There are a lot different kinds of crabs, so here we describe the differences between them.

BODY CRABS:

Blue crabs (East coast): sold as cooked lump meat

Dungeness crabs (West coast): sold cooked/frozen

Soft shell crabs: entire crab is edible

LEG CRABS:

Alaskan King crabs: better/more costly

Snow crabs: more work/cheaper

Stone crab claws (Florida): cooked fresh on the boat/buy cracked and ready to eat/sweet taste

Written by: Dr. Terra Caudill