Rakfisk

Rakfisk served with lefse, onion and sour cream.

Rakfisk (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈrɑːkfisk]) Norwegian fish dish made from trout or sometimes char, salted and fermented for two to three months, or even up to a year, then eaten without cooking.

Origin

The first record of the term rakfisk dates back to 1348, but the history^[1] of this food is probably even older. No sources are available as to the exact invention year of the rakfisk dish or the fermentation process that produces the raw material for it.

The rakfisk dish is related to the Swedish dish surströmming and probably shares its origin in the ancient Scandinavian culture after the hunting-gathering way of life evolved into a more sophisticated society in which people were able to store food over a considerable period of time^{[citation needed]}.

General

Etymology

Fisk is the Norwegian word for "fish." Rak derives from the word rakr^[1] in Norse language, meaning "moist" or "soaked".^[2] The word descends from Proto-Indo-European *req, which means "source" or "drop," and is the root of "rain" and "irrigation."

Preparation method

Rakfisk is made from fresh trout or char, weighing over 750g. After gutting and rinsing, the fish is placed in a bucket and salted. Small amounts of sugar may be added to speed up the fermentation process.

The fish is then placed under pressure with a lid that fits down into the bucket and a weight on top. A brine is formed as the salt draws moisture from the fish. The rakfisk bucket is stored at 4–8 degrees Celsius for one to three months.

Recipes for rakfisk state that the fish must never come in contact with soil, to prevent wrong bacteria growing in the fish, especially Clostridium botulinum, which causes botulism.

Eating

The finished product does not need cooking and is eaten as it is. Rakfisk will traditionally be served sliced or as a fillet on flatbrød or lefse and almond potatoes. Some also use raw onion,^[3] sour cream, mustard-sauce, a mild form of mustard with dill. Although not an everyday meal, approximately 400 tonnes of rakfisk are produced in Norway annually.

It is not recommended that rakfisk be eaten by pregnant women or people with an impaired immune system.

See also

• Surströmming
• Hákarl
• Lutefisk
• Gravlax
• Norwegian people
• Fermented fish

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rakfisk.

• Rakfisk (in Norwegian)
• Recipe

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