It’s crab-eating season; I’ll teach you how to choose good crabs step by step

River crab~~~~~~~~~~

sea crab~~~~~~~~~~~

Sea crabs are also known as swimming crabs. This year in Dàyán, sea crabs are quite cheap. The wholesale price by the sea is 8-15 yuan. It costs around 15-30 yuan per jin when bought at the market

To determine whether a crab is plump or not, look at its tail area. If the shell covering the crab’s back is tightly attached to its abdomen, it means the crab has no intention of molting yet; if there is a large gap in that area, it indicates that the crab is about to molt. This kind of crab is also the fattiest. One more thing: pinch the crab’s legs with your hand; if they are soft, don’t buy it. This crab has just molted, so it has hardly any meat, let alone be tasty.

How to choose high-quality crabs: First, look at the crab shell: those with a black-green back surface that has a shiny finish generally have thick and plump meat, while those with a yellow back surface are usually thinner. Second, look at the navel: if it protrudes, the animal is generally fat and plump; if it is sunken, the animal is usually underweight. Third, examine the chelipeds: if the chelipeds are covered with tufts of hair, they indicate that the chelipeds are strong and healthy; whereas if there are no hairs on the chelipeds, the body is weak. Fourth, check the vitality: Turn the crab over so that its belly is facing up. If it can quickly turn itself back using its pincers, it has good vitality; if it cannot do so, its vitality is low, and it should not be stored for long. Fifth, consider gender: choose female crabs in the ninth month of the lunar calendar, and male crabs in the tenth month. Female crabs eat the yolks, while male crabs eat the paste. When choosing a female crab, one can check how many layers are beneath its round navel; generally, three layers indicate that the crab will be delicious, with plenty of yolk and fat. If there are five layers, the yolk becomes very hard. When selecting a male crab, check whether the two areas on either side of its triangular navel are yellow; yellow coloring usually indicates the presence of butter. If they are white, it’s likely that the crab has an empty shell and no butter. Identifying male and female crabs: To tell the difference between males and females, look at the belly button; a round one indicates a female crab, while a pointed one indicates a male crab. There is also a type with a half-pointed, half-circular umbilicus; this is the virgin crab, which has little roe. There is also a type that is round-umbilicated, extremely wide, and giant; it’s called the ovipositing crab, and its interior is mostly empty shells.

Crab roe: that is, the eggs of crabs. It contains a large amount of nutrients essential for the human body, such as proteins, fats, phospholipids, and vitamins. There are two types of crab roe: that from river crabs and that from sea crabs. River crab roe is preferred, as the roe from sea crabs tastes slightly worse. Crab excrement: All the waste materials from crabs are found in their stomachs (crab excrement). The stomach of a steamed crab is white and not edible. It is located under the crab’s mouth; it can be seen once the crab shell is removed. Crab roe and crab feces are easy to distinguish; one is found in the crab’s outer shell, while the other is on its tail

I often see people say that the crabs they buy come with a lot of water. After asking many fishermen, I finally figured out what was going on. It turns out there is a type of crab that, once cooked, contains nothing but water; however, this amount of water isn’t significant. So, choosing lobsters requires some skill. If you’re not good at it, it’s better to let the vendor do the selecting – otherwise, you’ll have to deal with them later. Actually, lobsters are very plump this season; just take a look at this lobster model to see. The experienced fisherman explained that to determine whether a king crab is plump or to distinguish it from a freshwater crab, one should pinch the thickest part of its shell; if it is thick and elastic, then it’s a plump crab, while if it collapses easily when pinched, it’s not a good quality crab. The fisherman told the editor that this crab was very plump and had just been caught. The seafood market these days is of mixed quality; some crabs are caught in the sea, some are brought in from the south, and there are also those that are farmed. If you want to buy truly caught seafood, it’s best to head to the fishery port around 3 or 4 p.m. to grab the lobsters that have just been brought off the boats. Although they are a bit more expensive, they are genuine and of high quality.

Recently, some citizens reported to our newspaper that when selecting crab roe in the market, it seemed large and plump, but after cooking it at home, there was almost only an empty shell left, with very little meat. Reporters who visited the market found that such crabs do exist; some of them have small holes, and after being cooked they contain a large amount of water with poor meat quality. According to Mr. Shin, a businessman who has been in the seafood trading business for a long time, these crabs are actually \"empty-shell crabs,\" and it is possible that unscrupulous sellers have tampered with them. Upon inspection, five stalls had three crabs with holes in them. \"I bought lobsters at Shi Jiu on the Mid-Autumn Festival, but when I cooked them at home, I was shocked to find that most of the crab eggs were filled with water – there was hardly any meat in them, so they were completely inedible.\" ”Recently, Ms. Tian from Qinlou Sub-district told our newspaper’s reporter, “I took a close look and found that the empty shells of crabs had small holes in their bellies or at the base of their claws.” On September 14, the reporter went to the Shijiu Market. In the seafood section, the reporter saw only two stalls selling lobsters; at the stall of a middle-aged couple located in the northeast corner of the market, there were dead lobsters. The reporter observed that several of these lobsters had obvious small holes in their navel areas. At another crab stall, some of the crabs were also dead, but the reporter did not find any holes in those dead crabs. After bargaining, the reporter bought two dead crabs with holes at 20 yuan per jin from the first stall, and two dead crabs without holes at 30 yuan per jin from the second stall. Subsequently, the reporter went to Beijing Road Market, and among the three stalls selling crabs, they found that one of the crabs had small holes in it, and it was a live crab. Regarding crabs with small holes, one owner said that such crabs were common before the Mid-Autumn Festival, but now they are less frequent. In the experiment, the crabs with holes contained more moisture and had poorer meat quality. The reporter steamed the four crabs purchased at home simultaneously, and after steaming, a noticeable difference was observed: a lot of water flowed out from the plate of the crabs with holes, whereas no significant amount of water flowed out from those without holes ； When opened, the eggs of hole-bearing crabs contain a lot of water and little meat; the meat is loose, and the crab roe has turned into a liquid-like substance. Their gills are black, and the meat on their shells breaks easily when touched. In contrast, the eggs of hole-free crabs have less water, more substantial meat, with clear and firm meat fibers. Also, after steaming the crablings with small holes, although there isn’t much water inside their claws, there is very little meat as well. In terms of taste, non-porous crab roe differs from live crabs mainly in terms of freshness; otherwise, there is no significant difference. Porous crab roe, on the other hand, has a slight fishy smell, and its texture is very soft and not fresh. A report about \"empty-shell crabs\" that are filled with liquid to make them appear fatter: Mr. Shen from Qinlou Street has been in the seafood trading business for many years. He told reporters that some crabs, due to their living conditions or illness, may be large in size but have very little meat – what ordinary people call \"empty-shell crabs.\" \"The crabs with lots of water and little meat you mentioned are those that have been altered using empty-shell crabs before being put on the market; those who do this are usually large wholesalers from other places.\" ” Mr. Shen explained that due to the rough methods of acquisition, the seafood dealers obtain crabs from fishermen, and these crabs often contain some \"empty shells.\" Not wanting to discard these empty shells uselessly, the dealers inject liquid into them; this not only makes the crabs heavier and appear fatter, but it may also help keep them fresh. And he also didn’t know what liquid was specifically injected. ■Tip: Three ways to identify \"shell-less crabs\". \"I’ve seen such cases in Rizhao as well, but not very often.\" ”Mr. Shen said, “Currently, crabs weighing over 250 grams cost around 40 yuan per 500 grams. Even after the festival, it’s rare to find crabs priced below 35 yuan per 500 grams. If the price is significantly lower, it’s definitely not a good quality crab. Also, whether they are empty-shell crabs or not, it’s best not to buy dead crabs.” ” Mr. Shen suggested three methods for identifying \"empty-shell crabs\": The simplest one is to check for any holes; generally, crab shells or their umbilical areas do not have holes, and if there are holes, it’s likely that someone has tampered with them ； Secondly, you can squeeze the crab’s pincers. Unless the large pincers are hard, if the other pincers become soft when squeezed, then it’s definitely not a plump crab. If the vendor doesn’t allow customers to pick the crabs themselves, that’s even more evidence of a problem ； Finally, there’s the leg-pulling test: with a good crab, pulling lightly on its legs results in a noticeable resistance; with a poor-quality crab, the resistance is minimal, and it’s even possible to pull the legs off.

Reasons why a crab is empty inside with no meat: 1. The crab is dead, and its meat has been liquefied by its own proteases. 2. Crab larvae are taken out for sale right after they have molted; such crabs may be of a certain size, but there is no meat inside them. This type of crab is generally known as water crab; it’s great for making congee or seafood soup, but it cannot be eaten raw as it has no meat. 3. The crabs have been kept in the seller’s pond for too long and have become emaciated from hunger. When buying crabs, don’t just look at their size; also weigh them in your hand – if they are too light, it’s just an empty shell. However, if it feels heavy, it might be a very fresh water crab. You can gently press on the second shell from the bottom of the crab’s belly; this is the best way to see whether there is enough crab meat inside

Crabs live in water and feed on the carcasses of dead fish, dead shrimp, and other such animals; as a result, certain bacteria can infect them. Especially river crabs, which mostly live in polluted rivers and ponds, have a large amount of germs on and inside their bodies. Live crabs can expel bacteria from their bodies through metabolic processes ； Once a crab dies, the bacteria in its body multiply rapidly and break down the crab meat; that’s why the amount of meat decreases after the crab dies!