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How to survive a Swedish crayfish party and keep your dignity intact (sort of)

August is in full swing, and in Sweden that means it's crayfish party time. Whether you're new to the country or just haven't yet mastered crayfish etiquette, an invite can be an anxiety-inducing moment.

Published: 10 August 2016 06:59 CEST
Updated: 16 August 2023 14:05 CEST

How to survive a Swedish crayfish party and keep your dignity intact (sort of)

Suck their little brains out like there's no tomorrow. Photo: Hasse Holmberg/TT

1. Hope for a demonstration

The good news is that crayfish are tasty little creatures. The bad news is that figuring out how to eat them can be challenging.

Most of the meat and good stuff is locked away behind a pesky (and if broken the wrong way, painful) shell, and different people have different methods of getting into it.

A simple way to start is by twisting each of the claws clockwise at the base of the arms so they break off, before sucking the juices out from them and removing the small pieces of meat inside.

Then it’s time for the body itself, and that’s where the methods tend to differ. The overall goal is to separate the tail from the head in some way, after which point you must decide whether you enjoy eating brains.

Feel free to suck them out from the head section if you do, otherwise, put that to one side and peel the shell from the tail by breaking and pulling it away, starting close to the legs. When finished, the biggest piece of meat will be exposed.

Sound complicated? If you haven’t done it several times it can be, and unless you’re practising at home as you read, it’s easy to forget. The best advice is to cross your fingers and hope that a kind host will take pity and produce a quick run-through before everyone starts eating. If so, pay attention!

2. Don’t take yourself too seriously

There’s no avoiding the fact that crayfish parties are messy affairs, and to help add to your apprehension, Swedes also like to make them as silly as possible.

That means tacky decorations, moderately embarrassing but admittedly practical bibs and, to top it off, strange cone-shaped hats which are often decorated with amusing (or depending on your perspective, sadistic) depictions of the very animal you are eating.

Think you’re too cool to put on some rubbish-looking cardboard hats? You may as well not bother turning up in the first place. Whether it’s because they’re conformists at heart, or because they actually know how to let go and have a good time once in a while, the Swedes around you will all have something on their heads, and so should you.

Failing to join in will only draw more attention your way, which when you’re already the least skilful crayfish eater at the table, may not be a good thing. So stop taking yourself so seriously, stick that hat on, hope your head isn’t so oversized the cheap elastic breaks (trust me, it happens) and enjoy yourself. This is fun. Organised fun. Remember?

3. Get ready to sing (or rather, hum)

You’re prepared to wear a stupid hat, you’re ready to make slurping noises that humans aren’t supposed to emit, and you’re almost starting to relax over the whole crayfish party concept, thinking at least you’ve survived the hard part. You’re wrong.

Why? Swedes add a whole new layer of pain to the occasion by introducing singing. On the bright side, being a good singer isn’t of any great importance. On the other hand, all of the Swedish guests know the traditional songs like the back of their hands, and it’s going to be fairly apparent that you don’t.

If you really, really want to try and learn the lyrics then The Local has rounded up some of the most common numbers, while Oscar winner Alicia Vikander even provided a demonstration of one here.

For most people however, the only feasible option is to hum along with visible gusto, picking up the melody as you go. It may feel odd, but doing so is far better than trying to freestyle it with actual words, and most definitely better than not singing at all.

Rumour has it that not singing at a crayfish party is a crime punishable by law in Sweden – do you really want to find out first-hand if that’s true or not? We thought not.

4. Stare intensely into the eyes of your host… and toast

Perhaps Swedes really do love shellfish more than anything else, but it is tempting to speculate that part of the longevity of the crayfish party as an event may just be linked to the copious amounts of alcohol (particularly snaps) consumed.

In Sweden, even drinking comes with rules. When a toast is proposed at a Swedish party – and it will be – everyone is expected to raise their glass in response and (here comes the scary part) look one another in the eye.

If you don’t like too much direct eye contact it can be an unnerving experience, but that’s just the way it is. It gets less unsettling the more you drink, we’ve heard.

5. Be a good sport

The hats have been worn out, the singing has grown old, the food is gone and the bulk of the alcohol consumed, but the party may not be over. Party games are popular in Sweden, so don’t be surprised if at some point in a post-dinner haze you’re separated into teams with other guests for something competitive.

If the weather is good there’s a decent chance you could end up playing kubb, a lawn-based game that involves throwing wooden batons to knock over blocks from a distance. If it’s not so sunny outside, cards may be the order of the day, and if you’re really, really unlucky, someone may even propose a quiz on crayfish.

Whatever the choice of game, approach it with enthusiasm, as it’s taking part that counts. Unless you’re stuck in a team with that one person who thinks this is the World Cup final. In which case: good luck.

Article written by Lee Roden in 2016 and updated by The Local’s editorial team in 2023.

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How to grow your own fruits and vegetables in Sweden

Know your growing zone

Sweden is split into eight different growing zones, known as växtzoner in Swedish, with one being the mildest zone in the far south of the country and eight being the harshest, in the far north.

The easiest way to figure out which zone you live in is to search your address on a digital growing zone chart like this one from the Swedish Garden Association.

There are two “bonus” zones too, which you’re unlikely to see on plant labels: zone zero, which refers to extra mild conditions in zone one, like a sheltered south-facing garden or the climate inside an unheated greenhouse, and the fjällzon or zone nine, which is found in mountain regions.

Lots of fruit trees can handle snow, for example, but not all of them will survive the winters in harsher, colder zones.

“Apple trees or fruit trees will survive snow,” British gardener and cider maker John Taylor, known for presenting Swedish gardening show Trädgårdstider (Garden Times), told The Local.

“You can grow all kinds of apples, pears, plums, cherries, we can grow edible quince in southern Sweden, so there’s a bunch of fruit trees which will survive, but it depends what rootstock they’re on – that’s called grundstam in Swedish,” he explained.

“There’s one rootstock called B9 that survives down to minus 40, because it’s from Russia, then there’s another called M106, and that probably doesn’t want to live in the depths of Norrland.”

Buy plants local to you

An easy way to make sure the plant you’re planning on buying is going to survive in your zone is by sourcing it from a local plant nursery or garden centre, as they won’t sell plants that can’t handle the local climate.

“There’s a nursery in the north of Sweden and Finland called Blomkvists, they sell lots of fruit varieties which will survive up there,” Taylor said. “You can grow pretty much anything you want up there, just as we can [in Skåne, southern Sweden], but it will be different varieties that taste different and will survive the frost.”

You won’t be able to grow Mediterranean fruits like lemons or oranges in Sweden unless you bring them inside during the winter, although you should be able to grow peaches or nectarines in most of the country.

“The further up in the country you go, the further north you are or the further away from the coast, the harsher the climate becomes, so you might need to have them on a south-facing wall or in a greenhouse,” Taylor said.

Think outside the box

Although the growing season in Sweden may be shorter than it is further south, there are still a number of crops from warmer climates that do surprisingly well.

“People don’t really grow cucumbers outside here, I don’t think they realise that you can actually grow them outside,” Taylor said. “Tomatoes, too. You don’t need a greenhouse, you just stick them in the ground, they’re basically a weed – you’ll get so many you won’t know what to do with them.”

Sweetcorn, for example, performs well in a Swedish climate, Taylor said, although Swedes more often grow it as a feed crop for pigs.

You can also test things by trying to build a microclimate so you can grow things that are one or even two growing zones away from yours. Usually this is done by providing shelter from the wind and the weather using fences, hedges or by planting near buildings, as well as providing protection during the winter.

And if you’re pushed for space, look into companion planting, where you can grow multiple plants which complement each other in the same space.

One example of this is the “three sisters”: corn, climbing beans (or peas), and squash. The corn provides a support for the beans or peas, which anchor the corn in high winds while fixing nitrogen in the soil, while the squash’s large leaves provide shade for the soil, preventing it from drying out.

Don’t be put off just because you don’t have any outside space

Thinking outside the box applies to balconies too.

“If you’re in a built-up area, you will get reflected light from other buildings, so even if you’re on an east-facing balcony, you should be able to grow a lot of stuff. North is a bit more tricky, but east and west are probably better than south as you’re not getting hammered by the sun all day,” Taylor said.

You should be able to grow things like tomatoes, cucumbers and flowers, but it’s important to get hold of good soil and replenish it each year, so your plants have enough nutrients.

“Anybody with a balcony can grow pretty much the same that you can in a garden, you just have to get the soil up there and you always have to fertilise, the soil becomes nutrient deficient after one season.”

“But if you’re prepared to get the soil up on your balcony you can grow anything, even fruit trees. They will be smaller and stunted, and won’t give as much fruit – I’ve done it myself – so don’t see it as an obstacle, see it as a possibility.”

Kale and tomatoes growing on a balcony. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

Take inspiration from Swedish growers

Thinking outside the box doesn’t mean that you should completely ignore what all your Swedish neighbours are doing. If you’re not sure what to plant in your garden or what fruit and veg you should try to grow, take a look at what other people who live near you are growing.

You might also come across some crops you’ve never tried before which work well in a Swedish climate, like Alpine strawberries (smultron), honeyberries (blåbärstry), wild garlic (ramslök) or sea buckthorn (havtorn).

This doesn’t just apply to varieties, but also where you plant them in your garden. Some crops need full sun, some work best in shade, and others, like asparagus, can grow tall and cast a shadow over your garden.

“You want a south-facing location for all fruit, and berries – check out what your neighbours are doing,” Taylor said.

If you don’t want tall plants to cast a shadow over other crops, see if you can plant them at the northernmost edge of your garden, while making sure that sun and soil conditions are still optimal. Blueberries, for example, need acidic soil to thrive, meaning you will probably need to amend your soil if planting in the ground, or even plant them in containers.

Think about what you want to do with your harvest

This may seem obvious, but it’s important to plant what you like to eat, too. If you hate the aniseedy, licorice-y taste of fennel, why bother growing it?

You should also choose the variety of crop based on what you’re going to use it for. Do you want to make pickles with your cucumbers, or are you going to eat them on salads? Do you want cherry tomatoes for snacking on, or big beef tomatoes for making sauces?

“Think ‘what am I going to do with my harvest’,” Taylor said. “Am I going to juice it? Am I going to preserve it? Am I going to make cider with it, for example?”

Apples, for example, can range from sweet eating apples to tart cooking apples, so make sure you do your research before you commit to buying an apple tree. Most varieties exist in English-speaking countries, so you should be able to search the name of the variety online and find some information in a language you understand, if you don’t speak Swedish.

“Patience is a virtue,” he added. “A lot of fruit trees are going to take two or three years, or even more, to give a harvest. So you have to have patience.”

Learn to deal with the Swedish weather

Many areas of Sweden along the coast or in the south of the country can get windy, which you’ll have to learn to deal with.

“How to deal with the wind? You can’t,” Taylor said. “We cannot affect this, we are powerless.”

“What you have to do is plant them in areas where there’s less wind, usually behind large buildings.”

Some plants simply won’t survive the wind, so either you plant them close to buildings, protect them, or accept that you’re restricted in what you can grow.

Make sure to provide supports for crops which will grow tall, like sunflowers, peas, beans and sweetcorn, and tie these down well or bury them deep in the ground, so summer storms can’t blow them away.

Listen to the full interview with John Taylor in The Local’s Sweden in Focus Extra podcast for Membership+ subscribers. Out on Wednesday, May 8th.

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