Crab dip
Crab dip, sometimes referred to as Maryland crab dip, is a thick, creamy dip typically prepared from cream cheese and lump crab meat. Other primary ingredients such as mayonnaise may be used. Various types of crab preparations, species and superfamilies are used, as are a variety of added ingredients. It is typically served hot, although cold versions also exist. Hot versions are typically baked or broiled. It is sometimes served as an appetizer. Accompaniments may include crackers and various breads. Some U.S. restaurants offer crab dip. Commercially produced varieties exist, and some stadiums offer it as a part of their concessions.
Ingredients
Fresh, frozen or canned crab meat may be used in the preparation of crab dip. Different types of crab meat may be used, such as jumbo lump, lump backfin, leg and claw, among others. Various types of crab species and superfamilies are also used, such as blue crab, Dungeness crab and Alaska king crab, among others.Some versions may use mayonnaise, other types of cheese, such as pepper jack cheese, brie cheese or Cheddar cheese instead of or in addition to cream cheese as primary ingredients. Some may incorporate other seafoods in addition to crab, such as imitation crab, lobster, shrimp and surimi. Additional ingredients may include mushrooms, artichoke, onion, green onion, shallot, green pepper, bread crumbs, heavy cream and others. Bread crumbs may be used to top the dish, which may be browned during the cooking process creating a crust. Sometimes Parmesan cheese is combined with the bread crumbs. Some versions use Old Bay Seasoning as an ingredient to add flavor, and some are prepared spicy with the addition of ingredients such as hot sauce and red pepper.
Preparation and service
Some U.S. restaurants offer crab dip on their menus. Commercially mass-produced crab dips are also manufactured. Crab dip can be prepared in advance, refrigerated, and cooked at a later time. It may be served in bread that has been hollowed-out, such as a sourdough loaf. Crab dip may be served with crackers, flatbread, pita bread, bread, crostino, pretzels and sliced vegetables, among other accompaniments.History
, the creator of the website The Food Timeline, describes the modern crab dip as the latest in a line of dishes of creamy minced crab, over time taking different serving temperatures as well as "textures, flavors, and dippers". The earliest Olver cites is English cook Hannah Glasse's 1747 recipe "To Butter Crabs, or Lobsters" in The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy:The first American recipe Olver identifies in the crab dip tradition followed 23 years later, in 1770, when South Carolina woman Harriott Pinckney Horry published her book A Colonial Plantation Handbook. Over the following years, recipes appeared under various names, including "Scalloped Crabs", "Cream Crab", "Flaked Crab Meat", and in 1932, "Crab Flake Maryland":
It was not until the 1950s that Olver identifies a recipe calling the dish "crab dip", she credits this to the word dip arising in the dipping sauce sense in the period after World War II, and the first identified crab dip using cream cheese is listed in 1961 in the Los Angeles Times. Crab dips became popular in the 1970s, prepared in a double boiler or oven, at a time when warm dips were viewed as sophisticated appetizers. When baked, these crab dips were often topped with slivered almonds.