Lutfisk

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A traditional Scandinavian dish made from dried whitefish that has been soaked in lye and then cooked
2. A Nordic delicacy of dried cod treated with lye to produce a gelatinous texture before boiling or baking
3. Dried codfish rehydrated in a caustic lye solution, a specialty food eaten especially in Norway and Sweden

Etymology: Lutfisk is a Scandinavian dish of dried whitefish, typically cod or ling, soaked in lye until it turns gelatinous, then rinsed and cooked. The name is a compound of two Swedish words: "lut", meaning lye, and "fisk", meaning fish, so the word literally means "lye fish." English borrowed the term directly from Swedish, and it has stayed close to its original form, with the lye still built into the name. The dish itself is far older than the word's English use. Its preservation method relied on the same principle as other traditional fish-drying practices in the northern lands, where cold, dry air made it possible to keep fish through long winters. Lye treatment gave the fish its distinctive texture, which is why the name points to the chemical rather than to the cod or the drying.