I went to the beach today and came home with three crab’s claws to try to preserve. I made sure I sniffed them before taking them home to make sure they weren’t in an advanced state of decomposition. When I got home I stuck them in a mixture of 2/3 white vinegar and 1/3 water. I checked on them after 30 minutes and they looked bloated and had floated to the surface of the vinegar/water.
Did I basically just cook the claw meat in the acid? Should I have preserved them in alcohol instead? Will I still be able to keep and display them?
You pretty much made a ceviche when you put them in acid. Don’t eat it though.
They are probably a total loss at this point. The shells are likely softened and the meat inside is definitely yuck. I doubt you could do anything to them now that would make them suitable for display. Maybe if you have a jar of formaldehyde you could pop them in?
Crab shells are made of calcium carbonate. Mix that with vinegar, and you’re pretty close to the classic vinegar-and-baking-soda experiment. The reason they’re floating is because they’re now full of carbon dioxide bubbles. The crab shell will become soft and rubbery.
That’s about 2/3 speaking out of my ass, to be generous, but I think I’m right :).