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Crostacei
Crustaceans
Appears in
Most edible crustaceans, including lobsters and crabs, are decapods, meaning they have five pairs of legs (the term decapod means “ten feet”), one of which is sometimes enlarged into a claw. Generally, the front two pairs of legs are pincers, and the back three are for crawling and swimming.
Crustaceans should be purchased as soon as possible after harvest. The longer they are in captivity, even alive, the more muscle mass they lose. (This is why the meat may seem to have shrunk when a lobster claw is cracked open.) The flesh of crustaceans breaks down very rapidly after death; over time, the flesh actually liquefies so that when the shell is opened it runs out as a transparent mucus.