Are lutefisk challenges the next big thing?

Every so often I have to come to the defense of one of my favorite Norwegian delicacies: Lutefisk.

The gelatinous, lye-soaked cod that has sustained hearty Scandinavian souls for generations is frequently the target of what can only be described as pure, unadulterated hate. It’s the fish many people love to hate.

I happen to savor lutefisk; I downright love the stuff, and after the first bite I’m carried away to Christmases past.

If my mother or Aunt Virgie made an especially good batch of lutefisk for Christmas Eve dinner — i.e. the fish actually held together and didn’t have the consistency of mucus — we could be assured that relatives with names such as Oskar or Sigurd would exclaim, “Dat’s gud fish.”

Given my love of lutefisk, it was an absolute delight to read that the staff of the Grand Forks Herald in Grand Forks, N.D. (about an hour north of Fargo) recently held its inaugural Lutefisk Challenge, during which newspaper staff members who had never tried lutefisk tasted it for the first time on camera. 

According to reporter Garrett Richie, who wrote about the fish-slurping event, the Herald challenged the Fargo Forum and the Bemidji Pioneer to match their culinary escapades and hold lutefisk challenges of their own.

The Herald encouraged the other newspapers to donate to one of the Herald’s chosen charities if their newsrooms whimped out and wouldn’t taste-test what one staffer there referred to as “Jello fish.” Oh, the trash-talking!

I have a mind to see if Inter Lake staffers are up to the task, but probably won’t for fear of being completely shunned.

While some Grand Forks journalists with open minds and discerning palates found the fish to be “not as bad as I thought it would be,” there were a few haters.

Education reporter Anna Burleson declared, “Lutefisk tastes like jellyfish that has been marinating in gasoline and the tears of children.”

Multimedia producer Sara Porter reported, “It was like a nice fish dinner, but if someone had already chewed it up.”

Not to be cowardly, the Fargo paper accepted the challenge and had the Sons of Norway’s Fargo lodge set aside a batch of fish for the video experiment. There seemed to be a few more favorable comments from Fargo journalists, though one photographer covered her mouth to hide “a possible gag reflex after the first bite,” according to Ryan Johnson’s report.

There were haters in Fargo, too, though. Johnson quoted reporter Grace Lyden as exclaiming: “Oh wow! That really is not food.”

Fargo Forum cartoonist Trygve Olson (obviously some Scandinavian heritage there) summed up the experience of eating lutefisk as a way to connect to his roots in Norway.

“For me, it’s a communion with ancestors,” Olson said in Johnson’s fine report.

That’s exactly how I feel when I eat lutefisk; that it transcends our family and reaches back in time.

Now the Fargo newspaper is challenging other newspapers, along with local TV and radio stations there, to accept the challenge.

“Make your own lutefisk taste-testing video — or suffer the shame of admitting defeat and instead make a donation to a local charity of your choosing,” Johnson wrote.

Perhaps the Lutefisk Challenge will be the next Ice Bucket Challenge that swept the country earlier this year to raise money for Lou Gehrig’s Disease research.

Problem is, most people probably would rather pour the lutefisk over their heads instead of actually having to eat the stuff.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.