HOUSTON – Crawfish season is upon us here in the South! But did you know that crawfish is known to have more than one name? There are so many names: crayfish, crawdads, mudbugs, ditchbugs, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, and yabbies.
What are the different types of crawfish names?
There are so many names: crayfish, crawdads, mudbugs, ditchbugs, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, and yabbies. The Dictionary of American English, or DARE, surveyed several ways in which different crawfish names were inspired by different dialects of the South.
Are prawns and crawfish the same thing?
Crawfish Vs. Prawns Crawfish, crayfish, mudbugs, yabbies and crawdads are all the same freshwater crustacean, the name just depends on what region of the United States they're in. Crawfish look like very small lobsters, and are eaten steamed or boiled. What Are Crawfish?
What is the best way to cook crawfish?
The most popular way to cook crawfish is to boil them. Bring a large pot of water to boil and then place crawfish in a cooking basket and lower into the bubbling pot. Let cook for 15 minutes, then turn off heat and let the crustaceans sit for another 15 minutes. Then you're ready to plate, just let them cool off a minute before you dive in.
Where is crawfish found in the US?
Approximately 95% of the crawfish consumed in the United States are harvested from Louisiana, but they're popular all over the world from Sweden to Spain to Nigeria. You can find this common crustacean crawling around in swamps, rivers, and lakes all over the planet.
Do Southerners say crawfish or crayfish?
Louisianans most often say crawfish, whereas Northerners are more likely to say crayfish. People from the West Coast or Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas often use the term crawdad. In the Mississippi Delta, they call them mud bugs. English-speaking nations outside of North America have even more words for this creature.
What are crawfish called in Louisiana?
crayfishSouth Louisiana is the crawfish capital of the world. Also called crayfish, mudbugs or crawdads, the crawfish resembles a very small lobster. Coloring varies depending on the water it lives in.
What do Cajuns call crawfish?
Crawfish – This is pronounced as it is written. We have Cajun crawfish not crawdads or crayfish. Etouffee – An amazing Louisiana dish made with seafood, poultry, rice and spicy gravy. Ask for it like a local by pronouncing it “ay-too-fay.”
What do they call crawfish in New Orleans?
crayfishAlthough crawfish are also technically known as "crayfish," if you're ordering this dish in Bayou country, call 'em crawfish, crawdads or mud bugs, and order them by the pound.
What do they call crawfish in North Carolina?
In North Carolina, the crayfish can be found statewide. The Greensboro burrowing crayfish, Cambarus catagius, are only found around the Greensboro area, and the North Carolina spiny crayfish, Orconectes carolinensis, are only found in the Tar and Neuse River Basins in the coastal plain.
Are crawfish called mudbugs?
Some kinds of crayfish are known locally as lobsters, crawdads, mudbugs, and yabbies. In the Eastern United States, "crayfish" is more common in the north, while "crawdad" is heard more in central and southwestern regions, and "crawfish" farther south, although considerable overlaps exist.
Is crawfish a southern thing?
Crawfish – or crayfish, or mudbugs, or crawdads, depending on your region and upbringing – are a staple here in Southern Louisiana during the spring and summer. Over the years, crawfish popularity has grown throughout the world, with crawfish actually becoming a delicacy in many European countries.
Are mudbugs the same as crawfish?
Sometimes it seems like the names we have for them are just as numerous. From the clinical and scientifically accurate “crayfish” to the more colorful “mudbug” to the more obscure but no less entertaining “ditchbug” or “crawpappy,” the nomenclature of crawfish is a linguistic melting pot.
Are crayfish and crawdads the same?
“Crawdad,” M-W helpfully explained, “is the synonym of the words crawfish and crayfish that is used chiefly west of the Appalachians to mean the aquatic animal that looks like a small lobster and lives in rivers and streams.” In our experience, they are also called “crawdaddies,” a diminutive.
Why are crawdads called crawdads?
The first part of the word comes from crawfish, which is another term for crayfish. Crayfish aren't fish—the word comes from an alteration of the Middle English crevice, from the Middle French crevice, from the Old High German crebiz, meaning “crab.” The -dad in crawdad may be the same ending found in the word doodad.
Crawfish
According to Alan Davidson’s Oxford Companion to Food, the term “crawfish” was coined some time in the 19th century. Currently it reigns supreme in American English, with a pretty far-reaching proliferation throughout the country. The term is most likely a derivation of “crayfish,” but with a twist based on the crawfish’s tendency to, well, crawl.
Crayfish
This is the original term from whence most of the other derivatives sprung: it’s a variation on the aforementioned French term, écrevisse, which is possibly a riff on an Old German word for “crab,” krebiz.
Crawdad and cousins
Some might associate this folksy term with the Deep South, but DARE’s files portray the term as mostly west of the Appalachians, with a heavy concentration in central states like Indiana, Missouri, Illinois, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Some reported usages span all the way westward to California. Louisiana, though? Not so much.
Mudbug
Little etymological information exists for this affectionate slang term, and while it’s a memorable one, it’s not necessarily common. Only one individual in DARE’s survey cited it as a proper response.
Buying, Cooking, and Recipes
Linnea Covington has been writing about food for over a decade. From farmers' markets to award-winning restaurants, if the eats prove good, she's there, often trailed by her two young boys.
What Are Crawfish?
Crawfish are small crustaceans that live in fresh water and are similar in flavor to shrimp and lobster. Approximately 95% of the crawfish consumed in the United States are harvested from Louisiana, but they're popular all over the world from Sweden to Spain to Nigeria.
How To Cook Crawfish
The most popular way to cook crawfish is to boil them. Bring a large pot of water to boil and then place crawfish in a cooking basket and lower into the bubbling pot. Let cook for 15 minutes, then turn off heat and let the crustaceans sit for another 15 minutes. Then you're ready to plate, just let them cool off a minute before you dive in.
What Does Crawfish Taste Like?
Crawfish meat tastes similar to a combination of lobster, crab and shrimp, with less salinity and more sweetness. Traditionally prepared crawfish often includes Cajun seasoning, which infuses the meat with notes of paprika, cayenne, garlic, oregano, and other ingredients.
Crawfish Vs. Prawns
Though crawfish go by many names, calling them prawns would not be accurate. Crawfish and prawns are both crustaceans, but prawns have branching gills and live in salt water, and crawfish have featherlike gills and live in fresh water. Flavorwise, a crawfish tastes more like a lobster.
Crawfish Recipes
Most crawfish are boiled or steamed, then eaten on their own or added to a dish.
Where to Buy Crawfish
If you live where crawfish are harvested, you can find them year round at grocery stores. Otherwise, they'll be most readily available each spring. Many online marketplaces will ship them frozen on ice.
