-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe's Lessons written during overseas duty in German + 5 other Kindle books

-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games

-developer of food and beverage knowledge games

-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center

-creator of French travel and culture games

-

-writer of 1800+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs

-family genealogist - whose work includes mother lines research editing 250 of my grandmother's Pennington's recipes and writing Monterey County Cookbook about my Monterey Peninsula California kitchen

-developer of 9 music theory games

Learning about Norwegian Culture in Minnesota with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Learning about Norwegian Culture in Minnesota with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget 

Fall colors convinced me to go along with my husband on a business trip to Minneapolis, Minnesota one weekend when we lived in Wisconsin.

While my husband worked, I drove around Lake Mille Lacs outside Minneapolis and visited all the small towns.  “Lake Mille Lacs” means “Lake One Thousand Lakes” and “Isle” means “Island.” 

The name Lake Mille Lacs refers to all the lakes in Minnesota that were created when the last glaciers retreated.   The license plates all said that there were 10,000 lakes in the state.  The mosquito was jokingly called the state bird on postcards.

A state park dedicated to Father Hennepin further attested to French exploration of this area.  The largest group of Europeans, though, who settled Minnesota are from the Scandinavian countries of Norway and Sweden.  The Objibway are the original inhabitants.

When I arrived in one small town, I immediately saw a little craft store that sold Norwegian items like tablecloths.  I decided to start my souvenir shopping at the hardware store, though, because that was the only place that was open.  I bought some fishing tackle for the fishermen in the family and started to look for some old-fashioned toys for my daughter.

The toys I found for my daughter included dominoes, white chalk, a pick-up sticks game, and a little handheld pinball game.  I loved getting things like this as a child and looked forward to sharing them with my little one.  

I would dole them out in two-week intervals so that each item would get her full attention.  I bought my mother a pretty flowered tablecloth for her kitchen table; small town hardware stores carry just about everything.

The Norwegian crafts store was now open, and I proceeded across the street.  I walked into a party happening at 10:00 am in this crafts store.  About fifteen Norwegian matrons were gathered around a “Congratulations” cake.  The elderly owner of the store was signing copies of her first book, which detailed her romance with the American who had brought her to Minnesota.

She invited me to have some cake and tea and asked where I was from.  I told her about my wanderings that had led me to Wisconsin.  She told me, “You should write a book, too!  Everyone’s life has drama in it.”

“I’ll try to keep that in mind,” I said.

She knew I was buying souvenirs for a child and let me purchase a book for my daughter.  I found a Scandinavian fairy tale called The Tomten and the Fox.  The tomtem looked like a Norwegian leprechaun, but instead of tricking people the tomtem helped them. 

 

In this story, the tomten protected the chickens from a wily fox for a family, who did not realize how hard the tomten worked.

The visit to the Norwegian craft store left me in high spirits.  The scenery was beautiful with the leaves turning golden, red, and brown as I drove back to the hotel.  I did want to write, but mostly I wanted to participate in wonderful moments in life like going to a 10 am book signing for a romance book.

By Ruth Paget, Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books

Ruth Paget Selfie

Trying Norwegian Food with Juilliard Graduate Florence Paget by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Learning about Norwegian Food with Juilliard Graduate Florence Paget by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget 

"How do Norwegians make any money from their fundraising dinner when no one wants to eat the main dish?” I asked my mother during my first Wisconsin winter.  My question concerned lutefisk, dried salt cod reconstituted in lye that is boiled and steamed to make it palatable…supposedly. 

 

I knew that in its Italian form as codfish, you could fetch top dollar for this delicacy.  I wanted to see what the Norwegians did with codfish.

Lutefisk dinners are no small time affair.  One of our Lutheran churches in town served 2,500 meals in one day in well orchestrated shifts.  My great-aunt bought the family tickets to attend one of these events, because she was 104 and “not feeling like cooking this week.”  On the appointed day, we arrived at church.  Smiling ladies in starched white frocks with flower embroidery led us to our tables and served us.

The pale, white lutefisk flaked away and did not have much flavor; it tasted better with butter.  The Norwegians cook the fish outside in a hut, so the church will not have a fishy aroma.  I discovered that the older generation of Norwegians did eat lutefisk and enjoy it just like little my daughter.

We supplemented our token lutefisk portion with Swedish, or rather Norwegian, meatballs made from ground beef, pork, and veal and seasoned with meat sauce.  The pan gravy from the meatballs covered the boiled potatoes and went under the green beans.  Homemade, flat, tortilla-like sheets of potato bread called lefse accompanied our meal.

The lefse tasted good with cinnamon and sugar, but was merely a prelude to dessert.  We started out with a warm pudding called rommergrot made from cooking heavy cream, milk, and a little flour together.  Brown sugar tops off the rommergrot, but that is not the end of the Norwegian dessert fare we sampled.

Bonde Pike sounds like you should be eating another fish dish, but it is another delectable sweetie.  The church ladies make a crushed graham cracker shell for this dish, add a thickened cherry filling, and top it all off with whipping cream.

 
You do tend to put on a little weight during a Wisconsin winter supporting all the church fundraising efforts, but supporting the community in small town America certainly is tasty.

Lutefisk dinners form the backbone of winter entertainment small town Wisconsin.  Our little town newspaper had just run an article about the Sons of Norway going to net the year’s catch of lutefisk in the local river.  The spoof article heralded the new season of Lutefisk dinners organized by the local Lutheran Churches.

By Ruth Pennington Paget, Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books

Ruth Paget Selfie