Don’t you just love the warm and inviting smell of a candle when you walk into someone’s house?  What could be more welcoming than the pungent smell of freshly baked lutefisk?  Eeww, no!  Let me just say, I love candles.  I have my favorite scents at Bath and Body Works and I keep a stock of extras so that when one burns out I can just grab a new one.

Photo by Brooks O'Brian
Photo by Brooks O'Brian
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But there are certain things that just shouldn’t be a candle scent.  And lutefisk is definitely one of them.  Lutefisk is made from aged stockfish, cured in lye for 2 days and then soaked in water for another week to make it edible.

I used to work at a Smorgasboard on Lake Street in Minneapolis.  Every Thursday night was lutefisk night and I dreaded it.  At the end of the night my clothes and hair would smell like it.  So, I guess you're lucky.  You can skip the whole working at a Smorgasboard part and just buy a lutefisk candle!

Photo by YouTube via Fox 9 Mpls-St Paul
Photo by YouTube via Fox 9 Mpls-St Paul
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But there’s a woman in New Brighton named Kristin Johnson that’s making candles that smell like lutefisk.  In an interview with Fox 9 she said, "I like the nostalgia of lutefisk. My great-grandparents would make it on holidays. The scent just brings you right back to those times.”

Photo by YouTube via Fox 9 Mpls-St Paul
Photo by YouTube via Fox 9 Mpls-St Paul
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I would argue that the only thing that scent does is make you nauseous.  But even Kristin understands.  She says her lutefisk candles make a great gag (quite literally!) gift.  And she’s not done creating.  She’s got a few other scents in the works.

Photo by YouTube via Fox 9 Mpls-St Paul
Photo by YouTube via Fox 9 Mpls-St Paul
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Kristin embraces her Scandanavian Heritage and she’s working on candle scents like Swedish meatballs, bread and butter pickles, and tater tot hotdish.  Kristin started selling her candles on her website and at a few stores around the Twin Cities.  So, if you need a gag gift this upcoming Holiday season, keep it local!

 

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