Editing Lutefisk (section)

==Folklore==
An article in ''[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]'' magazine quotes some oft-rendered [[tall tale]]s regarding the origins of the dish:<ref name="Janik"/>

{{blockquote| A legend has it that [[Vikings|Viking fishermen]] hung their cod to dry on tall birch racks. When some neighboring Vikings attacked, they burned the racks of fish, but a rainstorm blew in from the [[North Sea]], dousing the fire. The remaining fish soaked in a puddle of rainwater and birch ash for months before some hungry Vikings discovered the cod, reconstituted it and had a feast.}}

Jokes and humor about lutefisk have been cited as prevalent among Scandinavian-Americans, such as "I have tried lutefisk twice, once going down, and another time coming back up."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Danovich |first=Tove K. |date=2016-12-15 |title=What's A Holiday Without Lutefisk And A Little White Lye? |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/12/15/505389094/whats-a-holiday-without-lutefisk-and-a-little-white-lye |access-date=2025-02-13 |work=NPR |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-01-13 |title=Smell and texture make lutefisk a tough sell |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/food/smell-and-texture-make-lutefisk-a-tough-sell/ |access-date=2025-02-13 |website=Las Vegas Review-Journal |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hayes |first=Ken|date=2022-04-01 |title=Top The Tater Pranks Us With A New 'Minnesota-Themed' Flavor, But Would You Try It? |url=https://b105country.com/top-the-tater-pranks-us-with-a-new-flavor-but-would-you-try-it/ |access-date=2025-02-13 |website=B105 |language=en}}</ref>

The Season 3 ''[[King of the Hill]]'' episode "Revenge of the Lutefisk" features a plot where a new minister, Karen Stroup ([[Mary Tyler Moore]]), brings a dish of lutefisk to church to share a "Minnesotan tradition" in [[Texas]]. Bobby Hill secretly eats all the lutefisk, then has bad [[diarrhea]] in the church bathroom the next morning. To hide the smell, he lights a match and tosses the match in the garbage, thus accidentally burning the church down, which Stroup perceives as [[arson]] and a [[hate crime]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sfetcu |first1=Nicolae |title=About Christmas |date=2014 |pages=191}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pinsky |first1=Mark I. |title=The Gospel According to The Simpsons, Bigger and Possibly Even Better! Edition With a New Afterword Exploring South Park, Family Guy, & Other Animated TV Shows |date=2007 |isbn=978-0-664-23160-6 |publisher=Presbyterian Publishing Corporation |pages=239}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Revenge of the Lutefisk |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0620297/ |website=www.imdb.com |publisher=IMDb |access-date=14 November 2023}}</ref>

*''[[Drop Dead Gorgeous (film)|Drop Dead Gorgeous]]'' dialog:
:'''Brett Clemmens''': [after Becky has tossed her food tray in, splattering Amber who's working in the cafeteria with its contents – Brett looks apologetic] Oh man...you got some lutefisk in your hair.
:'''Amber Atkins''': (upbeat) Then it must be Wednesday!
:'''Iona Hildebrandt''': (speaking to camera) Lutefisk is codfish that's been salted and soaked in lye for a week or so. It's best with lots of butter.
*In the video game ''[[Dungeons of Dredmor]]'', there is an item called the Horadric Lutefisk Cube, which turns any item placed in it into a lutefisk. Lutefisk can be eaten, but it can also be given to the Lutefisk God.
*In the Disney animated film ''[[Frozen (2013 film)|Frozen]]'', a shopkeep hurls [[Kristoff (Frozen)|Kristoff]] out of his store, after which he tells [[Anna (Frozen)|Anna]] (in a strong Norwegian accent) "I am sorry for this violence, I will add a quart of lutefisk, so we have good feelings."