Do Female Crabs Taste Sweeter?

Many crab houses discuss the differences between female, “sooks,” or male, “jimmies” with illustrating the obvious: a bell-shaped apron for the females and an elongated tab for the gents. Also, they mention the larger blue claws for the males and red-tipped like nail polish for the females. Yes, they try to give feminine traits to the females, but the roe or crab eggs make it easy. Sooks produce up to 2 million eggs that grow under the main shell and intestines right after the male fertilizes her. Orange in color, these eggs have a salty-sweet flavor that tastes best raw, similar to fish eggs. An acquired taste for the pros, but a subtle liking from the novice. In fact, most crab cakes, primarily made with female meat, naturally contain roe that gives a sweetness. Is it only the roe that makes the female sweeter or is there more to the story?

Female crabs enjoy the bay waters near the ocean which begins the answer. By swimming out to deeper saline waters, their flesh acquires extra salt, which when caught and cooked brings out the profound crab taste better. Similar to salting a dish to enhance flavors, so does the salt water. If, however the crab has extremely high salt levels, a more umami or meaty taste changes the palate. Coupled with this feature and the roe, female crabs receive a natural seasoning from Mother Nature that gives her sweetness.

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What makes Cream of Crab a Favorite Choice?

Crab fans have no problem picking all the impressive jumbo, flaky lump, and robust claw from the steamed and spicy blue crab. Unbelievably, but sometimes true, a few crabs get left over for the fridge. This unusual occurrence gave home chefs a beautiful option. Whisk up a delightful soup with all the bay’s key players for a dinner starter or costar with the entrée. With this in mind, you scroll through the possibilities, and notice you can save time by ordering online, a fresh batch of a crab soup. However, you become fixated on a cream of crab recipe. Here’s a sample…

Choosing your ingredients requires a traditional flare. Forget diets and live a little. Load up the counter with ¼ cup unsalted butter, 1 medium yellow onion, 1 cup wheat flour, 4 cups of whole milk, 1 tsp. Old Bay, ½ tsp. parsley flakes, 1 pound Maryland Blue Crab Express Lump Crab Meat, and 3 tbsp. cooking sherry. Yes, time-honored ingredients. Go for it!

Let’s cook. 1) Melt butter at medium heat in a 3-quart saucepan. Finely chop the onions and introduce them to the sautéing butter. Continually stir until combined and melted.

2) Add the wheat flour slowly and continue stirring. Pinch in the Old Bay and parsley. Get a whisker and fluff up the ingredients.

3) Splash the ingredients with the whole milk. Not all at once, but slowly. Bring the soup to a boil.

4) Finally, fold in the lump meat, but carefully as to not break apart impressive chunks. Reduce the heat and let simmer as you add the sherry. Turn the heat to low and occasionally stir to make sure it’s not burning on the bottom.

5) Now the best part: ladle a healthy bowl for your guest and sprinkle the soup with Old Bay, not the guest! Fans love cream of crab for it’s rich flavor and buttery crab meat. Bon Appetit!