Party Time / Swedish Style Crawfish Boils

Swedish style Crayfish parties are generally held during August, a tradition that started because crayfish harvesting in Sweden was, for most of the 20th century, legally limited to late summer...

Cuisine: Food & Drink

Akvavit and other kinds of snaps are served, as well as beer. The crayfish are boiled in salt water and seasoned with fresh dill — preferably “crown dill” harvested after the plant has flowered — then served cold and eaten with one’s fingers. Bread, mushroom pies, strong Västerbotten cheese, salads, and other dishes are served buffet-style.

Let's talk about a Crawfish Party

1) A crayfish party is a traditional summertime eating and drinking celebration in the Nordic countries. The tradition originated in Sweden, where a crayfish party is called a kräftskiva. The tradition has also spread to Finland via the Swedish-speaking population of that country.

2) Crayfish parties are generally held during August, a tradition that started because crayfish harvesting in Sweden was, for most of the 20th century, legally limited to late summer. Today, the “kräftpremiär” date in early August has no legal significance. Dining is traditionally outdoors, but in practice the party is often driven indoors by bad weather or aggressive mosquitoes.

3) Customary party accessories are comical paper hats, paper tablecloths, paper lanterns (often depicting the Man in the Moon), and bibs. A rowdy atmosphere prevails amid noisy eating and traditional drinking songs (snapsvisa). The alcohol consumption is often high, especially when compared to the amount of food actually eaten (crayfish shelling is tedious work).

4) It is culturally correct to suck the juice out of the crayfish before shelling it.

On the Swedish west coast it is common to replace the fresh water crayfish with havskräfta (English: Norway lobster).

Crawfish are eaten all over the world

Crawfish Boils: Shrimp, crab, & crawfish boils can be found across southern Louisiana & Southeast Texas. But it is the crawfish boil that is most closely associated with the region. The Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival has been named one of the top 10 food events by USA Today and is a showcase for Cajun music & culture. Major crawfish boils are held by churches and other organizations as fundraisers throughout the spring. Tulane University holds an annual "Crawfest" in April, & the University of New Orleans holds an annual crawfish boil for all students at the end of the spring semester (Students unwinding on Crawfish and Unprecedented Fun—SUCAUF). Smaller events can be found in backyards and parks throughout April, May and June. Locals traditionally eat crawfish, as well as crabs, without tools such as shell crackers or picks.

.......................................................★☆★......................................................

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses some material from Wikipedia/article © / and other related pages. / gone-ta-pott / wave.video /