No lye: Forum staffers bite into #LutefiskChallenge, issue dare to WDAY and Pioneer Press

FARGO – The third time’s a charm – usually.
Not a group that backs down in the face of danger, The Forum staff graciously accepted the Lutefisk Challenge that the Grand Forks Herald started Dec. 4 by indulging in the lye-soaked cod dish for the first time on camera.
After the gagging was over, the Herald challenged The Forum and The Bemidji Pioneer to do the same and load up on the Norwegian fishy favorite or donate to the Herald’s Santa Claus Girls charity.
The Pioneer staff took its turn Wednesday, and on Friday, the day of reckoning came for the nine brave Forum employees who agreed to put their pride – and taste buds – on the line for a video. The Sons of Norway’s Fargo lodge set aside a hefty amount of lutefisk to make the video experiment possible.
“Oh wow!” exclaimed reporter Grace Lyden after her first taste of the sometimes slimy, occasionally putrid dish. “That really is not food.”
Reporter John Lamb took a couple bites and declared, “It’s really not bad at all.” The healthy serving of drawn butter on top probably helped, though.
Even after accepting the challenge, The Forum wanted to do a good deed and decided to make a donation to The Arts Partnership. Dayna Del Val, executive director of the collective that aims to promote and expand the arts in Cass and Clay counties, also joined the challenge to offer her reaction to the simultaneously cherished and detested traditional Norwegian dish.
Del Val was pleasantly surprised, saying it really didn’t taste like much of anything – but the texture, which she compared to “al dente rice noodles,” wasn’t quite what she expected.
Photographer Carrie Snyder said it was the texture that made it an unpleasant experience, but the taste wasn’t bad. She may have just been putting on a brave face for the camera, though – she had to cover her mouth to hide a possible gag reflex after the first bite.
Reporter Josh Francis, a native of southern California, decided it wasn’t that bad and just tasted like a bland fish dish. Liver is much worse, he explained.
Forum cartoonist Trygve Olson seemed to be the most excited to load up on lutefisk – he and his four siblings eat it every Christmas. While he said he honestly enjoys the flavor, eating it is also a way to connect to his roots in Norway.
“For me, it’s a communion with ancestors,” he said.
The international director for the local district of Sons of Norway said before the tasting that it’s best consumed with potatoes and not too much butter.
“It’s really good,” Elaine Nelson said, trying to cheer up some of the nervous-looking staffers who were there.
The Forum courageously took on the Herald’s challenge, now it’s someone else’s turn.
WDAY-TV, 970 AM WDAY radio and the St. Paul Pioneer Press, you’re up. Make your own lutefisk taste-testing video – or suffer the shame of admitting defeat and instead make a donation to a local charity of your choosing.