Can you eat frozen crabs?

If there are any leftover crabs, people usually put them in the refrigerator. But in fact, crabs are a relatively delicate food ingredient, and there are certain requirements for their preservation. If the crabs are not stored and handled properly, they may become inedible, which will result in waste. Moreover, eating improperly stored crabs is also harmful to the human body. So, can crabs be eaten after being frozen?

1Can you eat hairy crabs that have died in the refrigerator?

Whether the hairy crabs can still be eaten after they die in the refrigerator depends on the specific situation.

Dead crabs in the fresh-keeping layer cannot be eaten

The temperature in the refrigerator's fresh-keeping layer is relatively high, which can keep vegetables and fruits fresh, but it cannot inhibit the activity of bacteria very well, and it does not have a strong inhibitory effect on the enzyme activity in the hairy crab's body. Therefore, after the hairy crab in the fresh-keeping layer dies, a large number of fungi will still breed, and some histamine will be decomposed and released in the body, which is toxic and cannot be eaten.

Can you eat hairy crabs that died in the freezer?

The temperature of the freezer layer of the refrigerator is generally below 0, which has a strong inhibitory effect on the activity of fungi and enzymes. The hairy crabs stored in this layer will be frozen quickly. Therefore, the hairy crabs are frozen to death, and there will be no fungi in their bodies, and no toxins will be produced. This is also the main method of long-distance transportation of hairy crabs. You can eat it with confidence.

2How to tell if hairy crabs are dead

1. Look at the color: The back of a fresh crab is bright red and the abdomen is bright white after being cooked, while the back of a dead crab is dark red and the abdomen is grayish white.

2. Smell: Live crabs have the smell of fresh seafood after being cooked, while dead crabs have rotten meat, and the rotten meat will have a particularly pungent smell after being cooked, which is different from the sour smell of spoiled food.

3. Pinch hardness: The shell of a live crab is hard after being cooked, and it will not dent when pressed by hand. However, the shell of a dead crab is soft because it has begun to rot, and it will be pressed down by light pressure.

3 How to preserve hairy crabs without dying

Live at room temperature

The hairy crabs are actually very resilient. Just put the crabs you bought in clean water for a few minutes to absorb the water, then put them in a spacious basin or box, and sprinkle some water in it regularly to ensure the humidity of their living environment. Generally, if the room temperature does not exceed 25 degrees, they can survive for 3 to 5 days. If you feed them some food, they can survive longer and they will not be very thin.

4How to choose fresh hairy crabs

1. Touch the crab eyes: Crabs are quite alive. When you touch their eyes, they will immediately retract into their eye sockets, and will stretch out again when you take your hand away.

2. Turning over: Fresh crabs are very active. For example, if you turn a hairy crab over with its belly facing upwards, a fresh crab will be able to turn over quickly by itself.

3. Look at the foam: Crabs have the habit of spitting out foam. Put the crab in a dry place. If it can spit out a lot of foam, it means it is alive.