January 09, 2005

• Depends on the variety, I think. Coconut crabs, or robber crabs are a very large variety of hermit crabs, and they most certainly can be eaten. In fact, they are such good eating that they are endangered in some places. I presume that some species are tastier than others. If you wish to do so, that is your choice (crab is super tasty), but I would hope you end the creature's life in a way that minimises its suffering.
• From what I've read about crustacean anatomy, boiling it's as good as anything else. Cutting its head off doesn't help since it has pain centers elsewhere and can feel it.
• A metal rod inserted into the mouthparts to pierce the brain, I've been told, is quickest. Like a bit of coathanger. As far as I can gather, hermit crabs are quite intelligent. They chirp, apparently. I'm a bit squeamish about this idea.
• From a quick flick thru' a couple of books, it appears hermit crabs are 'technically' edible. Something tells me they probably don't taste as nice as the usual 'edible' crabs. Robber crabs grow very large, so perhaps they are the exception to the rule?
• That destroys the main brain, but not all the pain centers. So it's still feeling the fact that you squooshed its brain. Though if it really makes you feel better to do that, go ahead. :)
• This might help.
• How is it feeling it if its main brain is destroyed? Surely those are just signals flashing thru circuits?
• The only reference I saw to Hermit Crab in cuisine was that they use the juice of land hermit crabs to cook coconuts in Tahiti.
• 4 gallons water 1 73 oz. jar of Zatarain's Pre-Seasoned Crab Boil 2 1/2 lbs. small new potatoes, scrubbed and unpeeled 8-10 ears corn 40 lbs. (1 sack) live hermit crabs Pour live hermit crabs into a large tub and cover with water; drain and repeat 3 to 4 times until hermit crabs are clean. Drain off water. Remove and discard any dead hermit crabs and debris. In a very large (about 15-gallon) pot, combine the 4 gallons water and Zatarain's Pre-Seasoned Crab Boil. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil 5 minutes; add potatoes and cook 5 minutes and remove. Stir in hermit crabs and cover pot; return to boiling and add corn. Turn off heat and soak for 30 minutes. Drain and serve. Invite sexyrobot. Makes 8 to 10 servings.
• "..land hermit crabs.." These are the coconut or robber crabs I mentioned earlier.
• Of course you can eat Hermit Crabs. The question you should have asked was, "Will these Hermit Crabs kill me if I eat them?" CrabFilter: Probably Nonlethal
• no. no no no. if you do, you will be eating a very valuable, 40 to 50 year old pet.
• Thats extremely interesting SideDish, I had no idea they lived so long. Wonder if they would make a good dorm-room pet? Assuming of course that you have a fairly quiet roommate.
• I figured they were quite old. This goes along with my plan to eat a 15 pound lobster by 2006. I guess I just like asserting my dominance on the food chain.
• Damn straight Musingmelpomene. If God didn't want us eating animals, he wouldn't have made them out of meat.
• Bondurant, gods are a constructed fiction. You should recall that humans are also made of meat.
• Indeed, bondurant. Vegetables are what food eats. Coppermac, have you been talking to one of your mothers again?
• hmmm...soylent green *drools* /simpsons
• Hey, eat all the meat you want. I just think eating only non-human animals is silly.
• I've always wondered how a human would taste. For about a dozen reasons (including DNA similarity, dietary similarity, and similarly sedentary lifestyles) I think people would taste a lot like pork. While (and I hope this goes without saying) I would never hurt someone to find out, if someone had somehow willed their body to be eaten by the curious, or somesuch, and a judge actually let it happen, I'd definitely try it. It'd be a lot more ethical than eating an animal who didn't volunteer for it. :) And since I'm obviously down with one, I'd be down with the other.
• Oddly, I think i'd be more comfortable eating human flesh than a rat or similar.
• I keep hermit crabs as pets, and though I haven't eaten them, I did once have to boil a shell with a dead crab in it to get the remnants out. Smelled a LOT like when you boil king crab, but maybe more pungent and "fishy." In any case, it put me off eating crab in restaurants for maybe a year or two. I have nothing against eating animals, by the way, but I wouldn't eat a pet. Whenever someone mentions the whole "Some Asian countries eat dogs" thing, I always make the point that I'd eat dog, but I wouldn't eat a dog I knew.
• The taste of human depends very much on the diet of that human.
• I know that coming from someone who enjoys eating whalemeat, this might sound hypocritical, but I think there is something very wrong with looking at the pets in a shop and wondering if one should buy a pet crab for food. Slippery slope, peeps. What's next, kittens?
• What's next, kittens? Pet whales?
• Hmmm. Eating whales is a little bit further up the no-no scale than eating little ky00t chirping hermit crab. Death to the heretic!!
• Crustacean is just a fancy word for bug. I try not to eat bugs if I can help it, but YMMV.
• Seems I recall an National Geographic or Nova on cannibalism, and the consensus was that humans taste very much like pork, even going so far as (and I remember this quite clearly) the word for human meat meant for eating being referred to as translating back as "long pig." Which figures.
• I can confirm that roasting human smells like pork. I noticed this when visiting the cremation ghats in Varansi, India. Smells like a barbecue. Hungry dogs come from all over, drawn by the aroma. As to the topic at hand, I find crabs the tastiest of animals. I agree that they are really large insects, and often think that I should have fewer qualms about eating them for this reason, but truth be told, I'd rather eat tofu than kill one.
• "I find crabs the tastiest of animals." Me too, & lobster. I feel really, really bad about eating them, but I simply cannot give up eating them. I still eat fish & oysters, mussels, crab & crayfish. I feel horrendously guilty, but I am afraid they simply taste too good. This is another reason why I am not a very committed Buddhist. Actually, I think crabs are a little bit higher up the scale than bugs. There'll be a real problem when we make contact with the crab people of Fomalhaut Alpha in 2012, I'm thinking. (Either that or the squid people of Algol VI). Human meat was termed long pig by the Papua New Guinea cannibals, IIRC. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Ed Gein said that it really depended on the specimen what the actual flavor was. I'll pass unless I'm stuck in the Andes with a rugby team. Remember that bit out of Dead Man (with Johnny Depp) where Lance Henriksen was munchin' on Michael Wincott's roasted arm? I laughed.
• monkeyfilter: Hungry dogs come from all over, drawn by the aroma
• In Chinese, the euphemism for cooked dog meat was "wu3 xiang1 rou4" or five-fragrant meat. The euphemism for human meat is "shi2 xiang1 rou4" or ten-fragrant meat. So apparently dog meat tastes better than pork, and human meat better than dog. I love crab meat too. And my favourite way of eating lobster is in bisque, where the fishy flavour is very strong. That's why I'm not a very devout Buddhist myself.
• My Buddhist philosophical leanings are very much in line with my (occasionally faltering)vegetarianism, but I've noticed that a lot of Buddhists do eat meat. I just wish crabs (and lobsters and fish) weren't so delicious. I could never eat pork, beef or chicken again and be fine with it, but sweet, succulent crab...mmmm. My weakness for crab is but one item on a long list of things that make me a lousy Buddhist.
• Some Buddhists eat meat, some do not. It is all relative. *grins*