Rudolpha
Since male reindeer lose their antlers in the fall, and females in the spring, obviously Rudolph who led Santa’s sleigh was always a Rudolpha.
Grandfather’s Lye
One way of preparing the dried stock fish is to soak it in a lye solution which is washed off thoroughly then baked in an oven. The legend goes that one day a dried stock fish fell off the rack into a bucket of ashes (wood ashes are a source of lye), and the family said “let’s give it to grand dad, he’s old anyway.” The ash bucket was outside and rain had made it an alkaline solution that needed to be washed off. They washed the fish that had soaked in lye, then baked the fish and gave it to the grandfather who enjoyed it a great deal and lived many more years. And that, dear children, is how Norwegians prepare stock fish to this very day.
