But! wait! Can you eat crabs?
For example: which crabs cannot be eaten, which are the essence, and how to open crabs to eat the most meat?
Don’t worry! We spent a lot of money to buy a lot of hairy crabs and demonstrated them hand in hand. This time, we will make it clear at one time.
First a picture of male and female crabs.
(The navel is rounder is the female crab)
(The navel is a male crab)
1. Crab Gills
Crab gills (commonly known as crab eyebrows) are on both sides of the crab’s head and chest. They look like eyebrows and are gray-white and can be squeezed out of water.
It is the respiratory organ of the crab, because it is necessary to filter the water, some pollutants will inevitably adhere to it, it is very dirty, do not eat it.
It looks like this:
2. Crab Stomach
The crab stomach is below the eyes of the crab, usually hidden in the roe of the crab.
The crab stomach contains the food eaten by the crab, which may contain pollutants such as sediment, so don’t eat it.
It looks like this:
3. Crab Sausage
Right in the crab’s “ass”. The first step in eating crabs is to open the white umbilical cover. The black strip in the middle of the umbilicus, the same as the shrimp line, is the intestines.
It contains excrement, which is very unsanitary and should be removed.
It looks like this:
Small summary:
1. Crab Roe:
Crab roe is the liver and pancreas of crabs. It is yellow or brownish-yellow and pulpy when cooked. Open the crab shell and you can see it.
It looks like this:
Crab roe is high in protein and fat (take hairy crab as an example, the same below), of which the protein content is as high as 24%[2], which is comparable to crab meat. The fat is 17.2% [2], which has a certain relationship with its delicious taste. In its fatty acid composition, more than 2/3 (68%) are relatively healthy unsaturated fatty acids [3].
Tips:
The black film wrapped in crab roe is mainly collagen and can be eaten. If you feel that the taste is not good, you can skip it.
It looks like this:
2. Crab Paste:
The crab paste is the gonad of the crab. Among them, the male crab is the testis, which is milky white after cooking, and is gelatinous and sticky, that is, a lump of white sticky things.
The female crab is the ovary, which is orange-red and hard lump after cooking.
Open the crab shell to see where it is in the middle and rear.
The content of protein, vitamin A, vitamin D and other nutrients in male crab paste is obviously lower [2-3], but it is not bad.
Among them, the protein is 15.4%[2], which is close to that of river shrimp. Fat is 9.8%[2], the same level as eggs. Cholesterol is not high, similar to crab meat.
The mother crab paste is relatively high in cholesterol.
3. Crab meat:
Crab meat mainly includes meat from the body, claws, and legs of crabs.
The crab meat contains more protein (24.2% and 22.4% for male and female crabs, respectively) and less fat (3.4% and 4.2% for male and female crabs, respectively)[2] , minerals such as iron and zincThe content is not low [2].
See more medical books:
1. Home Tools Edition:
Tools: scissors, chopsticks, small spoons
Steps:
(1) Cut feet: Use scissors to cut off the crab’s 8 legs (step legs) and 2 pincers (chelipers).
(2) Open the shell: Break off the small cover of the crab’s back shell (carapace) and abdomen (crab navel).
(3) Visceral removal: Peel off the crab gills, crab stomach, crab intestines and other inedible parts or pick them out and throw them away.
(4) Eat crab roe and crab paste: Use scissors to cut the crab in half from the middle, and use a small spoon or chopsticks to cut the crab body and crab shell Crab roe and crab paste are taken out and eaten.
(5) Eat crab meat:
Crab meat:
Follow the lines and use chopsticks to pick out the flesh of the crab and eat it.
Crab Legs:
Use scissors to cut off the joints at both ends of the crab thigh (long section), and the next section (tibia) has no meat and also cut off the joints, leaving the crab calf (tarsus) and The pointy toes (toes) act as a tool, which is then used to push the flesh out of the crab’s thigh.
Crab Claws:
Crab claws are relatively hard, especially the powerful double claws of male crabs. Use scissors to cut the crab claws into three sections at the joints, use scissors to cut the outer shell of the claws (expanded part) into two symmetrical openings, then break off the hard outer part, and peel the meat out to eat.
2. Rough Handwriting:
Tools: hands, teeth, a “crab shank” with toes
Steps:
(1) Foot removal: Take off the crab’s 8 feet (walking feet) and 2 pincers (chelipeds) by hand.
(2) Open the shell: Break off the small cover of the crab’s back shell (carapace) and abdomen (crab navel).
(3) Visceral removal: Peel off the crab gills, crab stomach, crab intestines and other inedible parts or pick them out and throw them away.
(4) Eat crab roe and crab paste: Hold the two sides of the crab with both hands, break it apart from the middle, and use your hands and mouth to remove the crab body and the crab’s back shell. Pick out crab yellow and crab paste and eat them.
(5) Eat crab meat:
Crab meat:
Follow the lines, take out the flesh of the crab with your hands and mouth and eat it.
Crab Legs:
Use the teeth to bite off the joints at both ends of the crab thigh (long section), and the next section (tibia) has no meat and also bite off the joints, leaving the crab calf (tarsus) and joints. The pointy toes (toes) act as a tool, which is then used to push the meat out of the crab thighs, or suck the meat out with the mouth.
Crab Claws:
Crab claws are relatively hard, especially the powerful double claws of male crabs. Just like nibbling on melon seeds, use your teeth to open the claws (swollen part), then split the two claws apart, and scrape out the claws of the crab claws to eat.
1. Hyperuricemia, gout patients
Cooked crabs have a purine content of 121 mg/100 g[2], which is a medium-purine food[4].
2. People allergic to aquatic products
To avoid allergies.
3. Infants, Seniors
They have weak gastrointestinal digestion, so don’t eat too much.
(Source: soogif)
There are 2 types of people who eat less crab roe!
The cholesterol content of steamed hairy crab roe is relatively high (252 mg/100 g)[2], which is nearly three times that of crab meat.
Therefore, people with dyslipidemia, especially those with hypercholesterolemia, and some patients with hepatobiliary and pancreatic diseases who need to limit their intake of fat and cholesterol [5], should eat less crab roe.
Tips:
If pregnant women are not allergic to crabs and have good gastrointestinal function, they can eat some crabs in moderation on the premise of ensuring freshness, safety, and ripeness.
It is best to use crab meat when eating, and try not to eat do, because crab roe is easy to accumulate heavy metals such as cadmium [6-7].
Contributing Author: Pingping Liu| Registered Dietitian
Reviewer: Chen Shunsheng| Director and Professor, Department of Aquatic Products Processing and Storage Engineering, School of Food Science, Shanghai Ocean University
References:
[1]Chen Liqiao, Du Nanshan. Biology of Chinese mitten crab [M]. Beijing: Science Press, 2017.
[2] Yang Yuexin. “Chinese Food Composition Table Standard Edition” 6th Edition Volume 2 [M]. Beijing: Peking University Medical Press, 2019.
[3] Cao Zhenjie, Fu Chunpeng, Zhou Siquan, Wang Maojian, Li Xian, Wang Hui. Comparative analysis of nutritional components of Chinese mitten crab “crab yellow” and “crab paste” [J] .Aquaculture Science, 2017(2)
[4]Yang Yuexin, Ge Keyou. “Encyclopedia of Chinese Nutrition Science” 2nd Edition (Volume 1) [M]. Beijing: People’s Health Publishing House, 2019.
[5] Gu Jingfan, Du Shouping, Guo Changjiang. “Modern Clinical Nutrition” Second Edition [M]. Beijing: Science Press, 2009.
[6] Lu Lan, Lu Bing, Li Yi, et al. Analysis of the detection results of arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium and chromium in Chinese mitten crabs in Hunan Province [J]. China Health Inspection Magazine, 2019.
[7] Dong Xinyue, Song Chao, Wang Qian, et al. Study on the enrichment effect of different edible parts of Chinese mitten crab on heavy metal cadmium [J]. China Agricultural Science Bulletin, 2019, 35(21).
*The content of this article is for the popularization of health knowledge. It cannot be used as a specific diagnosis and treatment recommendation, nor can it replace the face-to-face consultation of a licensed physician. It is for reference only.
*The copyright of this article belongs to Tencent Medical Dictionary. Unauthorized reprinting by media is prohibited. Illegal reprinting will be investigated for legal responsibility according to law. Individuals are welcome to forward to the circle of friends.