Can you eat green mantis shrimp?

Generally speaking, the fattest time for mantis shrimp is April and May every year. During this period, the mantis shrimp are particularly fat. This is the time when mantis shrimps lay eggs, which are especially delicious. Next is the fishing season, so it's hard to find plump shrimp in the summer. When mantis shrimps are at their most delicious, you can see people holding mantis shrimps everywhere. However, some people have encountered this situation: the mantis shrimps have turned green. What is the reason?

The greening of mantis shrimp may also be related to the following situations.

First, some mantis shrimps turn light green after being cooked. This is because they feed on plankton and algae and are caught before they have fully digested the algae. Such mantis shrimps are harmless to the human body and do not affect consumption. Most mantis shrimps turn light purple after being cooked.

Second, the vendors put chemicals in the containers containing the mantis shrimps and then added oxygen, which would make the mantis shrimps active.

Third, it is possible that this mantis shrimp is contaminated, and the green color indicates that it contains a large amount of copper.

Fourth, there may be unexpected situations such as illness during transportation. Industry insiders said that the specific reason for the greening can only be known through testing, but before the reason is clear, it is recommended that citizens should not eat it.

So how should we choose mantis shrimp?

How to tell whether a mantis shrimp is dead or alive?

The freshness of mantis shrimp is closely related to its taste. Because the meat of mantis shrimp, like crabs, is basically protein, it will deteriorate quickly after death. If you buy stale mantis shrimp, after steaming them, there will often be nothing but a fishy smell.

Choosing mantis shrimp requires careful observation. First, the back of a live mantis shrimp is arched, it will not lie flat there; second, the eyes of a live shrimp are particularly bright and emit a green light, which appears clearer after being taken out of the water, while the eyes of a dead shrimp have long lost this color.

Then look at the tail. The tail of a live shrimp is open, while the tail of a dead shrimp is closed. Next time when you go to the market to buy shrimps, ask the merchant to pick up a shrimp and observe its tail, then you will know whether the shrimp is fresh or not.

How to distinguish male and female mantis shrimp?

Some people like the plump and firm meat of male mantis shrimp, while others like the delicious and fragrant roe of female mantis shrimp. So, how to distinguish between male and female becomes a big problem.

Male mantis shrimp have a copulatory organ used for reproduction. Located on the abdomen, please look carefully in front of your thumb, there are two small thin leg-like things, which are the male mantis shrimp.

If you see a thick black line in the middle when looking from the front, it means it has seeds. It's the mother's.