Why Lutfisk will never reach my Christmas table.

Lutfisk. Another one of those Swedish traditions that demands a place on the Christmas table just because. It's rather like our Christmas plum pudding, in the sense that you are not entirely sure you like it, rather you eat it because it's tradition and you've grown up used to the taste of it.

Two years ago, when when we hosted a family Christmas here in Sweden, I served a traditional, flaming Christmas pudding for desert (brought over to Sweden from England curtesy of my mother).

Not one person, apart from myself, ate it. Not even the brandy butter. Just plain horrible, they thought.

Now, I truely do love Christmas pudding. You can imagine my delight when, unwrapping a small gift I spotted under the tree this year, I found my very own, single-portion size of Walker's Christmas Pudding. Tired of hearing me moan that I couldn't find a Christmas pudding anywhere throughout the entire nation of Sweden, my husband had scoured the shops in the city until he found me one - tucked away in a tiny speciality shop in the old part of town. I had to eat it immediately of course, so missed out on brandy butter. But the fresh cream worked fine and this time I didn't both offering anyone a taste.

Back to Lutfisk. What is this odd-textured fish all about? For the first time ever, I was invited to try some from a traditional Christmas table.

Lutfisk is air-dried white fish (such as cod, haddock or whiting). First of all, the fish is soaked in cold water for about a week, then in a solution of cold water and lye (yes, this is caustic soda). This process reduces the protein content of the fish and give it it's famous jelly-like consistency. Of course, the fish is now poisonous, so needs another week of soaking in fresh water before cooking. Traditionally, the lutfisk, when not on the Christmas table, is served with green peas, white potatoes and bacon.

Sounds revolting? Yep. If someone had actually told me before hand, about the process of making lutfisk, then I probably would have politely refused to try some. However, in my ignorance and curiosity, I did. The jelly consistancy and odd taste were nothing compared to the terrible texture of the fish. Unable to swallow the mouthful I had taken, I had to quickly spit it back onto the plate.

I don't think anyone was looking.

I have to commend my husband for actually swallowing his, although I did notice he pushed the remainder of his helping to the side on his plate. Later on, he commented to me that it was probably his worse eating experience ever.

So, to all you Scandinavians of Nordic countries, I have just one question about your tradition of eating Lutfisk at Christmastime - or indeed at any other time - why, why, oh why?