How to tell if a crab is fat or thin? Where can you tell if a crab is fat or thin?

Crab is a popular delicacy. It has various cooking methods, delicious taste, tender meat, and rich nutrition. It is deeply loved by people. Many people often eat crabs, especially in autumn. The quality of crabs will affect the taste and texture of crabs. Generally, fat crabs will taste better. So how to tell whether crabs are fat or thin? Let's take a closer look!

What does crab fatness and thinness mean?

The fatness of crabs refers to whether the crabs are plump, how much meat they have, how much crab roe they have, etc.

When we buy crabs, they are generally divided by weight, that is, they are divided into sizes such as three taels, four taels, and five taels. The larger the crab, the more expensive it is.

However, some crabs, although large in size, are not tasty. Their stomachs are empty, with very little crab roe and crab paste, and the crab meat is not full. This kind of crab is the so-called "thin".

On the contrary, some crabs look small, but they are actually rich and mature with yellow roe inside. These crabs are very fat crabs.

How to tell if a crab is fat or thin

Weigh

If two crabs appear to be about the same size, we can hold them in our hands and weigh them separately.

A heavier crab means it is fuller and has real ingredients in its belly. Such a crab is a good and plump crab.

Thickness measurement

How can we distinguish crabs of similar weight and size?

It's also very simple. Look at the thickness of the crab's belly. The thicker the crab, the fatter it is. If the belly is bulging, it means that the crab is mature enough and contains real roe.

Look at the red mark

Another method is to look at the crab's abdomen to see if there are any orange-red marks.

The crab's belly is white. If the crab is very fat, we can see a faint orange-red mark on the white crab shell, as if the crab roe is about to overflow from the body. Such a crab must be very fat.

In addition, we can also gently press the crab's navel with our hands. If it feels full and firm, it means that the crab is well developed. If it feels sunken and empty, then the crab is relatively thin!

How to choose crabs

The first key to buying crabs is the freshness. If the crabs are not fresh enough, the taste is not the most important thing, but the stomach upset is the most important thing. To identify the freshness of crabs, you can first start from the crab's eyes. When you touch the crab's eyes gently, see if it is sensitive. Then see if the crab's mouth will continue to spray foam like beer, and finally move the crab's legs to see the reaction. These three steps can also indicate the freshness of the crab.

No matter which kind of crab it is, I recommend choosing ones with intact limbs. Try not to buy crabs with missing limbs.

The second most important factor in choosing crabs is quality assurance, and a basic common sense to ensure quality is to pay attention to the growth cycle of crabs. Crabs that are out of season are the least recommended. When buying crab roe, you can hold the crab up to the light and shine it. If the edge of the crab shell is very transparent, it means that the "vertex is not enough", that is, the crab is not full enough, and it is not cost-effective to buy the crab at this time.

Third, the quality of crabs is also related to the place of origin. For example, hairy crabs from Jiangsu are all named "clear water hairy crabs" because the clearness of the lakes is a major competitive advantage of the local area. Although crabs can also be raised in problematic water resources, if you pick up the crabs and smell them, you can smell the smell of bad water quality, which is the biggest characteristic of poor quality crabs. Because there is a lot of stench left on their gills, there is no way to clean them, so it is not recommended to buy them.