Crayfish as food facts for kids
Crayfish are small creatures that live in fresh water. People around the world enjoy eating them! Like other seafood with shells, only a small part of a crayfish can be eaten. In many dishes, like soups or stews, people usually eat just the tail meat. When you go to a "crawfish boil" or a meal where the whole crayfish is served, you might also eat meat from the claws.
For bigger crayfish, people often pull apart the claws to get the meat inside. Some people also like to suck the head of the crayfish. This is because tasty seasonings and flavors gather in the fat inside the head when it's boiled.
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Crayfish Dishes Around the World
Australia's Unique Crayfish
Australia has its own special types of crayfish from the Cherax family. These are different from crayfish found in Europe, Asia, or the Americas. Two kinds of Australian crayfish that people eat are the common yabby (C. destructor) and the red claw (C. quadricarinatus).
The common yabby is similar in size to North American crayfish. However, it doesn't grow very fast and stays small, so it's not often raised for food outside Australia. The "red claw" crayfish are much bigger, about twice the size of North American ones. They also have more edible meat, about 30% compared to 15% for some other types. Other Australian crayfish are quite rare and not usually eaten. They also grow slowly, which makes them hard to farm.
Crayfish in China
Crayfish became super popular in mainland China in the late 1990s. In China, crayfish are often served with a spicy and numbing flavor called Mala. This flavor comes from Sichuan pepper and hot chili. Sometimes, crayfish are just steamed whole and eaten with a favorite sauce. In Beijing, the spicy Mala crayfish is often called "ma xiao." People love to eat it with beer on a warm summer evening.
French Crayfish Dishes
In France, dishes that use crayfish (called écrevisse) are often described as à la Nantuaise. This means they are made in the style of a town called Nantua.
Crayfish tails and butter are also used to add flavor to a sauce called Nantua Sauce. This sauce is commonly served with a dish called Quenelles. Historically, crayfish and fried eggs were a common side for chicken Marengo. However, these days, they are often left out of the dish.
Mexican Crayfish: Acocil
The Mexican crayfish, known locally as acocil, was a very important food for the ancient Aztecs. Other local names for crayfish include chacales, chacalines, and langostinos. Today, crayfish in Mexico are mostly boiled, similar to how they are eaten elsewhere. They can also be prepared with classic Mexican sauces and spices, especially in central and southern Mexico. Traditional dishes include soups, tacos, and "cocktails" that are like shrimp dishes.
Crayfish in Nigeria
In Nigeria, crayfish are usually smoked or sometimes sun-dried. They are a very important food in the diet of people across all the southern states and in Nigeria as a whole. Crayfish are a key ingredient in Nigerian cooking.
Nordic Crayfish Parties
Crayfish are a popular food in Sweden and Finland. By tradition, people mostly eat them at a special party called a kräftskiva (crayfish party). These parties happen during the fishing season in August. The crayfish are usually boiled with salt, sugar, ale, and lots of dill stems and flowers.
While most Americans eat crayfish warm, Swedes and Finns usually eat them cold. A traditional Swedish and Finnish custom is to drink a shot of vodka or akvavit with the crayfish. Not many freshwater crayfish are caught locally, so most of the crayfish eaten in these countries are imported. For many years, they came from Spain and Turkey. Now, China and the United States are the biggest sources of imported crayfish.
Crayfish in Russia and Ukraine
In Russia and Ukraine, crayfish (called раки) are a traditional snack. They are often eaten with beer and other drinks. Native crayfish varieties, like Astacus astacus, tend to be larger. However, due to water pollution and too much fishing, most crayfish now come from other countries like Armenia, Kazakhstan, and China.
Before cooking, the crayfish are soaked in water or milk. Then, they are boiled alive for 7-15 minutes in salty water. Other ingredients like carrots, onion, dill, parsley, bay leaf, and peppercorns are often added. Some people use fancier ingredients like white wine, beer, sour cream, cloves, caraway seed, coriander seed, or chili peppers.
Russians rarely use crayfish in complicated dishes. Unlike other cultures, they usually eat the whole crayfish, except for the shell and antennae. People in Russia and Ukraine have been fascinated with crayfish for a long time. There's even an old saying: "When there is no fish, even crayfish is a fish." There are many myths about how to pick the freshest live crayfish, just like picking ripe watermelons. Russians and Ukrainians generally won't cook fresh crayfish if they are dead or seem very slow. However, frozen, pre-boiled crayfish are fine.
Spanish River Crabs
In Spain, crayfish are called cangrejo de río, which means "river crab." They used to be eaten a lot, especially in Castile and León and Aragon. But too much fishing and the arrival of crayfish from other countries, like Procambarus clarkii (often called cangrejo americano), caused a big drop in the native crayfish population.
Today, crayfish are still a special seasonal treat. They are usually cooked in tomato sauce. However, it is now strictly forbidden to fish for the native crayfish because they are almost extinct. Instead, people commonly fish for Procambarus clarkii or Pacifastacus leniusculus, which are also found in most Spanish rivers.
Crayfish in the United States
In the United States, crayfish are often called crawfish, crawdads, crawdaddies, or mudbugs. In 2018, most crawfish farms in the U.S. (93%) were in Louisiana. Back in 1987, Louisiana produced 90% of the world's crayfish, and 70% of that was eaten right there! In 2007, Louisiana harvested about 54,800 tons of crayfish, mostly from farms.
About 70%–80% of the crayfish from Louisiana are Procambarus clarkii (red swamp crawfish). The rest are Procambarus zonangulus (white river crawfish). Even with all this production in Louisiana, most frozen crayfish in supermarkets in other states come from China. By 2018, Asian farms were producing much more P. clarkii crayfish than the Americas.
In Louisiana, Mississippi, and Southeast Texas, crayfish are often served at a gathering called a crawfish boil. The crayfish are usually boiled alive in a big pot with lots of seasoning. This includes salt, cayenne pepper, lemon, garlic, bay leaves, and more. Other foods like potatoes, corn on the cob, onions, garlic, mushrooms, turkey necks, and sausage are often added to the boil. There are many different ways to season a crawfish boil, and everyone has their favorite!
Other popular dishes in the Cajun and Creole cooking styles of Louisiana include crawfish étouffée, fried crawfish, crawfish pie, crawfish dressing, crawfish bread, crawfish bisque, and crawfish beignets. In Houston, Texas, a special mix of Vietnamese and Cajun crawfish dishes has become popular.
The Cherokee people have a long tradition of catching crawdads using a spear-like tool called a gig. The crawdads are cleaned, then soaked in hot water with salt. They are then lightly coated with cornmeal before being fried, and seasoned with salt and pepper.
Crayfish and Religions
Judaism and Kosher Food
In Judaism, certain rules about food are called "kosher." Like all creatures that live in water, crayfish are not considered kosher. This is because they do not have fins or scales. Because of this, observant Jews do not eat crayfish.
