August = Crayfish Season in Sweden!

Crayfish party
Photo by Carolina Romare/imagebank.sweden.se

It is August which means it is the traditional time of the year for Swedes to have crayfish parties (a kräftskiva). The reason this happens in August is that this was historically the only time it was legal to fish for the little critters here in Sweden. These days, due to the high demand, we import them from Turkey, China and the US year-round... but August remains the traditional month to eat crayfish. Crayfish parties generally happen in peoples' homes where friends and family gather, wear funny hats, sit at long tables decorated with paper laterns, drink akvavit snaps and sing drinking songs. It can be a lively evening! Swedish actress Alicia Vikander recently taught Jimmy Fallon about the tradition.

If you are not lucky enough to be invited home to some Swedes for a party, you can still try this Swedish delicacy at a select few restaurants in Stockholm this month. Depending on the restaurant, they either do it as part of a three course set menu or just as a main course. Double check the restaurant's website to see the duration of their crayfish offer (some have crayfish for the whole month while others do it for a week or two or even just a weekend). Here are the restaurants I could currently find. Interested in restaurants that serve traditional Swedish cuisine? Click here for a list.

• Sturehof
• Tennstopet
• Den Gyldene Freden 
• Ulla Winbladh 
• Fjäderholmarnas Krog
• Stockholm Fisk
• B.A.R.
• Ångbåtsbryggan
• Djurgårdsbrunn

Traditional Crayfish Party
Photo by Carolina Romare/imagebank.sweden.se