Lobster Fascination*

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

Fresh lobster is good -- drop em in the pot while they're still alive, consume piping hot with some drawn butter, and yummm.

Other than that, lobster is generally only good as a transport mechanism for a good sauce, etc. and I agree, not worth the cost.

I would also highly recomment fusangite's story over on CM about lobster. Not for the squeamish

 

[Aurora]

I think that lobster is called crayfish in Australia (or maybe crayfish is saltwater and lobster is freshwater?). Either way, I don't think they are worth the price you pay for them. My Mum and Dad really like them (it is definitely a rare treat though) but I find that there isn't a lot of taste to them. I wonder if they are so popular "because" of their price, rather than the other way around.

Olaf the Stout

Crayfish are also known as crawdads and mudbugs. In Australia, they are often touted as warm-water lobsters or spiny lobsters. They are very similar to, but smaller than lobsters, and they also lack the very large pincers which are characteristic of true lobsters. According to dictionary.com that is.

 

[Aeolius]

And a word of caution; never, ever, ever confuse lobster with globster.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

I have three requirements for any food of the animal kingdom... It must be dead, it must be gutted, and it must be cooked. Lobster fails #2, and thus is not consumed.

The in-laws recently had a lobster night, and the green waste smeared plates that remained after were just disgusting. Yeah, I want to eat a food that I have to pick out from between its own oozing intestines....

 

[LightPhoenix]

We were at the beach; everybody had matching towels. Somebody went under a dock, and there they saw a rock.
It wasn't a rock. It was a rock ... lobster!

True story!

Gah, that was the first thing that came to mind for me too. Should have known I couldn't be more clever than you!

I don't really like seafood much. Ironically, I used to love it as a kid, but as I've grown up I've lost my taste for most of it, and often fish makes me nauseous just from the smell. That said, lobster is pretty much the only seafood I still eat.

 

[GlassJaw]

The in-laws recently had a lobster night, and the green waste smeared plates that remained after were just disgusting. Yeah, I want to eat a food that I have to pick out from between its own oozing intestines....

The greenish/black "waste" is called roe (eggs in the female) is considered a delicacy in certain circles. It turns red when cooked. I don't care for it but I do like lobster.

I had lobster this week in Long Island. Lobster + potatoes + corn on the cob + beer = heaven!

 

[ssampier]

I'm not a seafood fan. The fact the lobster is an arthropods makes me wonder what other bugs would be popular food in the future.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'm a native Louisianan. I cook like some people wish they could (good thing, too, since I have hypertension).

I love seafood. About the only thing from the sea, rivers or lakes that I haven't liked is Sea Cucumber, and some of my Asian friends claim its because I haven't had it prepared at its best. (It was in Udon, it looked like a turd, had a "muddy" flavor, and it had the texture of gristle.)

I love lobster, usually with butter, but I also love it in Bisques, Neubergs, wine sauces, au gratin dishes, stuffed into raviolis, or even asian white sauces.

Tastes are subjective, however.

The fact the lobster is an arthropods makes me wonder what other bugs would be popular food in the future.

Look around the world of today! European/American culture is about the only one that doesn't include a variety of arthropods on the menu. They're quite good for you- high in protiens and low in fats. Watch the Food Network- or better yet, the Travel Channel for a show by Anthony Bourdain or Andrew Zimmern- and you'll see people eating huge beetles, farming termites, gathering grubs, harvesting mosquito eggs, and so forth.

Some even get eaten raw or live.

I went to a wonderful Columbian restaraunt owned by a nice family, and was offered a cultural delicacy- Big Ass/Big Butt Ants (Latin name-"hormiga culona"). I passed, but my Dad tried one...apparently, it tasted something like a peanut.

Don't get me wrong- you won't catch me eating bugs if I can help it. My taste buds only allow marine or freshwater arthropods on them.

 

[Piratecat]

Many of you don't like lobster.

That's good.

More for me!

 

[GlassJaw]

Look around the world of today! European/American culture is about the only one that doesn't include a variety of arthropods on the menu. They're quite good for you- high in protiens and low in fats. Watch the Food Network- or better yet, the Travel Channel for a show by Anthony Bourdain or Andrew Zimmern- and you'll see people eating huge beetles, farming termites, gathering grubs, harvesting mosquito eggs, and so forth.

Heh, you beat me to it. No Reservations with Tony Bourdain is one of the best shows on television. The recent episode(s) with him and Zimmer in NYC were great.

Important thing to note: most people in the world don't eat the "gross" parts to be gross - they eat them out of necessity. They can't afford to throw them away. And because of that, they also have to be much more creative and skilled in their food preparation.

It's only in the US where if something isn't a McNugget, we turn up our noses. We Americans are very spoiled (and wasteful) when it comes to food.