Soft-shell crab

Soft-shell crab
Soft-shell crab in New Orleans, Louisiana

Soft-shell crab is a culinary term for crabs which have recently molted their old exoskeleton and are still soft.[1]

In the United States, the main species is the "blue crab", Callinectes sapidus, which appears in markets from April to September.[2] In Japan, various species are used to make sushi such as maki-zushi or temaki-zushi;[3] the Japanese blue crab (Portunus trituberculatus) or the shore swimming crab (Charybdis japonica) is typically used. In Italy, the soft-shell of the common Mediterranean crab is a delicacy typical of the Venetian lagoon (called moeca in the local idiom).[4]

References

  1. ^ CiCi Williamson, Garry Pound & Willard Scott (2008). "Shellfish and fish". The Best of Virginia Farms Cookbook and Tour Book: Recipes, People, Places. Menasha Ridge Press. pp. 60–87. ISBN 9780897326575. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=pnuFW6zT0T8C&pg=PA63. 
  2. ^ Delilah Winder & Jennifer Lindner McGlinn (2006). "Fried soft-shell crab". Delilah's Everyday Soul: Southern Cooking with Style. Running Press. pp. 111–112. ISBN 9780762426010. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=lhyS9nigr00C&pg=PA111. 
  3. ^ Ole G. Mouritsen & Jonas Drotner Mouritsen (2009). "Sushi à la carte". Sushi - Food for Eye, Body and Soul. Springer. pp. 202–250. ISBN 9781441906175. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=RJxuV-0eT4UC&pg=PA226. 
  4. ^ "Moeca (soft-shell crab)". Parco Alimentare Venezia Orientale. http://www.parcoalimentare.ve.it/dati/prodotti/tradizionali/en/ittici/moeca.htm. Retrieved January 19, 2011.