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alexsandroKräftskivan (crayfish plate) is a traditional meal for Swedes during late August and early September. The tradition comes from the crayfish season, which lasts for only 4 weeks off of the coast of Sweden, as when the first fishing boat comes into port the crayfish are then gobbled up by all. Now, kräft comes not just from the Baltic Sea but from Spain, Turkey and as far as Asia. Kräft can be found all year round but the tradition still stands to have Kräftskivan with family and friends during the 4 weeks stradling August and September.
Kräftor is very similar in appearence to the lobster, with claws, a tail, many legs, black, beady eyes, but are much smaller inscale. For those who live in Texas and Louisianna, these are about the same size as crawdads, I suspect. Since I have never eaten crawdads, I cannot say exactly what they look like. Kräftor are also fresh water creatures. The meat is very similar to lobster or shrimp.
While some people still catch their own meals, most people now do their hunting in the freezer section at the local supermarket. Kräftor are sold frozen in packages of 24 to 30 for regular sized ones, or 16 to 22 for jumbo size. ... If we had fresh kräftor we would have had to boil them, like lobster, and were to have added dill in the water pot. Dill, as we were told, keep the flavor from escaping the meat as the kräftor cooked.
Eating kräftor is quite a process, one that may leave beginners wondering if all the work is worth eating them. I do think the reward is worth gaining from the effort. ... She explained that there are only three places to look for the best meat, for any other areas, it is up to the person. The first two are the claws. Most kräftor are fairly small so there is not much meat in their claws, but every now and then you will get a fairly larger one with big claws and a little more meat. To get to the meat you are to take off the claws from the arm at the first joint. You then break off the movable pincer. The meat is a little wet so Marion told us to suck out the water into your mouth. The juice is quite tastey. Next, you crack open the claw with your teeth and then use the broken-off pincer to pick the meat out of the shell. Once both claws are eaten, the eater then attacks the tail. You tear off the tail at the midsection of the kräftor, then throw the rest of the body away (This section is the optional part where there are edible tissue but just not meat. Most Swedes do not eat from the body). The tail is basically edible meat with a thin covering surrounding it. The bulk of the meat comes from this part. To get to the meat, you use your fingers to tear the thin shell (feels just like shrimp shell) at one of the edges. You then slide one finger around the back and slide the meat out. To get a good meal from kräftor you should have an ample supply ready and have salad and bread on the side. The meal will stuff you, though.
The traditional drink at these kräftskivan is snaps (schnapps). The snaps here is not flavored like what is commonly drunk in the US (mint schnapps, peach schnapps). The Swedes like plain alcohol and have no need to mask strongness with fruits. Snaps is a very strong alcohol, similar to tequila, and is only drunk in small servings. ... There would be the opening toast, a closing toast, and periodical toasts inbetween every ten minutes. The traditional toast was, in relation to men, to toast to the girl to your right, to the girl to your left, and then to the girl in front of you. The table settings are traditional in that the women sit the right of the men. All activities for the dinner, even at the gasques, are based off of that table sitting arrangement.
Right after each toast, there would be a song sung. After a whole kräftskiva is done, there would be a little drinking, a little eating, and a little song.
Kräftor is very similar in appearence to the lobster, with claws, a tail, many legs, black, beady eyes, but are much smaller inscale. For those who live in Texas and Louisianna, these are about the same size as crawdads, I suspect. Since I have never eaten crawdads, I cannot say exactly what they look like. Kräftor are also fresh water creatures. The meat is very similar to lobster or shrimp.
While some people still catch their own meals, most people now do their hunting in the freezer section at the local supermarket. Kräftor are sold frozen in packages of 24 to 30 for regular sized ones, or 16 to 22 for jumbo size. ... If we had fresh kräftor we would have had to boil them, like lobster, and were to have added dill in the water pot. Dill, as we were told, keep the flavor from escaping the meat as the kräftor cooked.
Eating kräftor is quite a process, one that may leave beginners wondering if all the work is worth eating them. I do think the reward is worth gaining from the effort. ... She explained that there are only three places to look for the best meat, for any other areas, it is up to the person. The first two are the claws. Most kräftor are fairly small so there is not much meat in their claws, but every now and then you will get a fairly larger one with big claws and a little more meat. To get to the meat you are to take off the claws from the arm at the first joint. You then break off the movable pincer. The meat is a little wet so Marion told us to suck out the water into your mouth. The juice is quite tastey. Next, you crack open the claw with your teeth and then use the broken-off pincer to pick the meat out of the shell. Once both claws are eaten, the eater then attacks the tail. You tear off the tail at the midsection of the kräftor, then throw the rest of the body away (This section is the optional part where there are edible tissue but just not meat. Most Swedes do not eat from the body). The tail is basically edible meat with a thin covering surrounding it. The bulk of the meat comes from this part. To get to the meat, you use your fingers to tear the thin shell (feels just like shrimp shell) at one of the edges. You then slide one finger around the back and slide the meat out. To get a good meal from kräftor you should have an ample supply ready and have salad and bread on the side. The meal will stuff you, though.
The traditional drink at these kräftskivan is snaps (schnapps). The snaps here is not flavored like what is commonly drunk in the US (mint schnapps, peach schnapps). The Swedes like plain alcohol and have no need to mask strongness with fruits. Snaps is a very strong alcohol, similar to tequila, and is only drunk in small servings. ... There would be the opening toast, a closing toast, and periodical toasts inbetween every ten minutes. The traditional toast was, in relation to men, to toast to the girl to your right, to the girl to your left, and then to the girl in front of you. The table settings are traditional in that the women sit the right of the men. All activities for the dinner, even at the gasques, are based off of that table sitting arrangement.
Right after each toast, there would be a song sung. After a whole kräftskiva is done, there would be a little drinking, a little eating, and a little song.
