History of Washington Through Food: Nords Among Us

10/08/2004

Warren Magnuson, Ivar Haglund, John Nordstrom… names synonymous with the history of the Pacific Northwest. These important figures descend from the Nordic immigrants who helped build Seattle. One of their longstanding contributions is their impact on northwest cuisine. In the second report of our series on Washington history through food, KUOW’s Ruby de Luna reports that Nordic immigrants brought us fish as we know it.

(OPEN WITH COOKING CLASS)
“One and a half cups flour, half a teaspoon vanilla, or I use this vanilla made in Norway…”

SATURDAY MORNING, TWO DOZEN WOMEN ARE IN THE BASEMENT OF BALLARD’S NORDIC HERITAGE MUSEUM. ON ONE SIDE OF THE ROOM THEY’RE MAKING KRUMKAKE…

“So we put this batter in this grid there, then we put the lid on…and we bake it for about half a minute.”

OTHERS ARE SPOONING OUT CONDIMENTS TO MAKE DANISH OPEN FACE SANDWICHES…

INSTRUCTOR 1: “Good job!”
INSTRUCTOR 2: “That’s nice…”
WOMAN: “Is that real butter? “
INSTRUCTOR 1: “It’s real Danish butter.”
INSTRUCTOR 2: “Of course, everything is Danish.”
WOMAN: “Oh, my.”

THEY’RE ARMED WITH RECIPES FROM THE OLD COUNTRY.

“Rømmegraut is a very rich porridge. It has flour, and cream and sour cream…and I think it gave people in the North fat in their blood to keep them warm; it was an old time thing they made. It’s very Ekta-Norsk (laughs).”

TWICE A YEAR THE MUSEUM CONDUCTS COOKING CLASSES FOR PEOPLE NOSTALGIC FOR THE PAST…

WOMAN 1: “My grandmother, she wasn’t a very good cook… the best thing she made were the Christmas cookies, folded with date in the middle…”
WOMAN 2: “My husband is Scandinavian so he likes it when I cook Scandinavian dishes…and I’m not very good at it and I think it’s because I don’t have any Scandinavian blood in me.”

THE CLASSES ALSO APPEAL TO YOUNG PEOPLE WHOSE FAMILIES HAVE SHED TRADITION BUT WANT TO LEARN ABOUT THEIR NORDIC HERITAGE. MARRIANE FORSSBLAD IS THE MUSEUM’S DIRECTOR…

FORSSBLAD: “When you come to another country, you notice how other people are living and very often if you dress differently that’s the first thing that goes. But one thing is kept and that is food.”

AT FISHERMEN’S TERMINAL YOU CAN SEE HOW THE SCANDINAVIAN INFLUENCE ON SEATTLE BEGAN…FISHING BOATS BEAR NAMES LIKE ANDERSON ISLAND, VIKING MAGIC AND ARDEN. NORWEGIANS IN PARTICULAR WERE DRAWN TO THE NORTHWEST BECAUSE THEY COULD CONTINUE FISHING, THEIR MAIN LIVELIHOOD IN EUROPE. IN 1908 NORWEGIAN IMMIGRANTS MADE UP FORTY PERCENT OF THE FISHERMEN’S UNION. THEY SUPPLIED THE REGION’S STAPLE OF COD, HALIBUT AND SALMON.

(CLIP OF IVAR HAGLUND SONG)
“Oh, how do you get down to Ivar’s? Acres of clams please show me the way. Oh it’s easy to get down to Ivar’s Just a stop before you walk in the bay. “

SEATTLE’S MOST FAMOUS SEAFOOD PROMOTER WAS IVAR HAGLUND, WHOSE PARENTS WERE DANISH AND NORWEGIAN. IN 1938 HE ESTABLISHED SEATTLE’S FIRST AQUARIUM AT PIER 54, WITH A FISH AND CHIPS STAND BY THE ENTRANCE.

“Our seafood’s so delicious and tasty,
With our low prices and good service you’re treated right!”

HAGLUND’S FISH STAND BECAME SO SUCCESSFUL HE FOLLOWED WITH HIS “ACRES OF CLAMS” RESTAURANT IN 1946…

“Clam happy greetings, this is Ivar of Ivar’s Acres of Clams. And our fish bar is open ‘til 2, and the Acres of Clam dining room at Pier 54 is open until 1. Hope to see ya!”

THE FOLK-SINGING HAGLUND WAS EQUALLY FAMOUS FOR HIS KITSCHY SLOGANS LIKE “CLAM CULTURE” AND “KEEP CLAM.” AT THE NORDIC MUSEUM MARRIANE FORSSBLAD SAYS IVAR’S INFLUENCED SEATTLE’S EARLY RESTAURANT SCENE…

FORSSBLAD: “He was quite a character and by doing his singing etcetera, he was a great marketing agent. He marketed himself and his seafood places. And so he definitely had an impact on Seattle’s seafood life.”

WHILE IVAR HAGLUND SANG THE GLORIES OF SEAFOOD, OTHER LOCAL SINGERS POKED FUN AT A SCANDINAVIAN HOLIDAY FOOD TRADITION…

(SONG CLIP)
“Oh lutefisk, oh lutefisk, how fragrant your aroma
Oh lutefisk, oh lutefisk, you put me in a coma.
Your smell so strong you look like new,
Your taste is like an overshoe.
But lutefisk come Saturday
I think I’ll eat you anyway.”

LUTEFISK IS DRIED COD SOAKED IN LYE, BOILED UNTIL IT TURNS INTO JELLY. IT’S OFTEN EATEN WITH POTATOES, BUTTER AND PEAS. (PAUSE) TRADITIONAL SCANDINAVIAN FOOD MIGHT SEEM PLAIN FOR MOST PALETTES. THAT’S BECAUSE NORDIC CUISINE IS BASED ON SIMPLICIT.

GREG ATKINSON: “Here in the Northwest seafood is appreciated best when it’s tampered with least.”

GREG ATKINSON IS A FOOD CONSULTANT AND WRITER. HE RECALLS IN THE LATE ‘70S WHEN HEAD CHEF WAYNE LUDWIGSON AT RAY’S BOATHOUSE DID SOMETHING UNUSUAL FOR THE TIME…

ATKINSON: “They were serving local seafood, in season even to the exclusion of the kind of seafood their client base might expect. Instead of say, frozen lobster tails from Australia, they were serving local spot prawns. This was kind of a flip flop… the same with the local salmon run - to serve simply grilled salmon with a potato and a green.”

IN THE ‘70S AND ‘80S MANY CHEFS WERE ADVOCATING THE USE OF LOCALLY GROWN SEASONAL PRODUCE. RAY’S BOATHOUSE DID THE SAME FOR SEAFOOD…

ATKINSON: “People in the New York Times came and said if you really want to taste Pacific Northwest seafood, you go there because you don’t do anything to it. They don’t fuss with it, and that to me seems very Scandinavian, doesn’t it?” FOOD TRENDS COME AND GO, BUT YOU CAN STILL FIND NORDIC INFLUENCES IN WHAT WE EAT TODAY. IVAR’S OFFERS SALMON ROASTED WITH BUTTER. CANLIS, A SEATTLE INSTITUTION, SERVES PICKLED HERRING THE SCANDINAVIAN WAY.

(SONG)
“Oh lutefisk they cooked you up and brought you to the table…”

AND AT ANTHONY’S RESTAURANT, YOU CAN EVEN GET LUTEFISK AT CHRISTMAS.

“Oh lutefisk, I’m not so sure,
Just how you got so popular!”

I’M RUBY DE LUNA, KUOW NEWS.