Cracking into a lobster
Cracking into that hard outer shell to tuck into the succulent sweet meat makes eating a lobster ever so sweet. The prestige attached to lobster only makes the experience more desirable.
Rachel Zammit Cutajar
However, lobsters were not always the pricey dish they are today, and when the United States was getting its first European settlers, the succulent crustacean was deemed a poor man’s dish due to the an abundance that washed up on the beaches in piles of up to two feet high. As they were cheap to harvest they became a staple diet for the poor man living in the costal villages.
By the mid 1800s, the disdain for the lobster waned and fishermen in Maine began to export lobsters as far as they could travel. Over fishing reduced the lobster bed so severely that strict conservation measures pushed the price of the lobster to those we know today.
Though lobsters are best eaten whole, boiled, steamed or grilled, the meat can be stretched in bisques, sauces, spreads and casseroles to make the most of the rich flavour. They should be served whole if boiling or steaming and halved when placed on the grill.
Being served with a whole lobster for the first time may be intimidating, though with a little bit of practice it makes the dining experience all the more exciting. You will need a specialised lobster cracker and a lobster pick to get through the hard shell and extract the tender, juicy meat.
Lobsters come in two varieties – the spiny lobster, or the rock lobster found in warmer waters of the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand and other Pacific island waters and clawed lobsters found in Europe, including the Mediterranean and North America.
The spiny version is very different from their clawed counterparts, with very long antennae which they use to protect themselves from predators. The clawed lobsters are generally known to have more white meat and large claws, though spiny lobsters pack more meat in their tails.
Live lobsters should be cooked the same day they are purchased, though can be stored for a short while in the fridge. Lobsters should be kept as cold as possible in an open container, such as a cardboard box packed with newspaper or seaweed to keep them moist. Never store them on ice or in tap water, as the fresh water will kill them.
