Lobster FAQs
Can a lobster be kept alive in fresh
water with ice?
NO! Fresh water in any form (even ice)
is lethal to our lobsters. A lobster has
salty blood and tissue, which requires a
seawater environment to maintain life.
Why doesn't a live Maine lobster look
bright red, like I've seen in pictures?
Lobsters only turn bright red after
being cooked! Maine lobsters are
naturally dark brown, green, or even
blue. Neat, huh?
A Guide To Lobster 'Stuff' By Color
Black Stuff - An uncooked or undercooked
female lobster may be harboring eggs,
also known as roe or lobster caviar.
These eggs prior to cooking appear
thick, shiny and black, and may be found
throughout the tail. If you have cooked
your lobster and still see the black
stuff, cook them longer and the black
stuff will turn into...
Red Stuff - Once the above mentioned
female lobster is fully cooked, those
eggs turn bright red in color. Their
texture becomes firmer and they look
more like the lobster caviar you may
have seen used at your local sushi bar.
It's quite delicious, try it if you're
feeling adventurous.
Green Stuff - Our final colorful treat
(yes, many enjoy this as a delicacy), is
the tomalley or liver of the lobsters.
All lobsters have tomalley and you'll
discover it when you separate the tail
from the body. If you don't consider it
a delicacy, feel free to rinse it off
before digging in!
White Stuff - Once a lobster is cooked,
you will always see thick whitish foamy
stuff around the meat and in the cooking
water. This is the fat (or protein), and
can just be rinsed off. It's yet another
sign that your lobsters are incredibly
fresh!
What is "tomalley"?
Tomalley is the lobster抯 liver. It
turns green when cooked and is
considered a delicacy.
How far do lobsters travel?
The record travel so far is 225 miles
covered by a lobster tagged off the
Continental Shelf and recovered at Port
Jefferson, Long Island, New York.
What do lobsters eat?
Mussels, crabs, clams and sea worms, as
well as dead fish.
What color is a lobster's blood?
Colorless, When exposed to oxygen, it
develops a bluish color.
How does a lobster grow?
It sheds its hard shell and grows a new,
larger one. Since the skeleton is on the
outside, this molting is essential to
growth.
How can you tell the age of a
lobster?
No one knows exactly, but aquarium
studies suggest it takes 5 to 7 years
for a lobster to gain one pound.
How long can a lobster live out of
water?
Several days if kept in a cool, moist
environment. The lobster is a
gill-breather (they breathe seawater and
store a certain amount in their gills to
survive out of the water), and moisture
is essential to survival.
Have lobsters been successfully
transplanted to the West Coast?
Attempts have been made to do so, but
success has been limited. In 1973, the
Canadian government discontinued a six
year experiment in which the lobsters
were reared successfully in the waters
off British Columbia. The decision to
drop the project was evidently dictated
by economics.
How many kinds of lobsters are there
in the country?
Two kinds of lobster-like crustaceans
exist in United States waters. The
"true" lobster (the Maine lobster) is
designated as such to differentiate it
from the other form found here, the
spiny lobster. The two, from different
families, display two differences. The
Maine lobster has claws on the first
four pairs of legs and the spiny lobster
has no claws. The spiny lobster has a
pair of horns above the eyes. Record
weight for the Maine lobster is 45
pounds. Incidentally, our lobsters are
Maine lobsters, the tastier of the two.
However, there are about 163 species of
lobsters that live throughout the
world!!
How does a lobster smell its food?
A lobster "smells" its food by use of
small hairs that cover the lobster and
the four small antennae.
Where are the lobster's teeth?
A lobsters teeth are in its stomach.
Does pollution kill lobsters?
Yes, pollution kills lobsters, so don抰
pollute!!
How are lobsters caught?
Most lobsters are caught in lobster
traps. However, some lobsters are caught
by fishermen when they are dragging
their nets for other catch.
Are lobsters born live?
No, lobster lay eggs that are held
together with strands of glue until they
hatch.
My Lobster didn't arrive alive. What
should I do?
It can be difficult to tell sometimes if
a lobster is actually DOA (Dead On
Arrival), or just sluggish after the
long trip from Boston. One good test is
to touch the lobster抯 eye and watch for
movement (gross, but true). If there are
no signs of life, don抰 give up yet! You
may have heard otherwise, but we know
that a lobster does not have to be alive
at the moment you are cooking it in
order to still be good. It is more a
matter of the temperature at which the
lobster has been kept, and the length of
time that has passed, that determines
whether it is still good. So how are you
to know what to do?
COOK IT! Remove the rubber bands
from the claws of the dead (or suspected
dead) lobster to keep track of it, if
any others are alive. It is completely
safe to cook all the lobsters together.
Fully cook the lobster according to the
instructions provided in your cooking
manual or on this website. When done,
check the consistency of the tail meat.
If the meat appears firm and fleshy then
it is fine to go ahead and enjoy! If the
meat has more of a cottage cheese
texture - very watery, loose and mushy,
then it obviously should be discarded.
Thank you for visiting the Maine Lobster
Company
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