Maryland’s location on Chesapeake Bay makes it a superb spot for seafood. The area is known for its oysters — so plentiful at one time that they were eaten at practically every meal. Thanks to new techniques in growing oysters, Americans still enjoy a bounty of the shellfish, both wild and domestically grown. The most famous Maryland seafood, however, is the blue crab. This celebrated crustacean is most often eaten in crab cakes or whole in the soft shell.

Hard-Shell Blue Crab
Even though the blue crab’s Latin name, “Callinectes sapidus,” means “delicious beautiful swimmer,” early English settlers were unwilling to try these unfamiliar sea creatures. Today, however, hard-shell blue crab is a delicacy and is enjoyed in a variety of ways beyond the crab cake. Crabmeat is used in numerous local specialties; you’ll find many different fish stuffed with crab, crab frittata (eggs and crabmeat scrambled together and then baked), and many variations of crab soups and stews, to name just a few.

One of the most famous ways to enjoy blue crab is in a crab cake. Over the hundreds of years that crab cakes have been enjoyed on the East Coast, many different recipes have developed. Some use lots of seasonings (such as Worcestershire sauce, mustard and paprika); others use none at all. One thing all chefs can agree on, however, is that they must use large pieces of fresh crabmeat. The cakes can be pan- or deep-fried, they can be as big as hamburgers or small and served with saltine crackers — and they can be accompanied by everything from lemon wedges, mayonnaise, tartar sauce, hot sauce or mustard. Thanks to their popularity, Americans are enjoying crab cakes in restaurants all over the country and not just in Maryland.

Soft-Shell Blue Crab
Each May, blue crabs shed their shells and for a very brief moment in time, their shells are soft and tender. Since they aren’t available all of the time, there is quite a demand for the soft-shell blue crab. They are considered a delicacy and are enjoyed eaten whole, with the shell intact. Locally, a favorite way to eat them is to eat the whole, fried soft-shell crab between two slices of white bread with mayonnaise. When eating soft-shell crabs, it is also worthwhile to note that size gives a clue to the taste. A small crab is likely to be sweeter and more delicate, while a larger crab will be meatier and more sea-flavored.

Oysters
When European settlers arrived on the East Coast, they were already familiar with oysters, and so they quickly began to enjoy the vast quantity that the Chesapeake Bay supplied them. Today, the most popular way to eat oysters is raw, on the half-shell. They are also consumed cooked, in stews and fried as appetizers. Oyster soup or stew is really a thin, creamy broth. To make it, cooks use the oyster liquor (the watery brine inside the shell) to cook the oysters and then add milk or cream. Locals know that keeping the ingredients simple is the best way to retain the full flavor of the oysters.

Try this Oyster Stew Recipe

from Big Y American Life Magazine, May 2004

---

©Copyright 2012, Big Y Foods, Inc., Springfield, MA, (413) 784.0600
Artwork is for display purposes only and does not necessarily reflect specific items. Not responsible for typographical errors.