More crawfish history was made when, on March 7, 2017, Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser proclaimed Emile the crawfish as safe from boiling at Zatarain's first crawfish pardoning event in New Orleans. Imitation is said to be the sincerest form of flattery, but as Chef Mould says, “If you want to suck some crawfish heads and peel some crawfish tails, the only place to do it is in Louisiana.” In the 1980s, technological advances changed menus and parties forever because live crawfish could then be shipped safely around the country, subsequently generating a groundswell of popularity. However it has only been the past few decades that backyard boils have grown exponentially in popularity, says Mould. The crustacean is the gastronomic anchor of the Lenten season during which Catholics abstain from meat on Fridays. According to Chef Patrick Mould, owner of Louisiana Culinary Enterprises and a Cajun cuisine ambassador, crawfish were first harvested from the waters of the Atchafalaya Basin and later became a farmed commodity when farmers turned their flooded rice fields into crawfish ponds to meet demand. The history of crawfish intersects with Louisiana’s agriculture and religion, both integral parts of the state’s identity. In Louisiana, crawfish is more than a local delicacy-it’s a dedicated food group and residents mark its season on their calendars. It is the centerpiece of springtime birthday parties, graduation celebrations and family gatherings and it is the culinary highlight for many visitors. Propane tanks can be heard burning under huge pots of boiling water filled with seasonings and crawfish, as the pots are being slowly stirred by hungry yet patient devotees in backyards throughout the state. To understand the significance of crawfish in Louisiana, one only has to take a drive on the Friday before Easter with their windows down.
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