Swedish holiday feast, featuring lutefisk  © smithsonianmag.com
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It will most likely send shivers down your spine, but the traditional Swedish dish, lutefisk (lye-soaked cod, drenched in butter), is more popular in the United States than in Scandinavia.
Far more lutefisk is consumed in the United States, much of it in church and lodge basements. In fact, the self-proclaimed “lutefisk capital of the world” isn’t in Norway but in Madison, Minnesota.
By contrast, lutefisk lovers in the U.S. like to think of it as a way to connect to their Scandinavian heritage. The State of Wisconsin embraces the dish enough to have specific legislation allowing the food to be exempt from workplace safety violations regarding toxic substances.
Details on the cooking preparation (you’ve been warned) can be found here.