[Sca-cooks] chowder

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Also sprach Elaine Koogler:
>You know...somehow I had a feeling that I'd be asked this.  I do know that
>there are he-crabs as well as she-crabs...and I do know that there is a way
>to tell the difference.  But, not being a native of this "neck of the
>woods", I can't tell you what it is.  I know that for steaming, etc.,
>generally folks seem to prefer the male crabs, but evidently in this
>particular soup, the female is the crab of choice.  Maybe someone else on
>the list has a better idea...I think the difference, other than size and
>taste, is evident in the configuration of the underside of the carapace.
>
>Kiri (definitely not feeling crabby today!!!)

I think the actual point of she-crab soup is that at certain times of
the year she-crabs bear roe, little pinkish-orange eggs under the
tail flap, which add a powerful crab flavor to a soup made therewith.
Also a fine pink color. I don't think the US Coast Guard likes
roe-bearing female crabs to be kept if trapped, nowadays, so the
habit may have become semi-extinct...

Adamantius

--
"No one who cannot rejoice in the discovery of his own mistakes
deserves to be called a scholar."
	-DONALD FOSTER