SC - Chinese Crab - Charibdys japonica

[Elaine Koogler]

I hear what you're saying.  We're not sure either...the price escalated quite steeply over
the past year...they were cheaper the year before.  I know that some years, especially if
it's been a very wet year, crabs are even scarcer than usual...and this past spring/summer
were very wet.  This makes it so that the fresh water in the bay moves further down the bay,
reducing the amount of salinity in the bay...or so I've been given to understand.

And the Southern Maryland Celtic Festival is lots of fun...we try to go every year.  Anytime
you'd like to go again, you are more than welcome to crash at our house...we're about 15
minutes from the site.

Kiri

Philip & Susan Troy wrote:

> Elaine Koogler wrote:
> >
> > Thanks for your thoughts.  Yes, I know that they shouldn't be expensive here, but they
> > are, unfortunately.  When we purchased a bushel of crabs for a party this summer, it
> > ran in excess of $130!!!  Yeah, soft shell crabs would probably give us more to work
> > with, but even those are pricey.  And their availability is limited only to the summer
> > months, when they are in that molting/getting a new shell stage.  I also have to admit
> > to getting mental picture of someone with a crab between two pieces of bread, with the
> > legs hanging out!  Softshell crab sandwiches are great!  But they do look TRULY weird.
>
> Sure they do. Mmmmmm. A bug on a bun, as it were, but eminently in
> compliance with the KISS rule of cookery. Elegant, no. Essential? Yes,
> very much so. I always like to go the Southern Maryland Celtic Festival
> whenever possible, because we always have a good time at Highland Games,
> I can buy T-shirts that fit well, and because the guys that in other
> locations would be selling fish and chips also sell, there, softshell
> crabs and chips...
>
> Your crab prices do seem quite high, and I can't decide if it's just
> that I haven't bought them in a while, or if I get them much cheaper for
> some reason. Could the waters off New York and New Jersey be producing
> more crabs than the Chesapeake? Could somebody be farming them
> somewhere? I'll try to remember to look at the prices next time I'm in a
> position to do so.
>
> Adamantius
> --
> Phil & Susan Troy
>
> troy at asan.com
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