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Lye for Fish (Lutefisk)

Erken's 1914 recipe for homemade lye of sifted hardwood ash and slaked lime boiled in water, used to treat soaked stockfish (cod) into lutefisk: 8 days of soaking, 2–3 days in cold lye, then 1–4 days of freshening in cold water.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 653 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

From the chapter on slaughtering and household management, where Erken also gives recipes for soap and lye. Here lye is made from hardwood ash (birch ash) and lime to steep stockfish in — homemade lutefisk as was common before ready-made lye became a store item.

How to make it

  1. 1

    Soak the stockfish

    Place the stockfish in cold water for 8 days. Change the water every day.

  2. 2

    Boil the lye

    Sift the ash. Stir the ash together with the lime into the 6 liters of water, bring it to a quick boil and let it clarify (stand until the sediment has settled, then pour off the clear lye). Be careful — the lye is strongly caustic.

  3. 3

    Place the fish in lye

    Pour the clear lye over the fish only once the lye is completely cold. Let the fish lie in the lye for 2–3 days.

  4. 4

    Freshen in water

    Take the fish out of the lye and place it in cold water for at least 24 hours and up to 4 days. Change the water daily, ideally a couple of times a day.

  5. 5

    Storage

    Fish not to be used at once is laid out on boards to freeze and kept cold. Even so, it is best not to make more than a couple of meals' worth at a time.

  6. 6

    Cooking

    Cook the lutefisk as usual (see Erken's directions for cooking lutefisk).

Changes from the original

Measures are converted to modern units (1 1/2 del. = 1.5 dl). "Løvaske" is specified as clean ash of deciduous wood and "kalk" as slaked lime. The method is broken into numbered steps; warnings about handling the lye carefully are kept as the original assumes. Note that making lye at home requires great care.

Time machine – what changed?

Pick two editions and see what Henriette Schønberg Erken added, removed or changed between them.

From19141949Modernised
To19141949Modernised
Modernised → 1949 (proofread, p. 787)~81% of the text changedremovedadded
5 stk tørrfisk middelstore tørrfisker (skrei) (middels store). 2 l l. løvaske (ren aske av løvtre, siktet). 1,5 dl lesket kalk. 1½ del. kalk 6 l vann (til luten). kaldt vann (til utbløting og utvanning). Legg tørrfisken l. vann. Tørrfisken legges i kaldt vann i 8 dager. Skift dager; bytt vann hver dag.. Sikt asken. Rør asken ut dag. Asken siktes, utrøres med kalken i de 6 litene vann, gi det vannet og gis et raskt oppkok og la det avklare (stå til grumset har lagt seg, og hell av den klare luten). Vær forsiktig — luten er sterkt etsende.. Hell den klare luten opkok, avklares. Luten helles over fisken først når luten er helt kald. La fisken ligge i luten i 2–3 døgn.. Ta fisken ut av luten og legg den i kaldt vann kold. Ligger heri i 2—3 døgn, derefter minst 24 timer og opptil inntil 4 døgn. Skift vann daglig, døgn i koldt vann, som daglig byttes, gjerne et par ganger om dagen.. Fisk ganger. Den fisk som ikke straks skal brukes straks, brukes, legges utover fjøler ut over fjeler for å fryse og oppbevares kaldt. Best fryse; opbevares koldt; men bedre er det likevel ikke å ikke lage mer enn til et par måltider om gangen.. Kok lutefisken som vanlig (se Erkens anvisning for koking av lutefisk). mål ad gangen.

Note on Modernised

Mål er omregnet til moderne enheter (1 1/2 del. = 1,5 dl). «Løvaske» presisert som ren aske av løvtre og «kalk» som lesket kalk. Fremgangsmåten er delt i nummererte trinn; advarsler om forsiktig behandling av lut er beholdt slik originalen forutsetter. Merk at hjemmelaging av lut krever stor forsiktighet.

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Frequently asked questions

How long does the whole process take?
Figure on around two weeks: 8 days soaking the stockfish in water (with a daily water change), then 2–3 days in the lye, and finally at least 24 hours and up to 4 days in cold water changed daily, ideally a couple of times.
What does the lye consist of?
2 liters of hardwood ash and 1 1/2 deciliters of lime stirred into 6 liters of water. The ash is sifted, mixed with lime and water, given a quick boil and clarified. The lye must be cold before it is poured over the fish.
How much fish does the recipe make, and how is it stored?
The recipe uses 5 medium-sized stockfish (skrei cod) and is reckoned for about 10 servings. Fish not to be used at once is laid out on boards to freeze and kept cold – but Schønberg Erken does not recommend making more than a couple of meals' worth at a time.
Where does the recipe come from?
From Henriette Schønberg Erken's "Stor kokebok" (1914), page 653, under salting and preserving. The actual cooking of the lutefisk is described on page 124 of the same book.

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