The attractive posture of crayfish can be seen everywhere in
street stalls, lively night markets and food stalls. With the coming of summer, crayfish has become a “fashion item” with high frequency on the night snack table of “foodies”. The feeling of eating lobster, drinking beer and blowing air conditioning with three or five old friends can’t be more enjoyable!
There are still many misunderstandings
about this familiar delicacy. One of the most controversial is: Can head of crayfish be eaten? I heard that crayfish are dirty and have parasites? And heavy metals? “Shrimp yellow” is so attractive. Can I eat it?
1. Purchased from regular channels and must be cooked thoroughly
Crayfish, whose scientific name is “Procambarus clarkii”, originated in the southern United States and northern Mexico, and was introduced to China by Japan in the 1930s. Crayfish have a strong ability to survive and reproduce, even if they live in sewage, they can survive and even reproduce.
In that case, is the crayfish very dirty?
It is reported that the crayfish sold on the market are basically cultured artificially, and the proportion of wild crayfish is very small. In recent years, China’s food safety supervision has become stronger and stronger, and the relevant standards have become increasingly perfect. According to the results of market sampling survey in some provinces and cities in recent years, most of the crayfish sold in the market contain heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic, and the residues of agricultural and veterinary drugs are within the safety limits.
Crayfish contains protein, iron, zinc, copper, phosphorus and other minerals, which are rich in nutrition and delicious. However, if its growth environment is seriously polluted, it may carry parasites in the body, so it is recommended to buy it from regular channels, and it must be thoroughly cooked, so that you can enjoy this delicious food safely.
2. Remove the shrimp line and do not eat “shrimp yellow”
In fact, the head of the shrimp includes the stomach, liver, heart, pancreas and other organs of the shrimp, which need to complete the metabolic function. If there are heavy metals in the growth environment, the heavy metal content of the head of the shrimp is indeed higher than that of the shrimp meat, and it is also the hiding place of microorganisms and parasites. Don’t be too nervous if you have tasted the shrimp head carefully. The frequency and total amount of crayfish eaten by a healthy person in a year are unlikely to cause harm to the body. However, for the sake of safety, it is recommended to eat shrimp meat, especially for young children, pregnant women and the weak and sick. In addition, the shrimp line is the digestive tract of shrimp will have some dropping, or food residues in it, it is recommended to remove the shrimp line.
For crayfish, the head also includes the reproductive organs, the testis for males and the ovaries for females. The so-called “shrimp yellow” is actually the digestive gland of shrimp, that is, liver, pancreas and so on. Because the gallbladder is a detoxification organ, it is also easy to enrich heavy metals and carry some parasites. So, to be on the safe side, “shrimp yellow” should not be eaten! In addition, the ovaries of female shrimps also produce some shrimp roe during the spawning season. It is usually light yellow or golden yellow, rich in protein and lecithin, and tastes delicious, but it is difficult to distinguish from the “shrimp yellow” produced by hepatopancreas. When eating crayfish at ordinary times, the “shrimp yellow” is probably not shrimp roe.
When eating crayfish,
we should try not to go to mobile stalls without relevant food safety certificates, and suggest choosing large and medium-sized restaurants with good reputation to ensure food safety. If you do it yourself, choose the crayfish sold by artificial legal farms, and pay attention to the selection of lively crayfish to ensure freshness. When cooking crayfish, the cooking temperature must reach 100 C, and continue to heat for more than 10 minutes to make it fully cooked. If the crayfish is refrigerated in the refrigerator, the heating time should be extended appropriately.
In addition, uncooked or unclean crayfish, pregnant women, the elderly, children, weak people have poor resistance, eating may cause diarrhea or infection with parasites. Huang Lutong suggested that such people should eat as little as possible or not. Crayfish is rich in protein, if eaten excessively, it will cause digestive stress and indigestion. Crayfish cooking is often heavy and spicy, and excessive consumption will also increase the burden on the stomach. So crayfish must not eat too much, nor eat every day.
