Lobster

Clawed lobsters comprise a family (Nephropidae, sometimes also Homaridae) of large marine crustaceans. They are important as an animal, a business and a food.

As food

Prior to the 20th century, lobster wasn't popular as food. In the Maritimes, eating lobster was considered a mark of poverty. In some parts of the Maritime provinces of Canada, lobster was used as a fertilizer for farmers' fields. Outside of the rural outports lobster was sold canned, losing much of its flavour.

Related Topics:
20th century - Maritimes

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The reputation of lobster changed with the development of the modern transportation industry that allowed live lobsters to be shipped from the outports to large urban centres. Fresh lobster quickly became a luxury food and a tourist attraction for the Maritimes and Maine and an export to Europe and Japan where it is especially expensive.

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Lobster is most commonly cooked by placing a live whole lobster in a pot of boiling water. Some consider this method cruel, and more humane ways of killing them include inserting a knife into the back of their head and slicing downward, and freezing them for 15 minutes before boiling http://www.cooking-lobster.com/cooking-lobster/lobster-killing.html. The apparent cruelty of boiling lobsters alive was challenged in a Norwegian study released in February of 2005, which determined that lobsters cannot feel pain due to their diminished central nervous system capacity. http://www.guardian.co.uk/animalrights/story/0,11917,1408050,00.html

Related Topics:
Norwegian - 2005 - Pain - Central nervous system

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Lobster is best eaten fresh, and they are normally purchased live. Restaurants that serve lobster keep a tank of the live creatures, often allowing patrons to pick their own. The shell of the lobster makes eating them a slow process, requiring a number of implements. The majority of the meat is in the tail and the two front claws, but smaller quantities can be found in the legs and torso. Lobsters are often eaten plain or with butter or white vinegar. Lobster can also be cut up and used in a wide array of dishes. One popular way of serving lobster was to combine it with steak in what became known by the 1960s as surf and turf.

Related Topics:
Steak - 1960s - Surf and turf

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In Canada, Shediac, New Brunswick promotes itself as the "Lobster Capital of the World".

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:"Lobster Newberg. Also "lobster a la Newburg"...The dish was made famous at Delmonico's Restaurant in New York in 1876 when the recipe was brought to chef Charles Ranhofer by a West Indies sea captain named Ben Wenberg. It was an immediate hit, especially for after-theater suppers, and owner Charles Delmonico honored the capatain by naming the dish "lobster a la Wenberg." But later Wenberg and Delmonico had a falling-out, and the restauranteur took the dish off the menu, restoring it only by popular demand by renaming it "lobster a la Newberg," reversing the first three letters of the captain's name. Chef Ranhofer also called it "lobster a la Delmonico," but the appelation "Newberg" (by 1897 it was better known under the spelling "Newburg") stuck, and the dish became a standard in hotel dining rooms in the United States. It is still quite popular and is found in French cookbooks, where it is sometimes referred to as "Homard saute a la creme."...The first printed recipe appeared in 1895.?—Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani. New York: Lebhar-Friedman, 1999. Pages 187–8.

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In the Indian subcontinent, especially in West Bengal and Bangladesh, a delicacy of lobsters is called "Golda Chingrir Malai Curry" and is cooked with coconut milk and spices.

Related Topics:
West Bengal - Bangladesh

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