LefseKristine Nelson

Design Project 2

“The most treasured things passed down from generation to generation are the family recipes.”

-

Robert St. John

Cooking is the art of preparing food for consumption with the use of heat.Culinary methods and ingredients that differ extensively across the world, demonstrating

distinctive environmental, economic, and ethnic traditions.

LefseIs made by mixing potatoes, butter, heavy cream, salt, sugar, and flour and cooked on a hot griddle at 400 degrees

Home cooking is often times associated with comfort food. Lefse is considered one of those comfort foods.

Lefse plays an important role in Scandinavian tradition. During the holiday season no meal is complete without a plate of buttered Lefse

Uff Da that looks good….

History of Lefse

The first Lefse in Norway didn’t contain potatoes, it was made from flour. Women would make enough Lefse to last through the winter months. The flour Lefse would cook like a cracker. Several families would store their Lefse in wooden boxes. Dipping the Lefse in water or soaking them between damp cloths was a general way to soften the food before eating. Lefse is enjoyed by most by adding butter and or jam.

In 1763 the potato was introduced to Norwegians. The potato was incorporate into several Norwegian dishes. This tuber added a thickness to the Lefse. Some say that the Vikings would survive for several days on theirships because of Lefse. The potato became a family’s insurance policy against starvation where grains could not grow because of climate or bad weather. It was eaten as is and was a fine extender in soups, salads, and daily breads such as Lefse. It became a staple in several homes just like a loaf of bread is to Americans today.

Norway suffered the effects of the Great Famine. The Great Famine was a period of mass starvation, disease and emigration between 1845 – 1852. It was often times referred to as the Irish Potato Famine. During this time nearly 1 million people died and a million more immigrated. Several Norwegians came to to the United States to escape this famine bringing their knowledge and Cooking skills with them.

The tradition of making Lefse in the Norwegian – American home has been around for more than 150 years.Even today people still make Lefsefor their neighbors, churches suppers,coffee, and extended family.

Improvements have been made over the years with the design of the Lefse Grill. These developments have improved even coverage when cooking and a less bulky size of appliance.

Bethany Fellowship Lefse Grill Model 215 - 1968 Bethany Heritage Lefse Grill – Aluminum - 2013

Traditions are the glue that keep families together- and most of them involve food !

- Garrison Kellor

There are more than 4.5 million people of Norwegian ancestry in the United States today. Approximately three million claim “Norweigan” as their sole or primary ancestry.

Most live in the upper mid west of the United States like North/South Dakota and Minnesota.

Here is a picture of my Mother’s side of the family. My grandfather and grandmother Norris and Marguerite Coles.Their ancestors came to the United Statesfrom Norway and England in the early 18th Century.

My mother is pictured in the light pink dress… second from the right.It was my grandmother Marge and my mother Jodiewho made Lefse every Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday.

Both have passed away and the tradition of making Lefse during theholidays went with them. I have tried several times to make Lefseover the years but have not been very successful. I would love to be able to pass the tradition of Lefse making down to my daughter. It was a great tradition and one that brought my family togetherduring the holidays.

Coat of Arms

Norway Flag

What kind of toppings do people like on their Lefse ?

• Butter • Sugar • Jam• Peanut Butter • Sugar

• Brown Sugar • Cinnamon• Dipped in gravy

• Meat and veggies • Eggs, hash browns, and bacon

“...no one is born a great cook, one learns by doing.”

- Julia Child

Lefse Supply Comparison

Brand Cost Features Form Language Target Demographic

Location

$99.99

Bethany Heritage Grill

$89.99

16” non stick grillAdjustable temp to 500Overflow spoutHeat resistant legsEasy to clean

Adjustable temp to 500Overflow spoutHeat resistant legsAluminum

Silverstone Heritage Grill

Functional, simple

Classic and Simple

Middle / upper class families

Middle class upper class families

Target

Target

$19.90

Stainless SteelEasy-grip rubber inserts

Wolfgang Puck Ricer

$12.99

Chrome platedRemovable basketEasy cleaningPerforated holes

Middle class families

Middle class families Lefse Time

HSNRetro and curvy

Classic and Simple

Lefse Time - Ricer

$28.99 Classic and Simple Middle class families

Lefse Time – Rolling Pin

$19.99 Classic and Simple Lefse TimeMiddle class families

Lefse Supply Comparison cont.

Fox Run - Rolling Pin

$13.00 Contemporary and modern

Middle class families

Brand Cost Features Form Language Target Demographic

Location

Helps get dough thinnerFlour packs into groovesEasy rolling action

Marble rolling pinNylon bearings10” long barrelHandlesWooden base

Comfortable contour handlesNon stick surfaceEasy clean upPerfect weight

$6.99 Minimal and Simple Middle class families

Lefse Time

Extra widthTapered edgesHandle rosemale

OXO –Rolling Pin

Casa.com

Macy’s

Lefse Time – Turning stick

What makes lefse get sort of rubbery?Rubbery lefse is due to too much flour and overworked dough. If you find that your lefse dough is a bit sticky try placing it in the fridge to cool before you decide to add more flour. And be careful not to overwork your lefse dough, this will break down the gluten and make your lefse very tough.

Do you have to use a corrugated rolling pin to make lefse?Absolutely not! You can use any pin to make lefse. Traditionally the corrugated pin is used. The corrugated pin works wonderfully to get the sheet nice and thin with no air pockets. At Lefse Time we like it for the results we get and the authentic markings on a cooked sheet of lefse. The smooth rolling pin is the standard pin you see in the kitchen because it is so versatile, you can roll pie crust, cookie dough or lefse. The square cut pin does the same work as the corrugated pin but just not as popular.

What do you do when the dough gets stuck in the rolling pin grooves?Well mostly you have some work ahead of you. You will need to scrape what dough you can from it, soak it in soapy water and give it a good scrub. Be sure to let the pin air dry completely before your next use. How do you keep sticks from happening? Lots of flour on rolling pin covers! Your rolling pin will need constant prep with flour. At Lefse Time we are sure to rub plenty of flour on the pin before every sheet.

My lefse is sticking to the pastry cloth, what should I do?The easiest thing to do is grab a butter knife and gently scrape the dough off the sticky spot on your pastry cloth. Then liberally spread and rub in flour over that spot. Scrape again and repeat rubbing in flour over the spot. Our best advice is prevention, be sure to sprinkle flour over your rolling area between every sheet. Don’t worry you can dust off a lot of that flour after your sheet has cooled.

Do I have to rice my potatoes?No, but we have found that ricing potatoes takes out every lump. By using a ricer, you get beautiful fluffy riced potatoes with little effort and you will have smooth dough to roll and cook with. Lumps can equal holes in your lefse sheets when rolling.

I don’t know how to serve lefse. Can you help?There is no right answer to this. In my family there are 2 ways that we traditionally serve lefse. One is to cut an entire lefse round into quarters. Butter the entire quarter and then fold in half. Each wedge is considered one serving. The other is to roll the quarter (or cut the quarter in half again and then roll). But do what you like, maybe your a husky norske and half a sheet is more to your liking for serving!

Does putting the dough in the refrigerator really make a difference?Always, always refrigerate your lefse dough if you are not going to immediately cook with it. Potatoes spoil very quickly and I would hate to see that you have to start all over. If, after mixing in your other ingredients to the riced potatoes, you find that your lefse dough is loose or sticky, putting your lefse dough in the refrigerator can really make a difference. A few hours in the refrigerator can really stiffen it up and make it much easier to roll out. And on the flip side, if you already have a fairly stiff dough, time in the refrigerator can make it very difficult to roll out.

Struggles with making lefse(General Question about making Lefse from lefsetime.com)

My husband got me the starter lefse kit for Christmas and I love it. I am just not sure what I am suppose to do with the roller or the canvas once I am finished making my lefse. Could you tell me the proper way to clean them?Cleaning your rolling pin and board really depends on how soon you will be using it again. If it’s going to be put away until next holiday season it’s best to give it a thorough cleaning. For the rolling pin it works well to brush out the flour with a stiff bristled brush before washing. Once you have the flour brushed out, give your pin a quick wash in warm soapy water and dry immediately. To clean the pastry cloth, untie it, remove from the board and shake out as much flour as you can (best to shake outside). Then you can launder it but use little to no detergent. Most detergents are scented and your flour and lefse can pick that up when your rolling. But if you are going to be using your items soon you can store without washing. Brush out your pin and shake out the cloth as best you can, put the cloth back onto the board. Then store both somewhere they will stay dry.

I tried making lefse but end product is so sticky I can’t get off my fingers and too sticky to roll, what am I doing wrong?Lefse dough will stick to your fingers when mixing. Despite being sticky the dough should be pretty firm and able to form into patties that will hold their shape. If this isn’t what is happening for you I would guess that you have to much moisture in your recipe. The moisture could start with over cooked potatoes, too much liquid ingredient or not enough flour. Over cooking the potatoes tends to be the leading culprit with many of our customers. The potatoes absorb too much water and are “wet” and then you add your liquid ingredients on top of that with your normal amount of flour and you have very mushy lefse dough which is very hard to work with. Especially when rolling, it wants to stick to everything. If you think you have overcooked your potatoes be sure to let them drain considerably and ‘steam off’ for a few minutes. Then you most likely will need to cut back on your liquid ingredients but shouldn’t have to add any additional flour.

Sometimes my lefse falls off the stick between rolling and placing on the grill–even if I move swiftly. Is this a sign of too much or not enough of something?Typically this problem (lefse falling of the stick) is caused from lefse dough that is too moist. Which can be the result of a few different things. The first thing is to make sure your potatoes have not beenover-boiled. You should be able to easily pierce the potatoes with a fork with a very slight resistance and then drain well. You can easily recognize if the potatoes have been overcooked when you rice the potatoes and large amounts of water squeezes out of your ricer. Depending on your recipe, the next culprit would be too much cream, especially if them potatoes have been over-boiled. You might need to cut the amount of cream up to half the amount. Lastly it would be not enough flour. But I advise against adding lots of flour as your first resort to ‘fix’ the moisture problem. It can make your lefse tougher and less flavorful.

Struggles with making lefse cont.

Eating out vs. home cooked meal

These days restaurants are offering value meals, large pizza’s for $5.00 or a free kids meal with an adult purchase. More and more families are eating away from home.

According to the National Restaurant Association, families make more then half of their purchases away from the home. Restaurant sales are expected to reach $660 billion, which is a huge increase over last year.

Convenience and price is the reason most families eat out vs. cooking at home,

Home food prices are projected to increase 3 – 4 percent this year. Average cost of food for a family of four in around $830.00 per month.

When comparing costs in a survey done by GoBankingRates they found that the restaurant price was cheaper then purchasing the same food and cooking it at home. A survey was done at Outback Steak House and Olive Garden. The study found that a 10-ounce ribeye dinner with soup, salad and asparagus from Outback Steakhouse is about $2.50 cheaper than the made-at-home version. Olive Garden's seafood alfredo with unlimited salad and breadsticks is $3.70 cheaper.

"It's the value of time that has to be considered to make the restaurants a valuable comparison. You can still prepare food cheaper at home, but how much effort is it to feed a family of five versus driving up and eating at a restaurant?” says Darrell Vander Esch, a majority partner of the Pizza Ranch restaurants

Micro Apartments are on the rise in the big cities

Micro apartments are becoming very popular in cities like San Francisco and New York City. The apartments are small but stylish and functional. Perfect for one - two people or someone who is just starting out. The kitchen includes a mini sink, two-burner electric cooktop, half fridge, and microwave - convection oven.

"I lived in about 250 square feet for five years. You really learn how to make it work," he says, recalling how he once held a dinner party for 10 and even cooked all the food in his tiny kitchen.

- Real estate agent Jason Saft

Lefse is messy and takes up a lot of space in an average size kitchen.

What can I design that would help homeowners of these small apartments still have the ability to make food like lefse or other traditional recipes during the holidays.

Challenge: Making traditional recipes successfully in a small kitchen space

References

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"Lefse." The Daily Spud RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2013.

"Lefse History." Lefse Time. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2013.

"Let There Be Lefse." The Ithaca Post Let There Be Lefse Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2013.

"Norwegian American." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 May 2013. Web. 05 Oct. 2013.N.p., n.d. Web.

"Quotes About Recipes." (13 Quotes). N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2013.

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