Seafood & Aviation Glossary

Farming fish and shellfish in pens or tanks instead of catching them in the wild.

Good crab meat that's broken into smaller pieces, perfect for crab cakes that won't break your wallet.

Cooking fish with lots of spices in a really hot pan until the outside gets dark and crusty.

The famous crab that makes Maryland crab cakes and can be eaten shell and all when it's molting.

A really mean fish with sharp teeth that tastes super fishy and oily.

Throwing a bunch of seafood and vegetables in a big pot of spicy water, then eating it all together.

Cooking food really close to super hot flames or coils at the top of your oven.

The tough, flavorful shrimp that taste like the ocean and don't fall apart when you cook them.

Flying little planes to wild places where big planes can't go.

It's like a big basket that holds about 8 gallons of oysters or clams.

A crab wiggling out of its old shell like taking off a tight jacket, leaving behind a perfect empty crab shell.

Spicy seasoning mix that makes food taste like it came from the Louisiana swamps where Cajuns live.

Cajun food is country cooking from people who moved to Louisiana from Canada, while Creole is fancy city food from New Orleans that mixes lots of different cultures.

A way of frying fish and shrimp with a super light, crunchy coating that makes the seafood taste even better.

A super light, crispy way of frying fish that started in a tiny beach town but became famous everywhere.

Rules about how many fish you're allowed to catch so there are still fish left for next year.

Making fish safe to eat by soaking it in lime juice instead of cooking it with heat.

The special way people live around the Chesapeake Bay, where catching crabs and eating them is really important.

A messy, delicious fish stew from San Francisco that you eat with your hands and lots of napkins.

A big beach cooking party where clams, lobsters, and corn get cooked together in a pit in the sand.

Creamy white soup with clams from up north versus tomatoey red soup with clams from New York.

The darker crab meat from the claws that tastes stronger and costs less than the white meat.

A piece of crab body with some legs attached, like getting the best parts without all the work.

Flying near the ocean where the weather changes fast and can get bumpy because of hot land and cool water.

Crab claws that are already cracked open so you can just pull out the sweet meat.

Spicy red sauce that you dip cold shrimp into — it's like ketchup's tough older brother.

Special permission that lets fishermen catch fish to sell instead of just for fun.

Super creamy crab soup that uses every part of the crab to make it taste as crabby as possible.

Creamy, cheesy dip made with real crab that you eat with crackers.

It's like a floating jail for crabs that are about to shed their shells, so the crabber can catch them at the perfect moment.

Fancy crab cakes that are baked in a dish instead of fried into patties.

The fanciest way to eat crab — just warmed in butter with almost nothing else added.

It's like a wire cage that crabs can crawl into to get food, but then they can't figure out how to get back out.

Crispy fried triangles stuffed with creamy crab filling that taste way better than they sound.

The time of year when it's okay to catch crabs and when they taste the best.

Any kind of cage or trap that people use to catch crabs, from simple wire boxes to fancy folding ones.

Someone whose job is catching crabs using special traps and boats.

Tiny freshwater lobsters that live in muddy water and taste amazing when boiled with spicy seasoning.

It's a car that airports let pilots borrow to drive around and find good food.

A fish that makes noise like a frog when you catch it and tastes really good fried or grilled.

It's like a walkie-talkie channel where pilots tell each other what they're doing when there's no air traffic controller.

Cooking food by dunking it in really hot oil until it gets crispy and golden.

Taking out the yucky dark line from shrimp so it tastes better.

Crab meat mixed with bread and spices, then baked in the crab's shell like a seafood muffin.

The fish swam in the ocean this morning and is on your plate tonight, bought straight from the fisherman's boat.

It's what the fisherman gets paid when the boat comes back to shore.

Two crabs stuck together like a piggyback ride because the bottom one just lost her shell and needs protection.

Instead of selling oysters by the bucket, you sell them by counting out exactly 12 at a time.

It's butter with all the white stuff taken out so it stays clear and doesn't burn when you dip your lobster in it.

It's like a big metal rake with a net that boats drag along the ocean floor to scoop up shellfish.

The big, sweet crab from the Pacific that's easier to eat than the ones on the East Coast.

The salty, slurpy oysters that grow wild along the East Coast and taste different depending on which bay or river they come from.

It's like a fancy gas station for small airplanes that also helps pilots with whatever they need.

Tacos with fried fish inside, topped with crunchy cabbage and creamy sauce, invented in Mexico near the beach.

It's like a big, flat box that holds oysters in one layer so you can see each one easily.

A flat fish that lies on the bottom with both eyes on top of its head and tastes really, really good.

It's a neighborhood where people keep their airplanes at home like cars and fly to find good food together.

It's a restaurant where you can park your airplane right next to your dinner table.

Crab meat taken out of the shell today or yesterday — the really good stuff.

The real name for Lowcountry Boil, named after the place where it was invented.

It's an airport runway made of grass instead of concrete, like landing in someone's really long backyard.

Cooking oysters in their shells on a grill with yummy stuff on top.

Really big fish that live on underwater rocks and taste amazing in a sandwich.

A long stretch of coast where people catch amazing seafood and cook it in special ways their families have been doing forever.

Wild shrimp caught in the warm waters between Louisiana and Texas that taste way better than the frozen ones from Asia.

The special culture and cooking style of African Americans who lived on islands off the coast and kept their African traditions alive.

A thick, flavorful soup from Louisiana that's like a delicious mix of everything good from the sea and land.

It's an oyster that comes in its own little bowl made from its shell.

Shrimp that still have their heads on because it makes them taste better and shows they're fresh.

It's like a fish hotel where lobsters and crabs wait before going to restaurants.

Spicy liquid made from peppers that tastes totally different depending on where you are in the country.

Flying a plane somewhere just to get lunch, even though it costs way more than the food.

Little round balls of fried cornbread that taste like crispy clouds.

Airports built on islands where you have to fly over water to land and the runway is usually pretty short.

The spicy cousin of Old Bay that Baltimore locals use when they want more flavor punch.

A grown-up boy blue crab with big blue claws full of tasty meat.

A really tasty crab from cold Atlantic waters that used to be thrown back but now smart people know it's amazing.

The biggest, prettiest pieces of crab meat that fancy restaurants charge extra for.

Huge crabs from Alaska with legs as long as your arm and meat that tastes like sweet lobster.

Small, sweet oysters that don't taste fishy or salty like other oysters do.

One word means you know the real Charleston area culture, two words means you probably learned about it from a restaurant menu.

The flat, marshy area near Charleston where people cook amazing food that mixes many different cultures together.

A big pot of shrimp, sausage, and vegetables cooked together and eaten with your hands at a big messy table.

Cooking shrimp, sausage, corn and potatoes in one big pot of spicy water, then dumping it all on a table to eat.

A super colorful fish that swims really fast in deep ocean water and tastes great cooked on a grill.

Big sea bugs with claws that taste amazing because they live in really cold water.

The hammer and knife they give you to crack open crab shells and get all the good meat out.

It's what fish costs today, which might be different from yesterday or tomorrow.

Vegetable soup with lots of crab meat and the spice that makes everything in Maryland taste better.

It's a tangy sauce with tiny pieces of onion that makes raw oysters taste even better.

When crabs grow too big for their shells and have to wiggle out to get a bigger one, like outgrowing your clothes.

It's barbecue sauce made with yellow mustard that tastes way better than it sounds.

How people in cold northeastern states have been catching and cooking seafood the same special ways for hundreds of years.

When restaurants put old newspapers on the table instead of tablecloths because you're about to get really messy eating crab or shrimp.

Putting newspaper on the table so you can make a big mess eating crabs and just throw the paper away when you're done.

Orange spice that Maryland people put on crabs and everything else they eat.

Tiny wild oysters that originally lived in all the bays on the West Coast before people ate almost all of them.

Food from the skinny islands off North Carolina that people created when they couldn't get to the grocery store for months.

Flying over water where you can't glide back to land if the engine stops working.

Growing oysters in underwater farms instead of finding them wild on the sea bottom.

It's the salty water inside the oyster shell that tastes like the ocean.

A big party where everyone stands around eating hot oysters right off the grill together.

The time when oysters taste best and are safe to eat, usually in cold months.

Someone who grows and harvests oysters from underwater beds for restaurants and markets.

Oysters cooked on a grill with lots of garlic butter and cheese until they're sizzling hot.

Fancy baked oysters with green stuff on top that's supposed to taste really rich.

The special way people in the rainy northwestern states catch and cook amazing fish like salmon, following rules that keep the ocean healthy.

Big, deep-cupped oysters that taste different depending on which Pacific coast water they grew up in.

Cooking fish in a hot pan until the bottom gets golden brown and crispy.

Cooking seafood in a sealed paper bag so it steams in its own juices and smells amazing when you open it.

Crab meat that's been cooked a little to make it last longer in the fridge.

It's when pilots practice taking off and landing by flying in a big rectangle around the airport, doing it over and over to get better.

It's like a small bushel — about a quarter of the size, perfect for a family clam bake.

Shrimp you have to peel yourself at the table, like opening a present to get to the good stuff inside.

A crab that's about to take off its shell, like when you can tell a snake is about to shed its skin.

A crab that's getting ready to wiggle out of its old shell like taking off a tight jacket.

Rules you make for yourself about when it's too dangerous to fly, even if it's technically legal.

Crab meat that someone took out of the shell and cleaned up for you.

Taking apart a cooked crab to get all the good meat out without wasting any.

The hangout room at airports where pilots relax and talk to each other.

Pretty pink shrimp that are sweet like white shrimp but strong enough to handle spicy sauces.

It's like a maze made of nets that fish swim into but can't figure out how to leave.

It's like a parking lot for airplanes where they get gas and get ready for trips.

The right way to act when eating raw oysters and clams at the special counter where they open them fresh.

Rules about how many fish you can keep when you're fishing just for fun.

A reddish fish that's super popular in Louisiana and tastes amazing when cooked with lots of spices.

It's a fancy sauce that makes fried seafood taste amazing, like a kicked-up version of tartar sauce.

Cooking lots of oysters over a big fire until they open up by themselves.

Super fancy red shrimp from really deep water that taste almost like lobster.

A teenage girl blue crab that hasn't grown up to be a mama crab yet.

It's like a big plate with lots of different kinds of fish and shellfish so you can try everything the restaurant does best.

Restaurants by the water that look messy but serve the best fresh fish because the fishing boats are right outside.

It's like a regular airport, but the runway is made of water and the airplanes can float like boats.

Special maps for pilots that show where they can fly and where all the airports are, including the ones with really good food.

Baby oysters that get moved to new homes in the water to grow up and taste like where they live.

Fancy crab soup from Charleston that gets its special orange color from crab eggs.

It's when a crab takes off its hard shell like taking off a tight jacket, and for a few hours it's soft and edible.

A striped fish with creepy human teeth that likes to hang around docks and steal bait.

It's like parallel parking an airplane on a really short street.

Creamy corn porridge topped with shrimp that tastes like the ocean.

When it's legal to catch different types of shrimp, which changes based on what kind and where they live.

Someone who catches shrimp for a living using big nets on boats.

An oyster that someone has carefully opened and taken out of its shell so you can eat it right away.

Using a special knife to open oyster shells without cutting yourself or ruining the oyster inside.

Cooking fish slowly with flavored smoke from burning wood chips instead of just regular heat.

Sweet crabs with really long skinny legs that live in super cold water.

A crab that just wiggled out of its hard shell and is soft and squishy all over, so you can eat the whole thing.

A crab you can eat whole — shell and all — because it just shed its hard shell and the new one is still soft.

A grown-up mama blue crab with red fingernail tips and a big round belly flap.

The smallest pieces of crab meat that are perfect for soups and dips where you want lots of crab taste.

Big crabs with really long skinny legs that look scary but taste amazing.

A lobster from warm water that has no claws but a really big tail full of meat.

A mama crab carrying thousands of orange eggs that look like a kitchen sponge stuck to her belly.

A little fish with a black spot that's really easy to catch and tastes great fried up whole.

It's like a giant pot where clams, corn, and potatoes all cook together with steam to make a messy, delicious meal you eat with your hands.

Cooking crabs with steam instead of dunking them in water so they taste better.

Cooking crabs and shrimp over boiling water while covering them with lots of Maryland's special spice mix.

Special Florida crabs where fishermen only take the claws, and the crab grows them back later.

A big fish with black stripes that swims from the ocean up rivers to have babies, and tastes really good.

Creamy white sauce with pickle chunks that makes fried fish taste even better.

It's the part of Virginia where rivers and ocean water mix, making special foods you can't get anywhere else.

It's like a seatbelt for airplanes when they're parked so the wind doesn't blow them away.

Spicy Louisiana seasoning that makes everything taste like it came from New Orleans.

Special parking spots at airports for pilots who are just visiting, not the ones who keep their planes there all the time.

It's like a really long fishing line with lots of hooks that fishermen leave in the water to catch multiple fish at once.

It's an airport where pilots have to take turns and be polite to each other, like sharing toys.

It's spicy vinegar that makes barbecue pork taste amazing instead of too fatty.

Someone whose job is catching seafood from boats for a living.

How bad the weather can be before it's too dangerous to fly.

The sweet, tender shrimp that taste good with just a little salt and butter.

A complete crab that you have to crack open yourself to get all the yummy meat inside.

Fancy seasoning from Maryland's Eastern Shore that tastes less salty than Old Bay.

The most famous spice company from New Orleans that makes the stuff that makes food taste like Louisiana.