THE AMERICAN CRAB INDUSTRY 629 



the meat is dumped into a wire basket made of stainless steel and washed with 

 a cold water spray to remove any particles of shell. 



Acid Dip and Brining. The washed meat is weighed and then dipped into a 

 weak acid solution for 15 seconds. Acetic acid is generally used in preparing the 

 acid dip although some packers prefer citric acid. The acid dip is prepared by 

 adding 2 ounces of glacial acetic acid to each gallon of fresh water, a solution 

 of pH 3.0. If citric acid is used, it is in about the same proportion and pH. There 

 is some variation in the strength of the acid solutions used by diflFerent packers. 

 The strength of the acid dip is maintained by the addition of fresh acid after 

 each 100 pounds of crab meat are treated. 



When the crab meat is removed from the acid bath, it is drained for a few 

 minutes to eliminate the excess acid solution. The leg and claw meat are im- 

 mersed in a 90° salinometer brine bath for about 15 seconds. The strength of 

 the brine is maintained as nearly as possible throughout its use. The meat is 

 again drained of adhering solution, after which it is ready to pack into cans. 

 The "white" or body meat is seldom given the brine dip as the leg meat absorbs 

 sufficient salt to flavor the canned product. 



Packing and Processing. Crab meat is generally packed in parchment-lined, 

 C-enamel sea food formula, M-pound flat tin cans; occasionally a packer will use 

 /4- and 1 -pound cans for special markets. Large pieces of leg and claw meat are 

 placed in the top and bottom layers; the body meat and broken pieces of the leg 

 and claw are placed in the center. This system of packing gives the can a nice 

 appearance when it is opened. The tops are vacuum-sealed on the cans. They are 

 placed in a retort where processing takes place for 75 minutes at a pressure of 

 230° F (110° C) (6-pounds pressure). This pressure and temperature are very 

 critical and are generally automatically controlled since overcooking adversely 

 aflFects the color, flavor, odor, and texture. The cans are cooled in a spray of cold 

 water as soon as they are removed from the retort. The final operation is labeling 

 and packing into cases which will hold 48 cans. 



Freezing Crab Meat 



According to the reports of frozen fishery products for 1949 there were 814,567 

 pounds of crab products (i.e., both soft crabs and crab meat) in frozen storage 

 December 1, 1949. The holdings on the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts are in- 

 cluded as well as the 3 most popular species of crab, blue, dungeness, and Alaska 

 king. 



The Alaska king crab is usually frozen on board the fishing vessel. It is first 

 cooked, and the legs are packed in 5- and 10-pound waxed-paper cartons and 

 frozen. These packages are then wrapped with some type of transparent mois- 

 tureproof material and marketed. The body meat from these crabs is packed in 

 M- or 1-pound tin containers fitted with a telescope top; these are then frozen on 

 board the vessels. 



Dungeness crab meat is cooked, packed in both waxed cartons and telescope- 

 top cans of the above capacity, and frozen for market. Some packs of this crab 

 meat are placed in hermetically sealed tin containers for freezing and storage. 



Blue crabs are more often frozen when in the soft state. Each individual soft 

 crab is placed in a cellophane bag or some similar container, sealed by heating the 

 opening with a special heating iron. These individual containers are then packed 



