Editing Lutefisk (section)

== Origin ==

[[File:Svolvær fish drying.jpg|thumb|right|Racks for drying fish in [[Svolvær]], [[Norway]]]]
[[File:Dried fish in Svolvær.jpg|thumb|right|Fish drying in Svolvær, Norway]]
[[File:Dried fish in Greenland.JPG|thumb|right|[[Dried fish]]]]

Preserved fish provided protein for generations in a part of the world with a strong fishing tradition. It is not known when people first started treating dried fish with lye. The reason was probably that the lack of major salt deposits in the area favored the drying process for the preservation of whitefish, a process known for millennia.<ref name="Janik">Erica Janik, [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/scandinavians-strange-holiday-lutefisk-tradition-2218218/?page=2 Scandinavians' Strange Holiday Lutefisk Tradition], ''[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]'', 8 December 2011.</ref><ref name=diehl>{{cite web|url= https://www.thespruceeats.com/lutefisk-fish-2952909 |title = What Is Lutefisk - A Guide to Buying, Cooking, and Storing Lutefisk|website= The Spruce Eats|author= Kari Diehl |date=12 October 2022}}</ref>

Stockfish is very nutrient-rich and was consumed domestically, although it was during the boom in the stockfish trade in the [[late Middle Ages]] that it became accessible throughout [[Scandinavia]] as well as the rest of [[Europe]]. Higher-quality stockfish would be soaked in water, then boiled and eaten with melted butter. Lower-quality fish would be harder and require longer boiling, using more fuel; it has been suggested that adding ash from [[beech]] or [[birch]] to the boiling water would break down the protein chains and speed up the process. The introduction of lye in the preparation process might therefore have been incidental.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://seanmunger.com/2014/11/25/stockfish-empire-the-hanseatic-league-in-bergen-part-i/|title = Stockfish empire: The Hanseatic League in Bergen|website= seanmunger.com |author= Sean Munger |access-date=April 1, 2020}}</ref>