Crustacean meat, sweet and firm, pried from the shell and sold fresh by harbor fishmongers or preserved in salt. A seaside feast includes crab boiled and cracked at table; inland, salted crab is rarer and more prized. The meat dries slowly and spoils swiftly unless salted hard or smoked, making fresh crab a luxury of coastal towns.
Crab
Sweet firm crustacean meat; fresh at harbor, salted for inland trade.