Everything You May or May Not Want to Know about Lobster
Lobsters are often celebrated as a luxury delicacy, yet there’s far more to these fascinating crustaceans than meets the eye. Beyond their succulent taste and iconic appearance, lobsters have unique traits and surprising behaviors that reveal their adaptability and complex lives beneath the waves.
From their ability to regenerate limbs to their remarkable age, these ocean dwellers are filled with secrets that may surprise even seasoned seafood enthusiasts. This list of ten intriguing lobster facts will share some lesser-known aspects of lobster biology, history, and culinary lore to deepen appreciation for this beloved seafood.
1. All Lobster Are Not The Same
Lobsters vary significantly in species, size, habitat, and even edibility. While the American lobster (Homarus americanus) is most recognized, with its large, robust claws and popularity in cuisine, other species offer distinct characteristics.
Spiny lobsters, found in warmer waters, lack the signature claws and instead boast long, spiny antennae. These are harvested mostly for their tender tails.
Then, there’s the European lobster, similar to the American variety but smaller and often darker in color. Smaller species, like the squat lobster, appear more crab-like and are generally not eaten.
In tropical regions, slipper lobsters are found, having flattened bodies and no claws, though they are prized for their tail meat. Not all lobsters are edible, however—some species are poisonous or simply not palatable, demonstrating how diverse and unique these ocean dwellers genuinely are.
Ruth
As stated in one of the lobster fun facts, they will eat almost anything they can get their claws on including other lobsters and even humans, if given the chances. So, don't feel too guilty if you steam and eat a lobster every now and then.
Steve
That was a Ruth"less" thing to say.
Francois andre
I can't believe my luck...lobsters too...
Having spent MANY a year dealing with seafood..here are my lobster facts..
1.You don't have to turn a lobster upside down to tell if it's male or female.Look at it from above.Look at the width of the tail.The female has a much wider tail than the male,it almost looks like she's wearing a skirt !If you place a male and female next to each other,and compare,the difference will be quite evident.
2.You can hypnotize a lobster ! (It must have been a slow day at work).It's a little difficult to explain,but bare with me...Pick up your lobster,hold both his (or her,see previous fact)claws in your left hand,and his body ,head pointing down,in your right,and gently lower him onto a solid,cold surface.Spread his claws a little,to the left and right,to form a 'sort of' tripod.Then gently stroke a finger down his carapace,towards the spike above his eyes a few times.
VOILA !! HE SLEEPS.He can be left like this for AGES.
Like I said,slow day at work.
3.Smoked lobster eggs have,in the past,been used as a poor mans caviar
4.The crushing power of a large (7 Kg plus) lobster has to be seen to be believed.It can put you in hospital.I've seen it happen.
5.The accepted,and humane way to kill a lobster,before putting it in the pot,is to drive a skewer through the mouth and into the brain.
That's all,for now.Francois andre,ex-prof chef.bye-bye
James
"they don’t feel pain when immersed into hot water. I know there are some who disagree with this concept but I am not a scientist so I choose to believe it is true."
How incredibly ignorant.. You don't need to be a scientist to understand science. How about this, I'm not a scientist so I choose to believe humans don't feel pain, so I'm going to pop you into a boiling pot of water ok?
G. Stephen Jones
James, scientists have not concluded either way whether lobsters feel pain when put into boiling water but they do know humans humans feel pain when boiled so your analogy is just silly and your comment rude. I am not a scientist but if I were, I would have to choose one position over the other and since I do boil my lobster, I choose to believe they don't feel any pain. If you can definitively show me facts showing they do feel pain when cooked in boiling water, I will stop boiling them and find another way to prepare them for cooking.
According to Popular Science, lobster's "brains aren’t much more complex than an insect’s. They only have a hundred thousand neurons, and no true centralized brain. They’ve got a set of ganglia (which is like a smaller, less organized brain made up of far fewer neurons) spread throughout their body. In terms of mental capacity, there’s a decent argument to be made that lobsters and crabs are just big bugs."
That being said, the same article in Popular Science - https://www.popsci.com/swiss-lobster-pain - suggests "The answer seems to be: to chill. Not you—the lobster you’re hoping to eat. Putting cold-blooded animals like crustaceans (or insects) into a freezer or in icy water numbs them, and they don’t seem to have pain receptors that react to cold (they do live at the bottom of the ocean, after all). Of course, they’ll heat up as you put them in boiling water, but the transition seems to be fast enough that it shortens the time they flail about. Whether it actually changes what they feel is still uncertain, given how little we know about lobster pain in the first place. It may just help you feel better about it. But at least you're giving your dinner a better chance at a gentle demise."
Marion Scott
And yet there are scientists who claim that lobsters actually feel pain worse than we do. We can choose to believe anything, I personally choose to use caution and not take the chance on causing them pain. Do No Harm! Apparently even plants can feel pain so..... human beings like to believe we are the most intelligent life on this planet and that has been proven incorrect, but the arrogance and self entitlement still exists and is even sadly growing.
G. Stephen Jones
Hi Marion, thank you for sharing your thoughts on the topic of lobsters. I'm very interested so please send me any studies you have found that say lobsters feel pain worse than we do. I would like to share it with my readers.
Alexandra
"I'm not a scientist, so I believe it is true"- well think again, and do some proper research. Cooking lobsters in hot water is infinitely cruel and barbaric. Scientists have proven a long time ago that they actually are very capable of feeling pain. If they are able to move away from ocean water areas that are just a few degrees to cold or too warm, imagine what they feel when being thrown in boiling water. The lack of a central nervous system does NOT imply the lack of capacity to feel pain. They also feel lonely, bored and depressed when they are awaiting their cruel deaths in tiny aquaria. They're also starving, because restaurant owners refrain from giving them food, as that would require them to clean up their feces. Eating lobsters is IMMORAL.