Summers in Maryland aren’t summer without crabs. And not just any crabs: We’re talking about the delicate, sweet blue crab bounty of the Chesapeake Bay, whose Latin name Callinectes sapidus means "beautiful swimmer." There are few things that get Marylanders more excited than tearing into a bushel of red-shelled beauties encrusted with crab seasoning, or enjoying the delicacy of a fried soft shell, accompanied by an ice cold Natty Boh.

Marylanders prepare hard shells and other seafood by steaming them, rather than the boiling that is common along the rest of the East Coast and Louisiana. Marylanders will tell you that boiling makes the crabmeat wet, rather than just moist. (Boiling proponents argue that steaming pushes the internal temperature too high and dries out the flesh.) But oddly enough, Marylanders complain that the seasoned boiling water makes the crab taste too evenly seasoned — they prefer the variety in heat and seasoning that comes from tasting the spice that rubs on to the crabmeat from their fingers. As a result, in Maryland, steamed is usually the only option on offer.

Blue crabs can be found in waters as far north as Nova Scotia and as far south as Uruguay, but the crustacean's strongest association has always been with Maryland. According to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, approximately 50 percent of the country’s blue crab harvest comes from Maryland waters.

And they are an essential part of the region’s culinary heritage. "Blue crab is part of the holy trinity of Maryland seafood, made up of oysters, rockfish, and blue crab," says chef Spike Gjerde of Baltimore’s Woodberry Kitchen.

Gjerde is the first Baltimore chef to win the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic, and was raised in Baltimore. He knows his crabs: "Blue crab is really unlike any other crab in the world, thanks to the growing conditions, and the type of estuary we have here," he says. "They are superior to any other crab in my opinion."

The lazy might prefer larger Dungeness crabs from the West Coast, which are much larger and easier to eat. Many restaurants use cheaper pasteurized crab from Asia for their dishes. But not all crabs are made equal. Gjerde notes that other species of crab lack the depth of flavor and delicate texture of blue crabs. "The seasons have a lot to do with it," he says. "The season typically starts around [April] and lasts until the cold weather comes around in November. The seasonality has certainly affected our appreciation for blue crab over the years, and it is why it holds the place that it does in the Chesapeake way of life."

From a scientific perspective, the need for hibernation is the main reason Maryland crabs taste better than other types of crab — and also tastes better than blue crabs from other waters, according to Steve Vilnit of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Fisheries Services. He explains that just like other creatures that hibernate, crabs need to build up fat stores to sustain them through the dormant period. "This gives our crabs a buttery flavor that you won’t find anywhere else," Vilnit says. "To someone that knows what they are looking for, it is possible to tell by eye which ones are from Maryland, but most likely it will be by taste."

LEXICON

Mustard/Tomalley: Found in all crabs, the tomalley, known as mustard in the mid-Atlantic, is the crab’s fat. It can range in color from white to dijon mustard yellow to a greenish color. It is included with most pre-packed crabmeat to enrich its flavor.

Roe: Found in mature female crabs, crab roe is a bright orange color. When steamed it solidifies, and is often used as a topping in Chinese cuisine for dishes like pork and crab soup dumplings, or tofu.

Jumbo lump: These are the large chunks of meat connected to the swimming fins of the crab. It is favored for its presentation and size, and is accordingly more expensive.

Backfin: Backfin meat comes from the body of the crab and broken chunks of lump. It tends to have a more shredded texture than lump and is less expensive.

Apron: This is the flap on the white underside of a crab, which terminates in a point. They can be used to judge the sex and maturity of the crab.

Jimmy: These are male crabs; the point of the apron is long and narrow. Adults have locking spines that allow them to open and shut their apron for mating. These are typically the favorite for consumption due to their size and have higher availability due to higher catch limits.

Sally: Also known as she-crabs, these are adolescent female blue crabs. Their entire apron forms a triangle, and their blue claws are tipped with red. The aprons do not open since they are not ready to mate or carry eggs. Typically these are thrown back due to their small size and reproductive potential.

Sook: Mature female blue crabs are identified by an apron that is the shape of an upside-down U with a triangular point at the end. She also has blue claws tipped with red. Sooks are usually less expensive and end up in the picking houses due to their smaller size. Some say that sooks have sweeter meat than jimmies.

Sponge crab: Sponge crabs are mature females that have fertilized eggs attached to the bottom of their abdomens. In Maryland, these must be thrown back into the water.

Peeler: This is the term used to describe a crab as it prepares to molt and to become a soft shell crab. It is distinguished by a colored line on its paddling fin.

Size classes: There are no industry standards for crab sizes, so they may vary from vendor to vendor. Most are categorized by the distance from point to point on the top shell and sometimes by sex.

There are two systems of size classification. The first uses numbers, with #1 being the largest, heaviest males, #2 signifying smaller males, and #3 labeling the females and smallest crabs. The other system classifies them by small, medium, large, and jumbo; smalls are usually four-and-a-half to five inches across, while jumbos are typically larger than six inches.

Old Bay: The spice served up from the iconic blue and yellow box has become a pop icon. McCormick, the owner of Old Bay, doesn’t publicly disclose all 18 herbs and spices that are in the recipe, but the box lists celery salt, red and black pepper, and paprika. Speculators note the likely ingredients as bay leaves, cloves, allspice (pimento), ginger, mace, cardamom, cinnamon, and paprika. Locals sprinkle it on just about anything, and it’s found in consumables like Baltimore ice cream parlor the Charmery’s Old Bay caramel ice cream, or in Flying Dog Brewery’s Dead Rise Old Bay Summer Ale.

Some locals contend that McCormick changed the spice blend recipe when they purchased it from German immigrant Gustav Brunn in 1990. They claim that since the transition Old Bay has lacked the heat of the 1939 original made by Brunn’s Baltimore Spice Company. But a McCormick spokesperson denies any changes to the recipe since it was purchased.

J.O. Spice: Odds are at a crab house, what's seasoning the crabs is made by J.O. Spice Company, not Old Bay. Established in 1945, the company supplies more than 800 restaurants in the mid-Atlantic, often creating custom blends that vary in saltiness and heat. The easiest way to discern if a restaurant is using J.O. is to examine the salt crystals, which are flaky rather than cubical.

Apple cider vinegar: Aside from crab seasoning, most Marylanders consider apple cider vinegar to be one of the key condiments for crabs. Butter is used infrequently, and cocktail sauce is generally considered a big no-no.

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