This Iconic Brand Makes The Best Canned Crab Meat We've Tried

While using fresh crab meat is generally the best option when preparing dishes such as Rachael Ray's Crab Rangoon Casserole or Gruyère and crab gougères, sometimes choosing canned crab meat is the more accessible option, due to either a land-locked location or a tight grocery budget. With several brands available in your local supermarket, it's difficult to tell which one offers the best tasting option. Luckily, Chowhound recently ranked six popular brands of store-bought canned crab meat, and we've discovered that the best is made by Bumble Bee.

In our taste test, Bumble Bee products actually appeared twice. The Bumble Bee White Crabmeat, which ranked second-to-last, did not impress with its relatively bland flavor and texture. Unfortunately, it was also the easiest type of canned crab meat to find and the most inexpensive. Alternatively, the Bumble Bee Lump Crabmeat jumped to the top of the list in direct competition to its lackluster counterpart.

The blind taste test was measured using a list of criteria that ranged from availability and type to aroma and texture, all of which contributed to Bumble Bee's Lump Crabmeat ascension to the top. While the ingredients were almost in kind with Bumble Bee's White Crabmeat, the crab meat in the lump can was noticeably, well, lumped. Paired with a faint odor and moist, but firm texture, it was definitely offering a higher quality amount of canned crab. Most notably, the lump crab meat was easier to strain without squeezing out the moisture from the meat, making it more enjoyable to eat, even right out of the can.

As it should be, one of the biggest ranking factors was flavor, and while the Bumble Bee Lump Crabmeat and Chicken of the Sea Wild Caught Premium Lump Crab Meat were equally sweet and full-flavored, Bumble Bee won out because it was available at a lower price. You should use this can of Bumble Bee Lump Crabmeat to make crab cakes, like Alton Brown's kimchi-laden recipe, or to make a delectable batch of West Indies Salad.