I'm a Midwesterner. Well, actually I'm a Southerner by birth, but after steeping in Chicago and Michigan for over half my life, I feel I've earned the right to fly both flags. As a Midwesterner, I've experienced my fair share of unique culinary delicacies this wide swath of the nation has to offer.
I've taken down quite a few Italian beefs, scarfed Maid-Rite sandwiches in Iowa, thrown back golden fried cheese curds, and tried my hand at mammoth tenderloin sandwiches in Indiana. But there is one delicacy that has eluded me, partially because it is hyper-regional in popularity and partially because it is quite divisive. I'm talking, of course, about lutefisk, a Scandinavian staple that is a perennial member of the pantheon of "gross foods" that few have actually tried, along with limburger cheese and durian.
The concept of lutefisk — literally "lye fish" in Norwegian — is pretty simple and harkens back to the days before refrigeration. Cod, haddock, ling, or pollack is dried and treated with lye, then soaked in water before being steamed, baked, or poached until it is flaky. As you can imagine, both the utility of and desire for lutefisk has waned in the past century.
But Scandinavians — — are a proud and traditional lot, and as such, pockets of lutefisk love persist. These are mostly in the Midwest, where many a Scandinavian settled, and, to be more pointed, in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Minnesotans love lutefisk Minnesotans aren't a monolith.
The Land of 10,000 Lakes is.