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vernacular accompanies
these crustaceans and describes their life stages:
Peelers are about
to "peel" their hard outer shell. The paper-thin new
shell makes the crab very easy to eat, providing a delicacy
to diners without the work of picking the sweet, white
meat from a typically hard shell
Pink Sign is a pink
dot that appears on a crab's back fin about a week
before it begins to molt. It is the appearance of a new
shell inside the one the crab is about to shed.
Busting describes a
crab that is emerging from its old shell.
Softshells have
emerged from their old shells and now have a very thin,
soft shell. Softshells are delicacies that are eagerly
awaited by crab lovers each season. Softshell season is
marked by the first full moon in May. It continues
through early fall.
Papershell crabs
are softshells whose shells have stiffened some.
Buckram crabs are
at a stage following papershell when the shell is
starting to harden but is still pliable.
Hardshells have
hardened shells, usually within 4 days after shedding.
Sponge Crab is a
female crab that has an egg mass on her abdomen. Sponge
crabs cannot be harvested so as to ensure many
productive crab harvests in the future.
Keeper is a crab
that is big enough to keep, usually around 5 inches.
Doublers (also Buck and
Rider) are two mating crabs, moving as a unit, with
the male above and female below.
Picking is the art of eating a steamed hardshell
crab.
Types of Crabmeat
Lump are the
largest pieces of meat from the body, adjacent to the
backfin. The most expensive form of crabmeat.
Backfin is the
white body meat including lump and large flakes. Used
for crab cakes and crab imperial.
Special are flakes
of white body meat other than lump. Good for crab cakes,
soups, casseroles and dips.
Claw meat is
brownish meat from the claws. Best for soups and dips,
its the least expensive type of crab meat. |
