Eating Crab Safely to Prevent "Illness from Food"
As the west wind rises and crabs get itchy, autumn is the perfect season for crab roe. Now is the best time to eat river crabs, but there is a proper way to do it. From selecting and identifying the quality and authenticity of river crabs to various cooking methods like steaming, boiling, frying, and stir-frying, and the techniques for savoring them, there is a certain art to it. For healthy crab consumption, it is especially important to pay attention to the four taboos of eating river crabs to prevent "illness from food".
1. Do not eat dead crabs
The parasitic bacteria in a dead crab will multiply and spread to the crab meat, causing proteins to break down and produce histamine. The longer the crab has been dead, the more histamine accumulates in its body, and the more toxic it becomes. Even if the dead crab is thoroughly cooked, the toxins are not easily destroyed. Eating it can cause nausea, vomiting, flushed face, and rapid heartbeat.
2. Do not eat raw or drunken crabs
River crabs live in the mud ditches at the bottom of rivers and lakes and often feed on animal carcasses, so they contain various pathogenic microorganisms. Especially, the infection rate of *Paragonimus* larvae metacercariae in their bodies is high, and they are highly resistant. Simply marinating them in yellow wine or baijiu cannot kill them. Eating raw or drunken crabs can easily induce *Paragonimus* disease, causing coughing and hemoptysis. If the parasites enter the brain, it can also lead to paralysis.
3. Do not eat the stomach and internal organs
Not every part of a river crab is edible. Before eating, you must perform the "four cleans": first, remove the crab stomach, which is a small, triangular, bony package located in the center front of the carapace, containing sand and dirt; second, remove the crab intestine, which is a black line running from the crab stomach to the crab's navel; third, remove the crab heart, which is hexagonal, located in the center of the crab under a thin black membrane; fourth, remove the crab gills, which are the two soft, eyebrow-like structures located on the crab's abdomen, also known as "crab tripe". These four parts are both unclean and have no nutritional value. Eating them carelessly can easily cause food poisoning.
4. Do not eat with strong tea, persimmons, or beer
Foods like strong tea and persimmons contain a large amount of tannic acid, which, when combined with protein, can coagulate to form "bezoars," leading to abdominal pain and vomiting. Beer is considered "cold" in nature. If you drink beer with crab, it adds "coldness" to "coldness," which can easily cause diarrhea. Therefore, it is best to serve crab with "warming" alcoholic beverages like yellow wine or baijiu.
Little Knowledge
According to experts, river crabs are nutritious and rich in protein, amino acids, calcium, iron, selenium, zinc, potassium, vitamin A, B vitamins, etc., which help promote the repair and synthesis of human tissue cells and improve immune function.
Additionally, the "Comprehensive Guide to Medicinal Animals in China" and other traditional Chinese medicine classics detail that crabs have effects such as clearing heat and detoxifying, dissipating nodules and removing stasis, relieving pain and clearing stagnation, regulating menstruation and unblocking meridians, nourishing yin and strengthening the stomach, and strengthening the body and bones. They are also said to have certain therapeutic effects for conditions like bruising, injury, jaundice, lower back and leg pain, and rheumatoid arthritis. Crab meat can also treat children's malnutrition, mastitis, and insufficient milk production in postpartum women, while their shells can be used to treat postpartum uterine contractions and injuries from falls.