Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs are known as the most delicious in the world, which naturally attracts countless people to follow them crazily. The Mid-Autumn Festival is the best time to eat crabs: the crab roe is full of fat, sweet and fragrant, and the crab meat is white, tender and sweet, and is served with vinegar and ginger shreds for freshness, making many people salivate. Many people will buy crabs in advance online, either as gifts or to eat themselves. Many units have also issued crab coupons as Mid-Autumn Festival gifts. These crabs are labeled as "Yangcheng Lake".
But few people know that the 99 Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs everyone buys are all fakes, so where did the 1% of the real Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs go? In fact, everyone already has the answer to this question. In addition to the local crab farmers in Yangcheng Lake who can eat real crabs, only those with money and power can enjoy it. The chances that we ordinary people can buy real Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs in the market are too low. If we buy them online, the chances are probably comparable to winning the lottery.
The reasons why we can’t buy real Chenghu hairy crabs are as follows! 1: The market size of hairy crabs has exceeded 100 billion, but the output is very small!
According to data from the China Business Industry Research Institute, the scale of my country's hairy crab industry was 64.8 billion yuan in 2016 and about 77.8 billion yuan in 2017, with an annual growth rate of about 20. It is predicted that by 2020, the size of my country's hairy crab market will exceed 100 billion yuan.
The "2018 Hairy Crab China Market Consumption Report" shows that starting from 2016, online sales of hairy crabs have doubled in the past three years. In 2018, hairy crab sales increased by more than 140% year-on-year. The reality is that on the one hand, the demand for hairy crabs is increasing, and on the other hand, the output of Yangcheng Lake is getting smaller and smaller. In 2016, hairy crab production was about 2,100 tons. In 2017, it plummeted to about 1,200 tons. In 2018, it increased slightly to about 1,300 tons. In 2020, it is predicted that the output will not exceed 2,000 tons. This is just a drop in the bucket for the huge market demand. So the question is, where do the Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs that can be seen everywhere around us come from? China’s 1.3 billion people share less than 2,000 tons of Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs.
As we all know, there are 661 cities (including county-level cities) in the country. Even if the Yangcheng Lake hairy crab production in 2020 is 2,000 tons, then one city will not be able to get even three tons after excluding losses, so let’s use Shanghai. For example, in such a big city with a population of more than 27 million, do you think it is possible to distribute 3 tons of hairy crabs? In addition to Shanghai, there are several cities with a population of tens of millions, so I won’t give any examples. (Although this example is very rough, it doesn’t make sense if you think about it carefully) 2: Even if you go to Yangcheng Lake, you may not be able to eat authentic crabs
How to eat authentic Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs? I’m afraid the locals don’t know. Can't give an answer. The definition of "Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs" is extremely strict, specifically referring to hairy crabs that meet certain standards and are produced naturally in the 113-square-kilometer Yangcheng Lake water area in Suzhou City. However, in recent years, due to the water pollution problem of Yangcheng Lake, the Yangcheng Lake government has implemented a policy of returning it to the lake. At present, the area of ??pen culture in Yangcheng Lake waters is only one-tenth of its peak, making authentic Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs even more rare. In order to deliver more hairy crabs to the market, crab farming in ponds has also begun to be vigorously promoted around Yangcheng Lake. Due to the huge price gap, there are many "farmhouses" along the Yangcheng Lake. They often take customers to their own ponds to catch hairy crabs. Although they don't say it clearly, they do so under the banner of orthodoxy. 3: E-commerce sales method of Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs
The current hairy crab market is a mixed bag. If you want to buy authentic Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs, you must not be greedy for small gains. Even if you are not greedy, it will be difficult to buy. According to a staff member of the Yangcheng Lake Hairy Crab Industry Association, Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs are not yet on the market, and any Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs sold on the market are basically fake. Now everyone understands! Even if the products on the e-commerce platform have numerous positive reviews, don’t blindly believe them. Not only selling crabs, many stores will invest millions of dollars in advertising and fake orders, relying on the high sales of fake orders to attract consumers.
Please keep your eyes peeled to see if the product you bought is fake or not! 4: Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs, it’s hard to tell the real ones from the fake ones!
Someone once did such a "challenge": through blind tasting, distinguish which Chinese mitten crabs from Yangcheng Lake, Gucheng Lake, and Taihu Lake come from Yangcheng Lake. As a result, even "gourmets" didn't taste it. Therefore, even if many people know that there is a 99% chance of being cheated, they still have no complaints: Who can tell the difference between real and fake Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs? Even if they are fake, who is willing to admit that what they bought at a high price is a "fake"? Scams just keep coming. After one crop of leeks is harvested, there will be another crop next year. Summary:
For us ordinary people, eating a Yangcheng Lake hairy crab during the Chinese New Year is just a bonus. Why bother making ourselves unhappy by worrying about whether it is true or false? Experts have also tested Chinese mitten crabs from Yangcheng Lake, Gucheng Lake, and Taihu Lake. In fact, there is not much difference between these flavors. Even professionals and gourmets cannot taste the difference. Since the taste is almost the same, it is actually not that important whether you can taste real hairy crabs and who bought them. If you have the money and power to buy something real, then please share the taste with everyone. I have never tasted the real thing after eating it for so many years. I’d like to hear someone else tell me what it tastes like!