What is the difference between male and female hairy crabs? When is the best month to eat male and female hairy crabs?

We all know that hairy crabs are a popular delicacy. They can be cooked in a variety of ways, such as steamed, boiled, or stir-fried. They are delicious and have high nutritional value. Many people like to eat hairy crabs, especially in autumn. Hairy crabs are divided into male and female. So how do you distinguish between male and female hairy crabs? Let's take a closer look!

How to distinguish male and female hairy crabs

Look at the abdomen

It's very simple, just look at the crab's abdomen. There is a crab navel on the crab's abdomen that can be opened. The shape of the crab navel of male and female crabs is different.

The navel of a male crab is shaped like a pagoda, while the navel of a female crab is round.

The easiest way to tell the difference between male and female crabs is to look at the appearance of their abdomen.

Taste

Male and female crabs also have a big difference in taste. Autumn is the season for crabs to reproduce, and since female crabs have to bear the heavy responsibility of reproduction, their gonads will mature first.

Around the ninth month of the lunar calendar, female crabs are the most mature and plump. At this time, there are large patches of orange-red crab roe in the body of the female crab. The texture is firm and the taste is fresh. It has a distinct granular feel and is accompanied by an overflowing fatty aroma.

In the tenth month of the lunar calendar, male crabs are fully grown. Unlike female crabs, the most praised part of male crabs is their crab paste, which is soft and translucent, and tastes unique, soft, greasy, sticky, and delicious.

Therefore, if the crab has orange-red roe, it means that the crab is a female crab. If the crab has translucent roe, then this is a characteristic of male crabs.

When is the best season to eat male and female hairy crabs?

Whether it is a male or female crab, a plump and juicy crab is a good crab! As long as we eat crabs at the right time, eat female crabs in the ninth month of the lunar calendar and male crabs in the tenth month of the lunar calendar, we can easily eat delicious crabs!

The male crabs are eaten for their roe: the white, fragrant roe is the most delicious and sticky treat; the female crabs are eaten for their roe: the golden crab roe is fresh and fragrant. If you like to eat crab roe, choose female crabs; if you like fresh and sweet crab meat, choose male crabs. Female crabs are the fattest in August of the lunar calendar every year, and male crabs have the most fat in September.

Now it is autumn and the hairy crabs are plump. It is the season to eat hairy crabs. However, although hairy crabs are plump, they are cold in nature. Remember to add ginger when steaming hairy crabs. Firstly, it can remove the coldness of the hairy crabs themselves, secondly, it can remove the fishy smell of hairy crabs, and thirdly, it can enhance the deliciousness of hairy crabs. You can add some perilla when steaming, it is delicious!

Who should not eat crabs?

1. People with allergies must control their diet, no matter how delicious it tastes, they should not touch it. After eating crab meat, some people with allergies will experience nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and some people will experience urticaria, asthma, and even shock.

2. People with weak spleen and stomach, colds, the elderly, pregnant women and young children should not eat crabs. Crabs are cold in nature and can easily increase the coldness of the human body.

3. Every 100 grams of crab roe contains about 466 mg of cholesterol, which is similar to the cholesterol content of eggs and is a typical high-cholesterol food. The normal cholesterol intake of the human body should not exceed 300 mg per day, so patients with hypertension and coronary heart disease should reluctantly give up and stay away from crabs.

4. Both beer and crabs are high-purine foods. After purine is metabolized in the human body, the concentration of uric acid will rise, aggravating gout. Therefore, patients with abnormal purine metabolism or gout must be careful when eating crabs and beer.

5. Patients with renal insufficiency, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, cholecystitis, and pancreatitis should not eat crabs. Excessive intake of protein and cholesterol will affect the condition and even trigger an attack of such diseases.