The Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis, is a popular food and an important breeding crab in China. In order to pursue higher sales prices and improve breeding efficiency, many farmers often hoard these crabs, until around the Spring Festival or even later, before selling them. Therefore, considering the time span of hoarding, the present study was designed to check the quality (edible tissues, muscle quality, hepatopancreas color, proximate biochemical and amino acid compositions) of E. sinensis, before and after overwintering hoard. The hepatosomatic index before hoarding in winter was higher than that of after hoarding in winter, but the gonadosomatic index, meat yield, total edible yield, and condition factor were significantly (p<0.05) lower after hoarding in winter. The texture profile analysis (TPA) of muscle, the springiness, chewiness, and cohesiveness after hoarding in winter were significantly (p<0.05) higher than those before hoarding in winter. The redness and yellowness of the hepatopancreas before hoarding in winter were lower than those after hoarding in winter. No significant difference (p<0.05) was found in moisture, crude protein, and crude lipid in hepatopancreas, gonad, and muscle tissues of male E. sinensis. The contents of all amino acids (except methionine and histidine) in hepatopancreas, gonad, and muscle before hoarding in winter were higher than after hoarding, but there was no significant difference (p<0.05) in hepatopancreas and gonad. While, in the muscle, the contents such as threonine, serine, glutamic acid, glycine, alanine, leucine, phenylalanine, histidine, and arginine, before hoarding in winter, were significantly (p<0.05) higher than after hoarding. This study showed that, for the male E. sinensis after overwintering hoard, the edible tissues and muscle quality increased, and, moreover, the hepatopancreas color and proximate biochemical and amino acid compositions of hepatopancreas and gonad have no significant changes, but the content of many good amino acids, sNEAA and sDAA, in muscle all decreased.
