This is a marathon week

[Mike]

I've seen a lot of folks on the coast use old-fashioned wringer washing machines to squeeze the meat out of crabs.

[Dave Grubb]

I've seen a lot of folks on the coast use old-fashioned wringer washing machines to squeeze the meat out of crabs.

That doesn't sound like a good idea in my book

That would only "homogenize" the meat and that hard thin tissue between sections of meat----not a result I would like to eat

[Mike]

I never had any of the meat so I don't know what it is like. I always figured it would get a lot of crushed shell mixed in.

[Dave Grubb]

I never had any of the meat so I don't know what it is like. I always figured it would get a lot of crushed shell mixed in.

I haven't a clue of what they might have been doing with it, not only would it break up the big back fin pieces it would be inedible from all the shell trash it had in it.

[Phillbo]

I love oysters but at some point I developed an allergic reaction to them. It's hit or miss. Sometimes I react to them and other times I don't.

Don't even mention Soft Shell Crab. I spent a night in the hospital once after eating them.

[Dave Grubb]

I love oysters but at some point I developed an allergic reaction to them. It's hit or miss. Sometimes I react to them and other times I don't.

Don't even mention Soft Shell Crab. I spent a night in the hospital once after eating them.

I feel for you Bo

[UTAH]

Now I'm wondering what is the specific ingredient or chemistry of oysters causing an allergic reaction.

I'm only allergic to one thing I know of - macadamia nuts. I've researched why to no end. I cannot figure out what it is about the nuts that get me. The dang things make me feel awful within about 10 minutes after their consumption. Simply put, I avoid them.

Hunter

[Dave Grubb]

First, what I have found on tree nuts:

The majority of proteins involved in tree nut allergy belong to protein families of 2S albumins, vicilins, legumins, and nsLTPs. Bet v 1-homologues and profilins are involved in pollen associated tree nut allergy (Fig. 1). Also, oleosins and thaumatin-like proteins were shown to be important allergens.

That is far less definitive than what I found on shell fish:

Shellfish allergies are most often the immune system's response to a protein found in shellfish muscles called tropomyosin. Antibodies trigger the release of chemicals such as histamines to attack the tropomyosin. The histamine release leads to a number of symptoms that can range from mild to life-threatening.

Further to that I found:

Most people with one shellfish allergy are allergic to other species within the same class. For example, if you are allergic to crab, you may also be allergic to lobster, shrimp and other crustaceans. Likewise, if you are allergic to clams, you may also be allergic to other mollusks, such as mussels or scallops.

It is not difficult for me to imagine that the amount of the offending proteins in oysters (or any shell fish) could vary from location to location. I feel sorry for anyone sufferings such allergies!