Lutefisk is the supreme culinary challenge this side of chocolate-covered beetles. There’s just something psychologically off-putting about a Scandinavian “delicacy” that needs to be skinned, salted, soaked in lye or brine, and dried.
“The ‘attraction’ is that it’s a white fish stored in brine and very salty water until it’s almost rotten, and then they cook it,” said Diane Swayne. She was looking forward to this afternoon’s lutefisk and meatball dinner at the Sons of Norway Hall in Poulsbo on the Kitsap Peninsula.
“It’s typically spooned over mashed potatoes and covered with melted butter. The last time I had it was in the ’60s,” she said. Her smile could be heard through the cell phone.
So do people come for the lutefisk or meatballs?
“They come for the lutefisk.”
Ya betcha.
The First Lutheran Church served more than 1,000 people during its October dinner. In a sense, the church and Sons of Norway have been honoring a dietary staple of those Scandinavian immigrants, for whom lutefisk got them through the long, cold winter months when little else was available.
Some Scandinavian descendants claim to actually like the dish, but listen closely for the fine print: “I eat it only once a year.” Even their kin back in the motherland usually save it for the winter holiday season.
Norwegian immigrants found the snow-peaked mountains, long shorelines and protected bays were similar to Norway’s, thus the nickname Little Norway of the Fjord.
Passengers, produce (Norwegians turned clearcuts into farms) and fish reached Seattle aboard the Mosquito Fleet while Bering Sea fishermen in codfish schooners brought the catch here to one of the largest processing plants in the Northwest.
The Lutheran church, founded by those early Norwegian settlers, sits on the bluff overlooking Poulsbo.
Visitors intent on dropping into gift, gallery and antique stores know that a good bakery provides the necessary stamina. Sample delicacies from three Front Street bakeries: Sluys’ Poulsbo Bakery, Liberty Bay Bakery Cafe and Village Baker Cafe.
Sluys’ has been on Front Street more than 40 years. Step inside and be surrounded by olfactory-altering smells often created by Daniel Sluys, one of a handful of master bakers in the state. It’s often crowded, but the fast service moves folks along.
Try their pastries, doughboy cookies and Poulsbo breads; Liberty Bay’s croissants or lunch; or the organic breads, French pasties or gourmet sandwiches of the Village Baker Cafe.
Maybe it’s a Norwegian thing, but these bakeries’ sweets aren’t overly sweet.
Poulsbo, settled by Norwegians in the 1880s, sits on Liberty Bay (once called Dogfish Bay) on the Kitsap Peninsula. The Scandinavian heritage has been revisited downtown with rosemaling (painted folk art designs) on shutters and doorways, blue-and-white flags, Norwegian street names, and Scandinavian art and bric-a-brac.
Perhaps they’ve taken some advice from a 1975 visitor, King Olav V of Norway, who said, “I like your town. Keep it the way it is.”
Norwegian immigrants are reflected in some of the street names: including Rotten Herring, Queen Sonja Vei, King Olaf IV Vei and Fjord streets.
Another approach to downtown is to take a guided walking tour (by appointment, 360-697-3033) offered by volunteers of the Poulsbo Historical Association.
Guides share anecdotes and town history, from the current nursing home that was built as an orphanage in 1891 to first postmaster Iver Moe, whose handwriting was so bad that the postmaster general interpreted the town’s name as Poulsbo instead of Paulsbo, said guide Hildur Gleason.
Learn about local marine biology at the Marine Science (360-598-4460). Close by, walk along Anderson Parkway, past the wooden gazebo (Kvelstad Pavilion) and along Liberty Bay for views of the water, marinas, Olympics and the Viking statue. A 612-foot boardwalk follows the bay before reaching American Legion Park.
Poulsbo has been celebrating its centennial all year and the Julefest &Centennial closing event will be held Dec. 6. Shoppers are welcome year-round.
Information: Poulsbo Chamber, 877-768-5726, or www.poulsbochamber.com.
Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.
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