Lefse

Being the proud Norwegian-heritage Wisconsin that I am (for the record, 50% Norwegian), it’s about time that I review that staple of western Wisconsin Norse sweetness: lefse!

If you happen to not be familiar with lefse — which means you likely recently moved to western Wisconsin from some place not in the Upper Midwest — know that it is a versatile food form. It can be used as a wrap (tortilla-style), or you can have it as a sort of side or dessert, rolled-up on its own. Going to Norwegian smorgasbords over the years, I’ve come to know that the best combo is lefse with butter and sugar.

Basic lefse includes potatoes and flour, so consider how much enhancement you want to the rolled style of lefse (honey is also good to add inside) — you can do just butter, and that works.

The best lefse is either the homemade variety, or that made in the small cities around the Scandinavian-settled areas of western Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota. Part of my family is from Rushford, MN, which has its own lefse business. Closer to us in the 715 is Blair’s Countryside Lefse (note their URL), which rolls lefse and sells it under several brands, including the Grandma Ruth’s lefse distributed by Family Farms, Inc., in Eleva. This is the real stuff, from the place where a bunch of Norwegian ancestors settled many a decade ago.

Lefse is, in a way, the taste of the 715 (and the 608 and 507, among some regional others in Scandinavian lineage territory). If you haven’t taste this taste, go to one of the aforementioned places (and also Jacobson’s Market, where I bought this package of lefse), roll it up, and exclaim “uff-da!”