A Brief History of Lobsters and How They Became Seafood Royalty (2024)

FAQs

What is the history of lobster? ›

LOBSTER IN THE EARLY DAYS

More than likely, due to the overabundant population, lobsters were used first to feed prisoners and servants. Meanwhile, as we mentioned, lobsters were also used as fertilizer and fish bait by Native Americans. By 1700, it wasn't uncommon to see piles of lobsters (sometimes two feet high!)

Restaurants caught on, turning a cheap protein into an elegant-looking snack for fools who didn't know any better. And that in turn drove up demand, which drove up the price.

“Dirt-cheap because they were so copious, lobsters were routinely fed to prisoners, apprentices, slaves and children during the colonial era and beyond,” one such account reads. “Lobsters were considered the 'poor man's chicken' and primarily used for fertilizer or fed to prisoners and slaves,” another declares.

Perhaps the number one reason for rising lobster prices is that lobsters are much more in-demand than they were when they were more plentiful. Back when the lobsters were so over-populated that they washed up on shore, there were almost more of them than people knew what to do with.

"Lobster" does, still, come from the Latin locusta, but its first appearance in English was as a "lopystre" or "loppestre," with the Latin C changed to a P.

The bits and pieces that people were associating with various other species actually belonged to a single group of early marine animals called anomalocardids — large sea creatures that are ancestors to all arthropods, a category of animals composed of everything from lobsters and crabs to scorpions and ants.

A researcher in animal behaviour recommends people kill their lobsters before cooking them, after extensive research suggests crustaceans can feel pain. Robert Elwood, professor emeritus of animal behaviour at Queen's University in Northern Ireland, has spent more than a decade researching the issue.

However, you are more likely to get a foodborne illness from eating raw or undercooked lobster. Some of the most common disease-causing bacteria linked to improperly handled crustaceans — and raw seafood in general — are Vibrio species, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella species, and Shigella species ( 1 ).

Lobsters and other shellfish have harmful bacteria naturally present in their flesh. Once the lobster is dead, these bacteria can rapidly multiply and release toxins that may not be destroyed by cooking. You therefore minimise the chance of food poisoning by cooking the lobster alive.

Lobsters were considered the “poor man's chicken” and primarily used for fertilizer or fed to prisoners and slaves. Some indentures servants even revolted against being forced to eat the meat and the colony agreed that they would not be fed lobster meat more than three times a week.

Why was lobster considered bad? ›

lobster was so abundant and detested that it was considered a “poor man's meal”, reserved for prisoners, apprentices, and enslaved people.

Lobsters are a great source of selenium and also contain omega-3 fatty acids. They can help protect against thyroid disease, depression, and anemia. Lobster can serve as the main source of protein in a meal.

Lobster Farming Is Tough

It's not an easy one. Not only are lobster eggs challenging to raise, but it's incredibly easy for lobsters of any age (especially babies) to catch a disease that renders them unable to eat.

They found that, on average, male European lobsters live to 31 years old, and females to 54. There were a few exceptions: one particularly long-lived female had was found to be 72 years old. Lobsters certainly do not live forever.

They buy claw and knuckle meat, while the tail meat, which is the most expensive part of the lobster, is typically snatched up by large food-service companies that sell it to spots like high-end hotels and luxury cruise ships.

The prisoners, it seemed, thought the constant lobster dinners constituted "cruel and unusual" punishment. The story is probably apocryphal, but we do know that early settlers in New England considered lobster to be trash food.

At one time lobster was considered a paupers' food, something people were embarrassed to be seen eating because it showed that they were poor. It was fed to prisoners and slaves, used as fertilizers in fields, and as feed for pigs.