Source: Atlas Obscura
Lye is a caustic substance that serial killers use to dissolve dead bodies and janitors use to clean clogged drains. For centuries, Scandinavians have used it to prepare dried whitefish, typically cod, in a dish known as lutefisk.
We have the Vikings to thank for the unique technique, which rehydrates dried fish in alternating containers of water and lye.
The origin story recounts a Viking raid on a group of fishermen who had left their cod out to dry on birch racks. The raiders started to burn everything, even the fish, but a rainstorm swooped in. The scorched seafood soaked in rain puddles with a soupçon of birch ash for months until another group…The post The lye-soaked fish recipe created by Vikings is now a holiday favorite at Midwestern church dinners. appeared first on FeedBox.