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The Complete Guide for Buying a Fresh Lobster

oLobster LobsterAnywhere .com BUYERS GUIDE Shopping online for fresh lobsters? Here's what to look for: 3 signs of a lively lobster Buy a fresh lobster • When pulled from the tank, a healthy lobster should flap its • Fresh lobster: Long antennae is a sign it has been freshly caught. • Aged lobster: Missing/chewed antennae or tail and raise its claws. • If the claws droop, the lobster is weak and has no fight. • Push the tail straight. If it doesn't re-curl, keep looking cracked shell or claw, Sleeper Lobster: Sluggish and languid, likely near death. Lobsters held in a tank too long lose weight Choose another! and their meat shrinks. Rostrum Eye protection Pincher Claw Used for tearing Walking Legs Catch and taste morsels Great Chelipeds Claw-bearing legs Abdomen Commonly called tail Antennule Smelling organs Antenna Searching ocean floor Telson Crusher Claw Central tail fin Used for smashing Carpus Leg segment Uropods Outer tail fins Carapace Body shell from eyes to start of tail Q. How can I tell when you are paying for meat and not just the shell? Measure the length of carapace (eye socket to the start of the tail) and this determines the weight of lobsters. In two same weighted lobsters, the smaller the carapace, the better off you are. This makes more room for meat in the tail. Q. Where are lobsters Caught? Lobster fishing is most active in the Gulf of Maine, Bay of Fundy, Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence and coastal Nova Scotia. In Canada, typically the lobster season peaks twice a year, once in the spring (April-June) and another in December. Each area is subject to its own season, ranging from eight weeks to eight months in length. Canada accounts for more than 60% of lobsters landings in North American and provides more than half of the world's supply of Lobster. Go for the hard shell! Hard shell lobsters ship well because they are stronger, heartier, have more meat and better texture. • Select a lobster that's heavy for its size • Squeeze the sides - a soft shell will yield to pressure; the hard shell will be firm and tightly packed. Just like people, Lobsters are either right - or left handed. For example, a lobster could have its crusher claw (for smashing) on its left side, while others could have it on its right side. The other claw is a pincher claw, used for tearing. Soft shell lobsters will ALWAYS be cheaper than hard shell, but not necessarily a bargain in the end. In 1987, the State of Maine's license plate graphic features a red lobster. It was designed by elementary school children. Maine lobstermen measure each lobster from eye socket to the back of the carapace to ensure that it is legal size: at least 3 1/4 inches and no more than 5 inches. Anything smaller or bigger must be thrown back into the ocean. Why is my lobster brown? Male or Female: Don't worry - lobsters are commonly black or a brownish-blue. What's the difference? They can also be yellow, red and on very rare occasions, white. The familiar bright red hue comes only after it is cooked. Males: Bigger claws; thick, stiff swimmerets Females: Roe on the inside; soft, delicate swimmerets Lobster Rarities Blue Lobster: 1 in 2 million White-Orange: 1 in 10 million It is illegal to harvest an egg-bearing lobster. Calico: 1 in 30 million Split-Colored: 1 in 50 million • White: 1 in 100 million neemberz LOBSTERS IN P500 The American lobster, In 1840, Lobsters sold for about 2 cents a piece. There are 4500 lobstermen homarus americanus, has been commercially fished for 150 years. actively harvesting in Maine. Largest lobster caught weighed forty-four pounds, six ounces, and was between three and four feet long. In 2012, the catch exceeded 126 million pounds and generated over $338 million in ex-vessel or dock value. It takes 30 minutes for a lobster to molt. When is the best time of year to buy lobster? The best time of year to buy lobster is before Memorial Day (before summer tourists arrive) and after Labor Day (when the summer tourists leave). JAN - FEB - MAR JUL - AUG - SEP New shell lobster are usually harvested from late summer These are the most expensive months. Lobsters move further offshore in the winter months, causing lobstermen to travel further in harsh conditions. to early fall. Native soft shells are plentiful and cheap; hard shells are less abundant and I more APR - MAY - JUN As weather vwarms, lobster fishing picks up and prices go down. May is usually the expensive. Heavy demand drives prices up in August, but prices on hard shells begin to drop in September. least expensive month as OCT - NOV - DEC supplies are very good, yet the demand from summer Next to late spring, fall is the best time of year to buy resorts has yet to kick in. Lobsters are generally at their most firm and meatiest after the cold winter months. quality hard shell lobsters. After Labor Day, tourists return home and lobster landings are at their highest. Prices stay reasonable until the holidays, then rise as the winter weather sets in. What size lobster? Live lobsters are sold by the weight of Lobsters come in different sizes - from under legal size to a whopping 20 pounds. If lobster is the main event, a l and 1/2 to 2 pounds per person is in order. Lobsters take approximately 6-8 years to reach marketable size. each individual lobster. Live lobster grading sizes follow. Chix (also called chickens): 1.0 - 1.24 lb In Maine, lobster carapaces - the distance between the bottom of the eye socket to the end of the largest shell - must measure 3 and 1/4 to 5 inches. Maine state law forbids fishermen from keeping any lobsters that measure more than more than five inches from the eye to the Quarters: 1.25 - 1.49 lb Halves: 1.50 - 1.74 lb Deuces (also called twos, two pounders, and selects): 2.0-2.25 lb start of the tail. TIP: Ask if culls are available. Culls are lobsters missing one claw, usually less expensive and good for a recipe calling for cooked lobster meat. Heavy Selects: 2 - 2.5 lb Jumbos- Over 2.5 lb FACT: A lobster with no claws is called a 'pistol' or 'bullet,' often the result of a fight. Lobsters can regenerate their claws. CATCHING LOBSTER ΟNLIΝE Good quality lobsters are available year round from LobsterAnywhere.com. Our live lobsters come from the cold north Atlantic waters of Maine & Canada, and are packed with sweet, white meat from claw to tail. And it's the very best of these live lobsters we ship to you. When you buy lobster from Lobsteranywhere.com, you're getting fresh lobsters, always hard-shell lobsters. LobsterAnywhere has built its reputation by shipping only premium hard-shell Maine lobsters. LobsterAnywherS .com References 1. http://www.tastelobster.ca/eng home.php 2. http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/index-eng htm 3. http://www.maine.gov/dmr/rm/lobster/ 4.http://www.lobsterfrommaine.com/ 5. White, Jasper - Lobster At Home. Simon and Schuster, 1998 New York Infographic designed and illustrated by Jack Slater jackslater.co.uk (c) LobsterAnywhere.com

The Complete Guide for Buying a Fresh Lobster

shared by wursti on Apr 06
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Lobsters are widely known as the most delicious food known to man, but if they are not fresh at the time of preparation, your taste will be ruined. So how to make sure the lobster we bought is not jus...

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