THE JOY OF LUTEFISK

By Jonathunder (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

Lutefisk is pickled cod which originated in Scandinavia. Unfortunately, people who are the descendants of Vikings have a very perverse idea of what constitutes a good pickling agent. Instead of relying on normal edible substances like vinegar or alcohol, they instead soak the fish in lye. If you like the buzz you get from drinking Drano*, then this is the delicacy for you.

Lye of course is an extremely caustic base and will, through the process of saponification, dissolve all of the fatty tissues out of flesh and turn them into soap. In a best case situation, the fish will taste like Lifebuoy; if the preparer screws up the recipe even slightly, it will be your digestive tract which is transformed into soap.

You cannot use silver utensils to eat lutefisk, as they will dissolve. It is safest to serve it on stainless steel; however, almost any dish will be etched and ruined if the lutefisk residue is not immediately scrubbed off.

To read more about this bizarre foodstuff, click on the Smithsonian Magazine site here.
*Unfortunately, in today's litigious society, I have to warn you in an affirmative matter not to actually drink Drano. It will, of course, cause a hideous and extremely painful death.