If you buy the crabs tied with string, when you keep them, you have to untie the crabs first, then put them into the basin.

Be careful not to layer them, then add water up to where the crab's mouth is, if the water is too deep the crab will suffocate and die from lack of oxygen. Then put the crabs in a ventilated and cool place, if the container is high enough there is no need to cover it.

At night, pour half the water out of the pot and refill it, repeating this each night.

By the fourth day, feed the crabs a small amount of crushed hamachi, small fish or shrimp skin. When temperatures are not too high, this method of preservation usually lasts more than five days.

Also, it is still necessary to check the crabs daily and eat any that are not vigorous enough.

If you can't eat them all within a week, you can't use the above method.

This is where your unused bathtub can come in handy, as it is large enough and has smooth walls so that the crabs can't escape. Put the fresh crabs gently into the bathtub, filled with water just above the crabs, so that the crabs can breathe when standing up, and put a small amount of small fish and shrimp in the water. This way the crabs can survive for more than 7 days or even longer, and the survival rate of good quality crab storage can be more than 95%.

Special reminder: If you don't eat them right away, please don't ever brush them, or the crabs will die easily.

Tips for identifying the freshness of crabs

① Touch the eyes of the crabs with your hand to see if they blink, and blinking means they are alive.

② Put the crab into the water, see if the mouth of the crab will spit bubbles, spit bubbles indicate freshness. Be careful not to put the bundled crabs into the water for a long time, as the lack of oxygen in the water will cause the crabs to suffocate and die soon.

3) Straighten the smallest claw of the crab to see if it can bend naturally, if it can, it means the crab is fresh.

④ Unbundle the crab and see if it crawls on the ground, if it does, the crab is very energetic.

What is the best way to pick a male or female crab?

Since ancient times, there has been a saying that crabs should be picked in September when the yolk of female crabs is plump and the crab paste of male crabs is not yet formed.

By October, female crabs have already spawned and their yolks are gone, while the crab paste of male crabs is just full-grown at this time, which is the most delicious, so choose male crabs at this time.

The standard for judging male and female crabs is to look at the belly of the crab, which is usually triangular for male crabs and round for female crabs.