Reply #28: This is lutefisk

[TheMightyFavog]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutefisk

Lutefisk is made from air-dried whitefish (normally cod), prepared with lye, in a sequence of particular treatments. The first treatment is to soak the stockfish in cold water for five to six days (changed daily). The saturated stockfish is then soaked in an unchanged solution of cold water and lye for an additional two days. The fish will swell during this soaking, regaining a size even bigger than the original (undried) fish, but the protein content paradoxically decreases by more than 50 percent, causing its famous jelly-like consistency. When this treatment is finished, the fish is full of lye, has a pH value of 11-12 and is poisonous. To make the fish edible, a final treatment of yet another four to six days (and nights) of soaking in cold water (also changed daily) is needed. Eventually, the lutefisk is ready to be used for cooking.


Cooking

After the preparation, the Lutefisk is saturated with water and must therefore be cooked carefully so it doesn't fall into pieces. It doesn't need any additional water for the cooking, it is enough to place it in a pan, salt it, seal the lid tightly and let it steam cook under a very low heat for 20-25 minutes. It is also possible to do this in the oven, the fish is then put in a ovenproof dish, covered with aluminium foil and cooked at 225°C for 40-50 minutes.


Eating

In Scandinavia, the "season" for lutefisk starts early in November and is typically served throughout Christmas. Lutefisk is also very popular in Scandinavian-American areas of the United States, such as Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Lutefisk is usually served with a variety of side dishes, including, but not limited to, bacon, green pea stew, potatoes, meatballs, gravy, mashed rutabaga, white sauce, syrup, geitost (goat cheese) or "old" cheese (gammelost). Especially in the U.S., it is usually eaten with lefse. Even if the common denominator is lutefisk, side dishes vary greatly from family to family and region to region, and is a theme of recurring controversy when different "traditions" of lutefisk-eaters meet and eat together.