Lobsters Recipes Food Cooking International Guide
Lobsters Are Delicious!
By Barry J Smallhorn
Maine lobster, also known as the American lobster, is native
to the Atlantic Ocean along the coastline from North Carolina
to Eastern Canada. It is easily distinguished from the spiny lobster
(or rock lobster) by its oversized, heavy claws. The spiny lobster
has much smaller claws and is native to the southern Atlantic
Coast and the coast of California. Maine lobsters are the world’s
most prized catch because of their sweet, tender and delicious
meat.
The way lobsters grow is through molting or shell-shedding. Right
after they molt, they are fragile and soft until their new shell
has hardened. A recently molted lobster is called a new shell
or a soft-shell. It is important to review your options and understand
that the quality and price of a soft-shell is different than that
of hard shells.
Hard Shell Meat Is Firmer And More Expensive Than Soft Shell Meat
Comparing total body weight, soft-shells have less meat than
hard-shells. Hard-shell meat tends to be firmer, while soft-shell
meat is softer. Soft-shells do not ship as well as hard-shells,
because they are not as strong. For this reason, soft-shell lobster
is always less expensive.
The minimum legal length is 3 1/4 inches. Any lobster under that
length is called a short or a snapper and must be thrown back
into the ocean. As a way to indicate that those thrown back were
too small to keep, lobster fishermen will place a V-shaped notch
in their tail. Minimum sizes are strictly enforced to make sure
that the lobster is mature and able to breed at least once before
it is harvested. A minimum sized lobster will weigh somewhere
around 1 pound.
Protecting The Breeding Stock
The maximum legal length of a lobster is 5 inches from eye socket
to the beginning of the tail. A larger lobster is called a jumbo.
The reason for a maximum size limit is because it protects the
breeding stock. A maximum sized lobster will weigh between 3 to
4 pounds. The most popular and plentiful size of Maine lobster
is from 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds each. That size is around a one
serving size.
The white meat of the Maine lobster is located in the tail, knuckles
and claws. Meat can also be found in parts of the body and legs
if you are willing to search for it. The tail section of lobsters
contains coral "roe" or the female eggs and is considered
a delicacy. Just at the junction of the body and lobster tail
is a greenish substance called the tomalley, which is the liver,
and has a very distinct taste.
Not to worry when cooking live lobster, as they have a ganglion
nervous system so they do not feel pain the same way that humans
do. A screaming noise coming from inside the lobster pot is not
actually screaming but the sound of steam escaping from the lobster’s
shell.
About the Author:
Barry J Smallhorn has written a number of articles on recipes, cooking and food including
Seafood Recipes,
Meat Recipes,
Cooking With Wine,
Food Recipes,
Tuna Fish,
Caviar,
Potato Recipes,
Cocktail Recipes,
Organic Gift Baskets.
Keep a lookout for more articles on this website.
Did You Know?
Seafood, or rather its preparation, can be problematic for many
people. If you do not live close to an ocean you are often forced
to deal with frozen seafood from your grocery store’s meat department.
This is not a bad thing.
Frozen seafood can be quite wonderful if prepared right. But
what if you want a freshly caught lobster to go with those amazing
steaks? If this is the case then you have to rely on the internet.
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