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Cooking Mud Crabs: Why the Color Changes

Above is a GIF I created. After writing on crab mentality and the Filipino First Policy--I got inspired to write about why mud crabs change color. Mud crab dishes are one of my favorite foods in Surigao City. The color is dark but when it's cooked, it goes red. The Tavern Hotel is among the best places to get a mud crab dish. 

Now, it's time to do science as a daily hobby. Sure, I'm no chemist or biochemist. However, researching and studying science as a hobby is sure fun. Here's an explanation from The Conversation:

A crustacean’s exoskeletons contain several chemicals called pigments, which give the crabs and prawns their colour. One of these is an orange-ey pigment called “astaxanthin”. This is a member of the family of pigments that is responsible for colouring many of the yellow, orange and red animals.

When the crustaceans are alive, the astaxanthin is tightly wrapped up and trapped by a special protein called “crustacyanin”. This is why live crabs and prawns usually look bluish-grey.

Once you put a crab or a prawn in a pot of boiling water or on a grill, heat destroys the crustacyanin protein.

Then, the orange-ey astaxanthin is released, turning the shell of the crustaceans bright red. In fact, the degree of colour change tells you if the seafood is properly cooked. If it’s not red enough, it’s probably not cooked enough.

This reminds me of how we've got that joke in high school, "If you answered physical change, go back to first year." I still miss two science teachers who encouraged me to, "Never give up!" As I looked into this research, I wish I had taken Hospitality Management instead of  Business Administration. Right now, I even miss Commerce Week until today! 

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