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Why crab is good for you

No wonder crab rarely appears on the home cook's shopping list. The "dressed" ready-prepared sort is often chilled into taste-destroying oblivion, shelled claw meat costs a king's ransom, tinned crab is but a shadow of the fresh article, and the prospect of wrestling with an intact armour-plated crustacean can seem daunting. Shelling crab is actually pretty easy, and you'll be rewarded with sweet, white claw flesh that knocks the spots off lobster, and brown meat that delivers the very essence of crustacean flavour. An easy way to deal with cooked whole crab is to break off the claws, put them in a strong plastic bag, and whack it with a rolling pin. This stops shrapnel from shooting all over…

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Featured

 This crab could save your life - if humans don't wipe it out first

Few people in the world are aware their wellbeing may one day depend on a blue-blooded crab that looks like a cross between the facehugger from Alien and a gigantic louse. Fewer still realise this ancient creature now faces its greatest threat in more than 450m years. The American horseshoe crab outlived the dinosaurs and has survived four previous mass extinctions, but is now menaced by the pharmaceutical industry, fishing communities, habitat loss, climate change and, most recently, choking tides of red algae off the east coast of the United States.

Articles of Interest

When the Horseshoe Crabs Are Gone, We’ll Be in Trouble

Anyone who gets a flu or Covid shot, childhood immunization, heart stent or hip replacement — and that’s almost everyone — is protected from exposure to potentially lethal contaminants known as endotoxins by a test that uses what might seem like an odd ingredient: the blue blood of the horseshoe crab.

Why everything eventually becomes a crab

There’s some truth to the meme claiming that all crustaceans are evolving into crab-shaped beings.

A Bite of Bitter Crab

Hopefully you've never bitten into a delicious hunk of snow crab meat and instantly spit it out because instead of crab you tasted... aspirin?! If you have, it might have been crab meat infected with a species of Hematodinium, a parasitic dinoflagellate that is the cause of Bitter Crab Disease in cold-water crab species.

A horseshoe crab: it is only when you see the shell wet from the water, close up, that you know they are real

They have milky blue blood that can detect toxins – and people in lab coats want it.

Blue Crab

Prized by humans for their sweet, tender meat, these wide-ranging, ten-legged crustaceans are among the most heavily harvested creatures on the planet. Their scientific name, Callinectes sapidus, means "savory beautiful swimmer."

Crab: A High-Vitamin Food Of The Sea

We have greatly under-appreciated the value of the crab as a food source. Dr. Price writes, “Recent studies on the vitamin content of crabs have shown that they are among the richest sources available.” However, as with other animal foods, native peoples did not eat crab the way we typically eat crab. Among traditional peoples, all the edible parts of the animal are consumed. Although Dr. Price does not specifically mention this as the case for crab, it must be that the internal viscera were eaten because this is where the fat-soluble vitamins are located.

Crabbing in Season: Unlocking Health Benefits

Crabbing is a popular recreational activity that not only provides a fun outdoor experience but also offers a chance to savor a delicious and nutritious seafood delicacy. Crabs are a rich source of essential nutrients, making them an excellent addition to a healthy diet.

Crustacean Decimation Due to Climate-Change-Driven Cannibalization

Officials suggested that a combination of climate change and some kind of crustacean health crisis might be to blame—Alaska is the fastest warming state in the U.S.. They posited that the warming waters of the Bering Sea forced the cold-loving crustaceans into increasingly small pockets of frigid water, leaving them more susceptible to hunger, disease, and predation.

Dissecting the Pain That Crabs Feel

Recent studies have shown that crustacean neurology is indeed similar to vertebrates, which points to a likewise experience of pain as in humans.

Health Benefits of Eating Crab

Don’t get crabby when we tell you you’re probably not eating enough crab in your diet. Crab is a delicious seafood choice that many enjoy, whether indulging in rich crab cakes, crab legs, salads, and a multitude of other recipes. Not only is crab a delicious crustacean, but it is also a great source of health benefits, so you need to make sure you’re getting some of it in your diet.

Horseshoe crab blood is rare but crucial for medicine, so this scientist came up with a solution

Horseshoe crabs are crucial participants in modern medicine. This 500-million-year-old species’ bright blue blood will clot in the presence of bacterial toxins that can cause septic shock in humans. Pharmaceutical companies use the stuff to test intravenous medications for these clot-causing substances before the drugs enter our bodies. They use it so much in medicine that horseshoe crab populations are at risk.

Is Dungeness Crab Good for You?

Dungeness crab is a low-calorie, high-protein food, making it an excellent choice for those looking to maintain or lose weight while ensuring they get enough essential nutrients.

More Crabs!: Scientists Discover A Way To Help Dying Coral Reefs

For many reasons, including climate change, coral reefs are dying around the world. But scientists say some crabs eat coral-choking seaweed and algae and may help with restoring coral reefs.

What Is Imitation Crab and Should You Eat It?

Imitation crab is made from surimi, which is deboned fish minced into a paste with other ingredients. It’s an affordable alternative, but highly processed and low in certain nutrients.

What NOT to Order: Joe's Crab Shack is Swimming in Trans Fat

When you think of seafood, "healthy" is a word that comes to mind, but it truly depends on how it's prepared. Case in point: this morning the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a nonprofit watchdog group, just announced that Joe's Crab Shack has many entrees on their menu that provide an entire week's worth of trans fat thanks to their margarine blend, which is made with large amounts of partially hydrogenated oil.

Why do crab and prawn shells go red after they have been cooked?

A crustacean’s exoskeletons contain several chemicals called pigments, which give the crabs and prawns their colour. One of these is an orange-ey pigment called “astaxanthin”. This is a member of the family of pigments that is responsible for colouring many of the yellow, orange and red animals. When the crustaceans are alive, the astaxanthin is tightly wrapped up and trapped by a special protein called “crustacyanin”. This is why live crabs and prawns usually look bluish-grey.