I was served a dozen raw oysters the other day and about half of them
had small, live crabs in them. On the one hand it was a sign of real
freshness, but I did not know if this has any relation to the quality of
the oysters. Crabs aside the oysters looked pretty sad, so I sent them
back, but I am curious about the crabs.



--
Peter Aitken

Peter A wrote:
> I was served a dozen raw oysters the other day and about half of them
> had small, live crabs in them. On the one hand it was a sign of real
> freshness, but I did not know if this has any relation to the quality of
> the oysters. Crabs aside the oysters looked pretty sad, so I sent them
> back, but I am curious about the crabs.

Oyster crabs, they're considered a delicacy.

http://www.answers.com/topic/oyster-crab

http://www.biolbull.org/cgi/content/abstract/114/2/146

Sheldon

"Peter A" > wrote:
>I was served a dozen raw oysters the other day and about half of them
> had small, live crabs in them. On the one hand it was a sign of real
> freshness, but I did not know if this has any relation to the quality of
> the oysters. Crabs aside the oysters looked pretty sad, so I sent them
> back, but I am curious about the crabs.

I run across them occassionally in oysters I shuck myself. At first I was a
little put off by them and tossed them out. After researching what they were, I
decided to cook them along with the poached oysters.Think of them as a miniature
soft shell crab. If I was eating the oysters raw, I might have a different
opinion of them.

It's hard to believe that oyster crabs were once removed at shucking plants and
sold separately. Like Sheldon said, they are considered a delicacy.

Oyster crabs are also known as pea crabs. Here's a reference with a pictu

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pea_crab

--
wff_ng_7 (at) verizon (dot) net

Sheldon wrote:
> Peter A wrote:
>> I was served a dozen raw oysters the other day and about half of them
>> had small, live crabs in them. On the one hand it was a sign of real
>> freshness, but I did not know if this has any relation to the
>> quality of the oysters. Crabs aside the oysters looked pretty sad,
>> so I sent them back, but I am curious about the crabs.
>
> Oyster crabs, they're considered a delicacy.
>
> http://www.answers.com/topic/oyster-crab
>
> http://www.biolbull.org/cgi/content/abstract/114/2/146
>
> Sheldon

Interesting, thanks for the links, Sheldon.

kili

wff_ng_7 wrote:


<bit of snipping>
>
> Oyster crabs are also known as pea crabs. Here's a reference with a
> pictu
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pea_crab
>
Heh. I learned something new today. Thanks to both you and Sheldon for
the links. Talking about oysters - those frozen ones I bought didn't
kill us - but I think I am going to opt for fresh ones next time (if I
can find them).
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

On May 29, 6:43 am, Chatty Cathy > wrote:
> wff_ng_7 wrote:
>
> <bit of snipping>
>
> > Oyster crabs are also known as pea crabs. Here's a reference with a
> > pictu
>
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pea_crab
>
> Heh. I learned something new today. Thanks to both you and Sheldon for
> the links. Talking about oysters - those frozen ones I bought didn't
> kill us - but I think I am going to opt for fresh ones next time (if I
> can find them).
> --
> Cheers
> Chatty Cathy

Fresh oysters are not always good oysters, grin. On the west coast if
the shells are dark to black they are mainland oysters which have been
tainted with pollution and red tide, where if the shells are quite
white then those are island oysters or upper Vancouver Island oysters,
very good! Fresh oysters exposed to the red tide can kill you if you
are not used to them or they can numb your face and even your fingers
with the toxins, not good. IMHO, the larger the oyster the better it
tastes which is contrary to what many say but I've lived on the
islands for decades and know what I like, LOL. IMHO once again the
best oysters are the 'Lay'(sp) oyster brought over by the Chinese
during the 1800s, which I have gathered many over two feet long.
Needless to say oysters are my most favored food even more so then
crawfish, grin.

Terry Bullard
--
Crayfishing Made Easy
http://www.terrybullard.com/CrawfishMain.html
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