Malm, Aug 22: Thousands of Swedish gourmets have participated in the world's biggest crayfish party. Malm, the largest town in Sweden, is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records for the world's biggest crayfish party. Every year thousands of people meet to eat crayfish.
Viveca Byhr Linden, Manager of the feast, says "We're having it every year on the Malm Festival. Today we've had about 14,000 people here, eating crayfish. And we had about 40,000 crayfishes coming out of the tents. And everybody is sitting all over the place, eating crayfish, singing and listening to the music." Wearing strange hats is a vital part of the party. The best crayfish hat is awarded with local schnapps.
The combination of crayfish and schnapps is traditional in Sweden. Anette Carsten, a crayfish sales assistant says, "We sing a short song and then we take a schnapps. Then we sing another song and we take another schnapps. And we all have fun together." For those who are not used to crayfish, eating it may present some difficulties - but there is a way to ripping off the shell - and with a healthy helping of Schnapps, the ordeal becomes easier and easier. Bureau Report