Cornerstone Project
The History of Lefse
There is a lot of speculation over where the Norwegian dish called ‘lefse’ started. Many credit the Vikings with their bread plates made of flour as the very beginning. But others argue that because these traditional Viking bread plates used flour instead of potatoes, that they cannot be the origin of the potato flat bread we call lefse. While others state that lefse wasn’t made with potatoes until the dish was brought to the Northern states as Norwegians emigrated to the United States.
Making lefse was a primarily female thing. Women would travel from house to house to make lefse which would be stored for the entire winter season.
Family Traditions and Recipes
The tradition of making lefse is strong in many families that I know living in Minnesota. Recipes have been passed down from generation to generation and each family has their own way of making the potato flatbread. I recently learned that a friend of my grandmother’s brushes the flour painstakingly off of each piece of lefse before finishing the task in order to expel the flour that has collected. It’s something that we had never thought of doing before and I am sure that we will be incorporating it next year, but they had been doing it that way all their lives.
The lefse recipes that my family uses have been passed down for generations. I also collected recipes from family friends. Including my mother’s mother’s best friend Lori, and her sister Traci. Neither of them had children, opting to foster a trio of siblings together.
My maternal grandfather doesn’t think that anyone can make lefse like his mother could. She made her slices thicker, while my paternal grandmother (whom I make the lefse with) prefers for the slices to be thin and refuses to leave them any thicker. He prefers to eat his lefse with plain sugar when he does eat it. I like mine with brown sugar. My father likes his topped with Swedish meatballs. The rest of my family eats theirs with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. My one-year-old nephew was introduced to lefse on his first Thanksgiving this year (2023), which was topped with plain sugar. It is safe to say that he will be a lefse eater like the rest of us.
World’s Largest Lefse
There is even a world-record breaking world’s largest lefse in Starbuck, Minnesota. This nine foot, eight inch piece of lefse was created by the Starbuck Lions Club as well as a local baker. The group was called the Giant Lefse Baking Team and consisted of eight people.
They took special precautions in order to make sure that the dough didn’t rip, was easily transportable (from the area that it was rolled out onto the griddle), and was actually the World’s Largest Lefse.
Celebrations and Festivals
There are many celebrations and festivals that center specifically around the dish, most of which are hosted in the Northern part of the United States (specifically Minnesota). I wrote about four that I found; Lefse Dagen in Starbuck, Minnesota, celebrating the World’s Largest Lefse; Lobster and Lefse Festival in Fargo, North Dakota hosted by the Rotary Club with the proceeds going to many different organizations; the title of “Champion Lefse Maker” can be won in Fosston, Minnesota, at the Civic Center where visitors are asked to donate non-perishable foods or money; and finally the Potato Days in Barnesville, Minnesota where the participants can partake in the National Lefse Cookoff.
These gatherings celebrate Norwegian heritage and the community that lefse provides.
Lefse Variations
There are many different forms of lefse. Some use flour as the base for the flatbread, while others use potatoes. Some families prefer their lefse thick (like my grandfather on my mother’s side of the family) while others prefer their lefse as thin as a sheet of paper (like my grandmother on my father’s side of the family). I personally have never had thick lefse, my grandfather refuses to eat any after the death of his mother almost twenty years ago because no one can make it the way she did. So, we go by what my father’s mother tells us. And she tells us that thin is the only way to go.
The Importance of Food Traditions
“Food is an essential part of every culture. It’s more than just a means of sustenance, but a way of expressing oneself, connecting with others, and passing on rich cultural heritage. Food is deeply ingrained in our cultural identity and serves as a representation of our heritage, history, and values” (Evans, 2023).
Lefse is just one example of food traditions. While my grandmother lives six hours away in Wisconsin, one of us always makes the time to travel in order to make lefse for the winter holiday season. The tradition started when I was twelve years old and my family lived with my grandparents while my own parents went back to school. I asked my grandmother if I could help her and she was eager to let me learn. Though, standing at the hot griddle only flipping lefse pieces was too boring for me to stand there for very long. My grandfather tapped in and finished cooking the lefse on the griddle for me. This is only one of my favorite lefse making memories and I can’t wait to make more with more family members.