Soft-shell crabs are deliberately taken out of the water during or, more commonly, right before they shed. Once their shells have molted, they can be sold as soft shell seafood delicacies.

This chef-favorite seasonal crab can be fried, grilled, and sautéed easily at home. The best part? You can eat the shell. Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Barrett Washburne Summer, sun, and ...

Blue crabs molt about 20 times in their lifetime. This is how they grow. They shed their outer shell, then take in water, causing the softened shell to expand and grow.

Soft-shell crabs are blue crabs and not a different species, but the soft shell is due to it going through a molting process at this time of year. “It’s changing its armor, basically,” Kosik ...