What is Granciporro?
Granciporro generalities
The granciporro ( C. pagurus ) is an extremely delicious marine crustacean.
Equalized only by the spider crab and, in a general sense, by the "molecules", it is perhaps the species of crab most used in cooking in Western Europe but also in Italy.
The granciporro is a fishery product that belongs to the first fundamental food group. It has commendable nutritional characteristics; rich in proteins, vitamins and precious minerals, it is poor in saturated fat and calories. However, a significant content of cholesterol is found and, like all crustaceans, a high allergenic power.
In Italy the granciporro is mainly cooked boiled and is an excellent ingredient for appetizers and warm second courses. Stewed in red can be an excellent dish, a hot appetizer or an accompanying sauce for pasta and polenta.
Did you know that ...
The molecules are nothing more than crustaceans with a soft carapace. This characteristic, shared also by other crustaceans, is only temporary. Crabs, prawns and squills become molecules only for the short period following the change of the carapace.
The shell of the crustaceans, like that of insects, is mainly composed of chitin (a polysaccharide not easily digestible for humans) and ends to thicken and stiffen only after the animal has freed itself of the old carapace.
Molecules (of any kind) are considered extremely valuable because they can be eaten whole, fried, without having to separate the pulp from the external shell. The most famous are crabs but it is not uncommon, in the right season, to come across the molecules of canocchia, of crab, of crayfish etc.
The granciporro lives in the Atlantic Ocean (its presence in the Mediterranean is not consolidated), with challenging depths, on mainly rocky bottoms. With rather permanent habits, the crab-crab moves slowly, is not very aggressive and feeds mainly on small molluscs and crustaceans. Its natural predators undermine it above all in planktonic form and at a young age, except for octopus and octopus, greedy of large crabs.
Having all the somatic characteristics of a crab, brown on the back and clear on the belly, the crab is famous for its remarkable dimensions and for the grandeur of the powerful front claws. Normally does not live over 30 years and does not exceed 15 cm x 10 cm x 3 kg of weight.
The commercial availability of granciporro is linked to professional fishing, not breeding, and is sold more often fresh, alive in special tanks, or less frequently frozen.
Description
Description of the granciporro
The carapace of the adult scales is reddish brown, while the younger ones tend to purple; some may show small white spots. The front edge of the cephalothorax is divided into nine rounded lobes that vaguely resemble that of a "tart". The carapace of the males is 6 cm long and that of the females almost 10 cm, although in exceptional cases they can even reach 15 cm. The width is generally 15 cm or exceptionally up to 25 cm. Ventrally, a gill chamber is present where the gills lie. The first pereiopods consist of large claws, characterized by black tips. The others, used as legs (pointed at the vertex), are covered by small bristles. Anterior are visible antennas, short, eye sockets and mouth. In common with most crabs, the abdomen of the crab is folded under the chest and shows a clear sexual dimorphism: in males it is relatively narrow, while in the female it is wider to house the eggs.
Nutritional properties of Granciporro
Nutritional characteristics of the granciporro
The granciporro is a product of peach that belongs to the first fundamental group of foods (Meat, fish and eggs - sources of proteins with high biological value, specific vitamins and minerals).
Note : it is curious to note that, due to the considerable nutritional differences, in the United Kingdom the two different chemical composition tables for the flesh of claws and of the body of crab are widespread.
Granciporro or Irish Brown Crab | ||
| Nutritious | Chele Meat | Body flesh |
| Power | 78 kcal | 132 kcal |
| Protein | 18.5 kcal | 16.1 g |
TOT Carbohydrates | <0.1 g | 2.6 g |
of which sugars | <0.1 g | <0.1 g |
| Grassi | 0.4 g | 6.5 g |
| of which saturated | 0.20 g | 1.37 g |
| of which monounsaturated | 0.07 g | 3.19 g |
| of which polyunsaturated | 0.11 g | 1.67 g |
| fibers | 0.0 g | 0.0 g |
| Sodium | 548 mg | 348 mg |
The granciporro has a modest caloric intake, deriving mainly from peptides, followed by lipids and finally by carbohydrates. Proteins contain all the essential amino acids in the right quantities and proportions (high biological value), the fatty acids are predominantly polyunsaturated (with a good concentration of omega 3 - EPA and DHA) and simple glucides (in marginal concentrations). It is free of fiber, lactose and gluten, but is rich in cholesterol and histamine.
Unfortunately we do not have sufficiently accurate information concerning the vitamin and salt profile of the crab. It is however conceivable that it makes use of excellent levels of water-soluble vitamins of group B (thiamine or B1, niacin or PP), fat-soluble retinol equivalents (RAE) and colecalciferol (vitamin D), iron, iodine, phosphorus and sodium.
The granciporro lends itself to most diets; the one against hypercholesterolemia (despite the excellent profile in fatty acids) and the allergic to crabs are certainly exceptions. Instead it can be very useful in the low-calorie slimming diet. It has no contraindications for celiac and lactose intolerant. Especially poorly preserved (but not only), it is extremely annoying for the histamine intolerant.
The granciporro is not pertinent to the vegetarian and vegan diet. It must also be excluded from the Jewish nutritional regimes (it is not a kosher food), Muslim (it is a harar food, not halal), Buddhist and Hindu.
The average portion of crab (pulp) is about 80-100 g (approximately 85-105 kcal).
Granciporro in the Kitchen
Gastronomic notes on granciporro
By virtue of its white, tender, tasty and abundant meats, the granciporro is an extremely valuable sea ingredient.
Over 30% of the granciporro pulp is contained in the claws, the remaining 2/3 in the body. The flesh of the claws is clear and delicate, while that of the body is darker and more determined. The male specimens are considered sweeter and the females more tasty.
Granciporro and conservation
Marketed still alive (often in aquariums), as well as lobster and lobster, the dead crab is kept for a very short time. In fact, it tends to empty itself quickly, draining the liquids from the pulp that dries and tends to stink quickly with ammonia.
The increase in nitrogen compounds is actually not entirely attributable to contamination from putrescent bacterial flora. The raw muscle tissues of all the fishery products are known to quickly meet intrinsic enzymatic degradation, with the release of nitrogenous or sulphurous (and therefore malodorous) compounds even before the bacteria spread into the food. However, a stinking crab is not to be considered edible even though, very often, ammonia scents do not correlate with a proliferation of pathogens.
Did you know that ...
It is common to cook live granciporro, as it is sold in oxygenated tanks to ensure freshness.
This habit, rightly considered rather cruel, is often the fruit of a real necessity. In fact, to kill a crab it is essential to stab him with a knife trying to hit the brain. For the uninitiated, in addition to the difficulty in hitting the target (small and protected by a very tough carapace), the cook has to deal with the consequent qualitative loss. Breaking the carapace of a crustacean consequently favors the loss of its liquids during cooking, with a significant worsening of the general organoleptic and taste properties.
Culinary use of crabs
Granciporro is spilled from cooked. The claws must be broken with the claw splitting, while the body, deprived of the upper covering ("lid" of the cephalothorax), can be dissected with the knife in the various chambers. At this point, with the help of a small fork, all the cavities are emptied, taking care not to let the shell splinters pass.
The warm granciporro meat is both an appetizer and a second course. The Catalan of shellfish is very famous, in which it proposes, in addition to the granciporro, a mixture of crustaceans (lobster, lobster, spider crab, scampi, shrimp, prawns, shrimps, shrimps) and abundant raw vegetables. The granciporro pulp salad is seasoned with a drizzle of raw extra virgin olive oil and fresh parsley; it is often used inside the overturned "shell". Connoisseurs add nothing else; someone would like to accompany it to a splash of citronette.
Did you know that ...
When plunging alive crustaceans in boiling water they emit a characteristic noise. Many think it is a lament for pain; it is actually a sound effect caused by the gases and internal fluids of the animal which, due to the increase in pressure (caused by high temperatures), break the joints of the carapace hissing and screeching.
Not enough information is available to determine whether the crustaceans actually have special heat and pain receptors.
Stew with tomato sauce (fresh or preserved), white wine, a little chilli pepper and parsley (the sauté with celery, carrots, onion and garlic is at the cook's discretion), the granciporro is a phenomenal ingredient for hot appetizers and accompanying sauces . Among the most appreciated recipes in red we remind: granciporro stew, white polenta with granciporro sauce, bigoli with granciporro (also in white), mixed brodetto, garganelli with granciporro (also in white), gnocchi with granciporro (also in white ) etc.
Nowadays, even more widespread in the West, cooked granciporro sushi (uramaki, temaki, etc.) is excellent.
In the United Kingdom, France and Spain, granciporro soups such as bisque or bouillabaisse, patés, mousses and hot soufflés are widespread.
Biology
Outline of zoology on the granciporro
The granciporro is an edible marine animal belonging to the Subphylum Crustacea, Order Decapoda, Infraordine Brachyura (brachiuri), Family Cancridae, Genus Cancer and pagurus species; the binomial nomenclature of the crab is Cancer pagurus .
Granciporro distribution
The granciporro is abundant throughout the north-east of the Atlantic Ocean, from Norway in the north to the beginning of southern Africa, on rocky or mixed mud and sand bottoms, at a maximum depth of 100 meters. Houses in cracks and holes in the rock; occasionally also outdoors. Females with eggs tend to sink into mud or sand. Its presence in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea is less relevant.
Great life cycle of the crab
The granciporro reproduces in the winter season; lays up to 3 million eggs. After hatching, planktonic larvae develop in post larva and then in young specimens (with abdomen proportionally more developed than adults). The small crabs stay close to the breaker up to 6-7 cm; then they migrate in depth and remain there. Males, up to eight years old, grow 2 cm per year and then 1 cm up to the maximum size. Females grow slower but get bigger and bigger. The granciporro reaches a maximum width of 15-20 cm (average 11-13 cm) and weighs 3-5 kg. It lives up to 25-30 years, but a century old have been caught.
Diet, predators and dangers of crab
The granciporro feeds on bivalve molluscs and crustaceans. In adulthood it only fears the octopus and the octopus that can capture it in any crevice (even in fishing traps) and break the carapace to eat meat.
The granciporro is not particularly prone to infections but fears some viral, fungal, bacterial and parasitic forms.
Greengrass ecology
The granciporro trade is linked exclusively to professional fishing and cannot be bred. The capture takes place throughout the year by means of pots with bathymetrics between 20 and 100 m. The countries that market most of the crab are Great Britain and Ireland (70% of the world total); consequently supply all of Western Europe.
At the moment granciporro is not considered an endangered species. The legislation does not provide for any fishing period; it simply prohibits the distribution of the females with the eggs (which, however, hardly enter the pots) and the undersized specimens.
It is hoped that the competent authorities do not wait (as almost always happens) for the population density of the species to collapse before adopting a regulation system in the collection.
