What people fear most when buying crayfish is encountering dead ones, because crayfish spoil very quickly after death, decomposing to produce toxic substances like histamine and fostering harmful bacteria. Consuming them can easily lead to gastrointestinal infections like diarrhea, which is harmful to your health. When it comes to distinguishing between good and bad crayfish, it's actually quite simple. After being cooked and served, fresh crayfish are bright, plump, with firm meat that has a certain elasticity and chewiness. If there is a strong fishy smell, the crayfish body is limp and straight, the meat is soft and without elasticity, the color has darkened, or the shell has a lot of sticky substance, then it is highly likely that it was made from dead crayfish.
Check the color to tell if it's cooked
Experts say that when citizens cook crayfish at home, they must be cooked thoroughly at high temperature. You can judge if they are cooked by observing whether the cross-section of the crayfish meat has a consistent color. It is recommended to feed them in clean water for about 24 hours before cooking to allow the crayfish to expel metabolic waste.
Don't eat the head; it's full of toxins
"The head of the crayfish must absolutely not be eaten." Experts remind that the head of the crayfish is the part that absorbs and processes the most toxins, and it is also the part most likely to accumulate pathogens and parasites.
In addition, you should eat crayfish in moderation and not consume too much at once, because crayfish are a high-protein food, and some people with allergies may have allergic reactions to crayfish, such as red spots or hives on the body, in which case it is best not to eat them. Crayfish are also an aquatic product high in purines, so people with gout should not eat them.
1. Lobster must be cooked thoroughly
Lobsters in restaurants are cooked with their heads on. In a polluted environment, crayfish have a strong ability to absorb, and they may absorb heavy metals harmful to the human body. After absorbing heavy metal elements, the head will naturally form a "sac" to wrap them up. Similarly, the crayfish head is the part most likely to accumulate parasites, so it should be removed when eating. Because high-temperature cooking can completely kill parasites, crayfish must be steamed or boiled for 30-40 minutes to kill them. If crayfish are processed by roasting, stir-frying, or methods like pickling or drunken preparation, there is a possibility of being infected with paragonimiasis after consumption.
How can you tell if the crayfish is cooked? The method is simple: bite it. If the meat is not soft, has a chewy texture, and juice comes out at the same time, it is cooked. Also, observe whether the color of the cross-section after being bitten is consistent; if it is, then it is cooked.
2. Lobster must be cleaned thoroughly
After buying live crayfish, it is best to keep them in clean water for 24-36 hours to allow them to expel impurities like sand and mud from their bodies and to kill bacteria. When processing the crayfish, the dirty things in the two gills must be removed, because the gill hairs absorb a lot of bacteria. It is best to cut off the gills. The shell should be scrubbed with a brush. The roots of the crayfish's small claws are the easiest places to hide dirt and must be cut off. Also, use a brush to clean the dirt on its body, and the intestinal tract, which hides a lot of sand and bacteria, must also be removed completely. Then, wash it thoroughly 2-3 times with clean water.
3. When eating lobster, check if the tail has mud
If you find mud in the tail of the crayfish when buying it, it means this crayfish lives in paddy fields, ditches, or ponds with a lot of silt. Even if you wash it with a brush, you cannot clean the dirt in the tail, and it will have a strange taste when cooked and eaten. In addition, crayfish that grow in sewage are generally smaller in size and their body color is not so vibrant. Crayfish that truly live in deeper freshwater lakes generally only need to be rinsed with clean water before cooking, without much effort to clean them.
After buying live crayfish, it is best to keep them in clean water for 24-36 hours to allow them to expel impurities like sand and mud from their bodies. When processing the crayfish, the dirty things in its two gills must be removed, because the gill hairs absorb a lot of bacteria. It is best to cut off the gills. The shell should be scrubbed with a brush. The roots of the crayfish's small claws are the easiest places to hide dirt and must be cut off. Finally, it must be scrubbed and washed before cooking.
4. Check if the claws are easily detached
Crayfish washed with "crayfish washing powder" often look very clean and have a bright color. Whether crayfish have been washed with this powder cannot be tasted; it can only be observed carefully. After being corroded, the claws of crayfish are very easy to detach. If the crayfish on the dining table generally have fewer claws, the possibility of them being washed with crayfish washing powder is relatively high. In addition, after being corroded, the color of the crayfish will be very bright, which citizens should also pay attention to.
5. A straight, non-elastic crayfish is a dead one
You can identify dead crayfish from three aspects: first, after cooking, a live crayfish's body will be tightly curled, whereas a dead one's will not; second, the meat of a live crayfish is firmer and more elastic, with a certain chewiness, while a dead crayfish feels soft when eaten; third, the meat of a live crayfish has a slightly sweet taste, while the meat of a dead crayfish is bland and may even have a slight ammonia smell.
Note: "Thirteen-spice lobster" was once popular, but you should be cautious about its hygiene; they grew in smelly ditches by the fields. Fortunately, the "crayfish" popular today are mostly artificially farmed and are relatively much cleaner. However, it is still best to be careful. Eating them raw or undercooked can cause human infection with parasites, so crayfish must be cooked thoroughly, as only high temperature can completely kill parasites.