Learning how to open a crab can be a daunting task – just ask Charlie Lewitt.
For Lewitt, a freshman biology major from Massachusetts, last night’s third annual Student Government Association Crabfest was his first experience eating crabs, and while opening the crustacean proved difficult, Lewitt still managed to enjoy the food and the experience.
“Well, I needed help from my friend to originally get the crab open, and I still didn’t do it right the first time,” Lewitt said. “But once I got the crab open, the meat made it worth it.
“Being from Massachusetts, I have had plenty of lobster, but this crab is better than the lobster. It has more flavor; you don’t need the butter like you do with lobster,” Lewitt added. “Plus, I don’t know any other place where it is socially acceptable to wear a bib.”
While last year’s crab supply was drawn from states such as North Carolina and Texas, this was the first year that every crab came from Maryland, according to Dining Services Associate Director Joe Mullineaux.
Lewitt was not the only neophyte hoping to experience the taste of the acclaimed Maryland crabs for the first time. David Olson, a sophomore government and politics and theatre major from Atlanta, grimaced as he gingerly tried to pry open the crab’s shell, but once inside, he enjoyed the taste.
“It can be dangerous, and it is so much work trying to get to the meat,” proclaimed Olson, who has sampled Alaskan crab before. “But the meat is so good. It is so soft and fluffy – without a doubt the best crab I have ever had.”
Every person sits down with a different strategy on how to get to the meat. For sophomore mechanical engineering major Ryan Henderson, the strategy is simple: “You just have to hit it as hard as you can with the mallet and hope none of it gets on your face.”
But for other, more experienced attendees, there are specific tactics that are employed in order to best break open the hard shell.
Peter Kriegsmann earned a degree in government and politics from the University of Maryland University College in 1976 and now works as a volunteer for the English for Speakers of Other Languages program. Kriegsmann likened the cracking of the crab shell to “opening a can of Campbell’s soup” and looked the part of a veteran crab eater as he expertly flipped the crab over and pulled it apart with ease.
“I could do this blindfolded,” Kriegsmann said as he pulled open his second crab. “I love it. It reminds me of being a kid again, and now no one can yell at me for being a messy eater.”
Kriegsmann even brought his own bib, and when asked whether he could eat more than the maximum number allowed of eight, he responded, “Oh, sure, I could do plenty more.”
Senior dietetics major Kevan Mellendick, an Ellicott City native, offered advice to those trying not to look out of place.
“If you know how to eat crabs, you don’t make a mess,” Mellendick said. “Real crab eaters don’t need bibs.”
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