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Crayfish

Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans commonly boiled, steamed, or added to soups, stews, and rice dishes.

Crayfish — illustrative ingredient image

About Crayfish

Crayfish are small freshwater decapod crustaceans with claws, segmented shells, and edible tails. They are commonly boiled, steamed, grilled, or incorporated into soups, stews, sauces, rice dishes, salads, and fillings. They may be served whole or prepared as peeled tails or picked meat.

The meat has a firm texture and a mildly sweet flavour, while the shell contributes to the appearance of the whole animal rather than the portion eaten. Flavour and texture can vary with whether the crayfish is served whole, shell-on, or separated into tail or picked meat.

Uncooked shells may be brown, olive, red, or mottled; cooking typically produces a stronger red or orange appearance. Crayfish are sold live or cooked, whole or as prepared meat, and boiling, steaming, grilling, peeling, or picking changes the presentation and edible proportion.

Ingredient type
whole food

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Where crayfish appears

22 linked foods

Find foods to recognise by country and type. Recipes and products vary; these are recorded ingredient connections.

Showing 1–12 of 22

Main dishes

Sides

Ingredient connections awaiting review · Coverage is still growing, including packaged snacks.

Name examples awaiting language review. Confirm the specific food or product.

Local names for crayfish

Names and romanised forms to recognise on menus and labels.

English

Crayfish

English

crayfish (cooked)

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

crayfish (raw)

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

crayfish pincer meat

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

Crayfish, fried

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

Crustaceans, crayfish, mixed species, farmed, cooked, moist heat

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

Crustaceans, crayfish, mixed species, farmed, raw

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

Crustaceans, crayfish, mixed species, wild, cooked, moist heat

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

Crustaceans, crayfish, mixed species, wild, raw

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

Available names only. Languages may be spoken in other countries; a name alone does not identify every ingredient in a dish.

Crayfish nutrition & diet

Crayfish nutritional value

Reference: Crayfish, raw

Per 100 g of the edible portion of the stated reference food.

Calories
67kcal
Protein
14.9g
Carbs
0.0g
Fat
0.8g

Reference example for the named food and preparation, per 100 g edible portion. This is not a universal value for every recipe or brand; packaged products should be compared with their own label. CoFID 2021 food code 16-235. Carbohydrate follows the dataset’s available-carbohydrate convention. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/.

Portions & preparation

Use the edible cooked meat or the specified whole-animal preparation, excluding shells and discarded cooking liquid unless consumed. Boiled, steamed, fried, stuffed, and sauced crayfish are distinct forms for reference purposes. Record whether tail, claw, or other locally eaten portions are included, and treat accompaniments as separate recipe components.

Compare the right form: Match freshwater crayfish by species or local identity, raw or cooked state, and edible portion, distinguishing peeled meat from whole cooked animal.

Diet considerations

Crayfish are animal-derived freshwater crustaceans. Compatibility changes with butter, dairy, batter, meat stock, spice blends, sauces, or mixed seafood recipes. Preparation affects the relevant edible form, particularly when shells and cooking liquids are removed. Since “crayfish” can describe different regional species, establish the identity before using a nutrition reference or dietary classification.

AI-authored reading notes · Awaiting editorial review. Measured values, where available, have a separate source above.

Dietary compatibility

  • Vegan
    Typically incompatible
  • Vegetarian
    Typically incompatible
  • Pescatarian
    Typically compatible
  • Keto
    May be compatible
  • Paleo
    May be compatible
  • Low-carb
    May be compatible
  • Halal
    Not established
  • Kosher
    Typically incompatible
What these diet assessments mean
Vegan · Typically incompatible
The ingredient profile identifies an animal-derived food or derivative.
Vegetarian · Typically incompatible
The profile identifies animal flesh, seafood or a derivative excluded by a vegetarian diet.
Pescatarian · Typically compatible
Seafood fits this pescatarian definition. Added meat-based stock or other ingredients would need checking separately.
Keto · May be compatible
The plain form may fit a carbohydrate-restricted diet. Check the portion, added sugar, coatings and sauces against the nutrition values above.
Paleo · May be compatible
May fit a paleo pattern, depending on the cut or form, processing and added ingredients.
Low-carb · May be compatible
The plain form may fit a carbohydrate-restricted diet. Check the portion, added sugar, coatings and sauces against the nutrition values above.
Halal · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish halal status.
Kosher · Typically incompatible
This profile identifies shellfish, which does not meet the kosher fish criteria.

For the plain ingredient · Awaiting review. Diet compatibility is not allergy suitability or halal/kosher certification. Keto and low-carb depend on the portion.

Reviewed ingredient entryIngredient reference · Preparations vary

AI-generated illustration for visual context. It does not identify a particular product or establish allergen content.

Sources & review

Nutrition reference: UK Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (CoFID), 2021 — Crayfish, raw ↗. Values are scaled from 100 g of the recorded edible form. Individual portions have no assumed fixed weight.

Expanded overview, name examples and nutrition notes are database drafts awaiting editorial review. Numeric nutrition values, where shown, have their own source and food-form reference.

The ingredient description and dish connections come from the draft catalogue and may change after review.

Last recorded verification: .