What are the differences between female crabs and male crabs

Autumn is the best time to eat crabs. Crabs are a delicacy we are very familiar with and are loved by many people. When buying crabs, buy fresh crabs, preferably live crabs. For crabs of the same size, the heavier the better and the fatter they are. Of course, when choosing crabs, there is a difference between male crabs and female crabs. Generally speaking, many people prefer to eat female crabs. What are the differences between female crabs and male crabs?

How to distinguish between female crabs and male crabs

Look at the abdomen

The abdomen of a male crab is triangular and pointed, while the abdomen of a female crab is round or oval. This is the easiest and most convenient way to distinguish between male and female crabs, and people can tell them apart with just one glance.

Look at the crab legs

The female crab's legs only have fine hairs on the front two legs, while the male crab is different, their eight legs are densely covered with hairs.

Look at the crab roe

The orange-red, hard particles in the crab are crab roe. Crabs with crab roe are female crabs, and the crab roe is the crab's ovaries and egg cells. Generally around the ninth month of the lunar calendar, the female crab's gonads mature and the crab meat is at its fullest. Male crabs do not.

Look at the crab paste

The white sticky thing in crabs is crab roe. Crabs with crab roe are male crabs, and crab roe is the crab's accessory gland. Generally, after the tenth month of the lunar calendar, the male crab's gonads mature and the crab meat is the plumpest. But the female crabs don't.

Should I eat female or male crabs in September?

It is better to eat female crabs in September. Female crabs should be eaten in the ninth month of the lunar calendar, and male crabs should be eaten in the tenth month of the lunar calendar.

Because in autumn, the climate gradually changes from cool to cold, in the ninth month of the lunar calendar, the digestive glands and ovaries of the female crabs grow into crab roe in preparation for winter and reproduction in the next year (the crab roe turns into crab roe in spring). At this time, peel off the crab shell and you can see a lot of yellow, sticky things in the crab shell and crab meat. That is raw crab roe. After being cooked, the crab roe turns red, and the darker the red, the stronger the crab.

Male crabs grow more slowly, and it is not until the tenth month of the lunar calendar that fat gradually accumulates and becomes crab roe. When you peel open the shell of a male crab, you will see a white, sticky substance in the same place, which is crab roe. After being cooked, the crab roe becomes translucent. The more crab roe there is, the stronger the male crab is.