| Let's start at the beginning where some of the most | | | | There are two species farmed, the red swamp and |
| satisfying Cajun dinners originate, on crawfish farms. I | | | | the white river crayfish. Both groups are well adapted |
| bet your mouth is watering right now thinking about the | | | | to the wet/dry cycles of the region. Louisiana crayfish |
| delicious meals you had on your trip to New Orleans. If | | | | farms production developed in part due to the |
| you are looking for recipes to dish up some tasty | | | | crawfishes natural adaptation to inconsistent water |
| Creole cooking for your family and friends to rave | | | | levels, just like the robust stock of Louisianas fine |
| about, the search is over. We have cooked up a | | | | citizens. This hardy species makes breeding in farms |
| whole mess of info designed with you in mind. | | | | an excellent enterprise for the changeable Gulf Coast. |
| Crawfish spiced just right served up with corn on the | | | | With rainfall almost non-existent in the summer months, |
| cob and sausage is some of the finest eating this side | | | | crayfish farms are made by flooding rice fields, giving |
| of the mighty Mississippi. Have you ever wondered to | | | | the mudbugs as they are fondly called, a place to |
| yourself or aloud, "I wonder where crawfish come | | | | breed and grow. When springtime reappears, the cycle |
| from? Do people in Louisiana catch these locally or are | | | | continues, with fields re-drained for planting. |
| they shipped here from somewhere else?" | | | | Crawdads survive the drought by digging underground |
| Crawfish aka crayfish or crawdads are raised on | | | | where the soil holds moisture, sometimes as deep as |
| Louisiana crawfish farms. Crayfish are freshwater | | | | ten feet. The crawdad lives in shallow pools of water |
| crustaceans, a smaller version of its close relative, the | | | | that form when they dig in for the dry season. |
| lobster. Their name is a mainly American word, which | | | | Aquaculture is a fancy way to say crayfish farms, in |
| comes from the Old French language meaning to | | | | case you hear someone use the term. When the |
| crawl. Our neighbors in the north use the term crayfish | | | | crustaceans are not dug in for the summer, they |
| most commonly, crawdad is heard in more western | | | | spend their days in open water. During molting, they |
| and central regions, and southerners say crawfish. | | | | hide out from predators, which, gulp, includes other |
| Nearly 100% of the harvest in the United States | | | | crawdads. |
| comes from Louisiana crawfish farms. In fact, | | | | Crayfish is most popular boiled with plenty of rich |
| Louisiana manufactures ninety percent of the crayfish | | | | Cajun seasonings. Other ingredients are thrown in one |
| in the entire world. | | | | pot, including celery, onions, and green peppers. (I smell |
| In the 1750s, the Acadians fled to Louisiana from | | | | seafood Gumbo cooking!) This draws in a huge |
| Canada and were taught by the Choctaw Indians who | | | | gathering of hungry people to share in the crawfish boil, |
| lived in the area to hunt and fish the native wildlife. | | | | New Orleans style! |
| Acadian cuisine, shortened to Cajun, was born of the | | | | Approximately 120,000 acres in Louisiana are |
| resilient people who learned to survive on what they | | | | dedicated to crawfish farms. All this talk about |
| could hunt or grow in the bayous. | | | | crawdads has made us hungry, let's eat! It's impossible |
| Commercial crawfish farms began in the late 1800s. | | | | not to smile when you are eating crayfish! |