It\u2019s August. You knew that though. What you might not have known though is that August is also the month for crayfish parties throughout Sweden (and really wherever I find myself in the US).<\/p>\n
Crayfish are essentially tiny little lobsters. A form of shellfish that is common in Cajun culture. In Swedish culture though, the crayfish is cooked quite differently. And by differently I mean boiled in salt water with dill. And that\u2019s it. They are delicious.<\/p>\n
Eating a crayfish is a messy affair. You\u2019ll want to start by letting the crayfish cool. Obviously. Obviously because when you pick up your first crayfish you need to unfold the thing and suck out all of the juices. No one likes sucking boiling crayfish juice into their mouths.\u00a0 Once you\u2019ve sucked the dill and crayfish juice out, it\u2019s time to pop the tail off and eat the meat.\u00a0 There\u2019s not a lot in there, but it\u2019s worth it.\u00a0 Some people, and by some people I mean my very Swedish father, eat all the disgusting crayfish excrement within which includes everything from eggs to I-don\u2019t-want-to-know-what. Once the tail has been dissected, it\u2019s time to crack open the claws. Which are even smaller than the tails. There is even less meat here, but it adds to the whole experience of eating crayfish.<\/p>\n
Along with the crayfish, you\u2019ll probably want to serve potatoes, preferably f\u00e4rskpotatis which are known as new potatoes in English. You\u2019ll also need some kn\u00e4ckebr\u00f6d<\/a>, some cheese, some salad, and of course \u2013 cheese pie. Specifically V\u00e4sterbottenpaj.<\/p>\n Of course, no Swedish tradition is complete without alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol. Namely snaps \u2013 akvavit<\/a>.\u00a0 Shots of akvavit generally go hand in hand with the crayfish.\u00a0 And over the course of the evening, those shots are accompanied by plenty of drinking songs.<\/p>\n Below you\u2019ll find a YouTube clip with lyrics. And of course, you can find the lyrics to Helan G\u00e5r here on Transparent\u2019s blog<\/a> as well.<\/p>\n All this tends to be done outdoors. Or at least is attempted outdoors. The weather is notoriously fickle in August in Sweden.\u00a0 Along with the food, snaps, and singing, people tend to wear bibs (remember that sucking? It gets messy), and ridiculous looking conical party hats.\u00a0 If you can work in a crayfish motif as often as possible, all the better.<\/p>\n Crayfish parties are traditionally held in August due to laws that limited crayfish fishing to the late summer months. Like August. \u00a0Of course, now you can find frozen crayfish on sale just about all year round coming from China and Turkey, but that doesn\u2019t stop the Swedes from doing the majority of their crayfish consumption in August. Traditions die hard.\u00a0