Lutefisk (Norway)
The Viking dish par excellence, lutefisk is made from dried white fish, usually cod or ling. The dried fish is placed in water for several days, then in a lye-saturated solution for two more days, until the fish’s flesh turns to jelly. Since lye is a poisonous and toxic substance, the process does not stop there: At this point, the lye-saturated fish could kill the one who eats it. In order to make it edible, the lutefisk is soaked in daily changed water for about a week, until most of the lye is gone. Lutefisk is often mocked for its strong, nearly unbearable smell. Because of the toxic products used in its making, it is nicknamed “weapon of mass destruction,” “rat poison” or “fork destroyer”…