4 Tips to Easily Spot Fresh Crab Meats

These days, crab meats are more expensive than ever before and for that, it is essential that seafood lovers have ideas on how to buy good ones to make sure that they are only getting the best value for their money.

The key in selecting fresh crab meats basically lies in knowing the fundamentals of lifecycle of such crustacean. This is the secret which uncovers the key in why crabs become a disappointment when they look solid and active when you get them freshly from the tank. The key is to know what significant differences between old and new shell crabs. Following are four valuable tips that can make it easier for you.

Tip number 1. Check the color - you know that the crab shell is new if it has a shiny surface coupled with distinctive mottling pattern and bright colors. Older shells on the other hand look dull and weathered with some pockmarks and scratches.

Tip number 2. Watch out for signs of wear - large molar claws are actually a sign you can use to identify whether or not the crab is well fed. Newly molted crabs normally have well rounded molars while old shell crabs have this flattened molar. Smaller teeth in a new shell crab have to be sharp and chiseled too. You can easily tell if it is an old shell crab if it is ground down and rounded. Mud crabs make use of their claw in crushing shellfish and left to slash into flash. A telling part that crabs are busy eating is simply by looking at the molar of bigger right claw. Know more here!

Tip number 3. Look at the underside - the underbelly of new shell crabs look slightly blue and flat whereas older shell crabs look yellowish and there is a bulge on the segments. To give your more tips on how to select the freshest crab meat, check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab.

Tip number 4. Abdominal plate - one of these indications that you can truly depend on that the crab meat is fresh is simply by pressing on the abdominal plate. Empty crabs have lots to give actually while the meat crabs hardly have or little to give. This is actually a sign that you can depend on because the crab might have all the signs of worn out shell but if it is kept for long without food to eat, it would start using its stored energy and the flesh will start to be weak. The moment that the flesh starts to shrink, one way you can know about this is by pressing the abdominal flap and segments of the crab at the same time.