Brooke, where do you stand on the various core issues of lobster quality:
- Do you think the waters of a given U.S. state or Canadian province produce the best lobsters, or do you think they're all the same from Nova Scotia to North Carolina?
- What time(s) of year do you think is/are best for lobsters? Do you prefer hard, soft, or in-between shells?
- Do you think bigger or smaller lobsters taste better or different?
Which lobsters are best?
Started by
Fat Guy
, May 04 2003 03:44 AM
2 replies to this topic
#1
Fat Guy
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- eGullet Society staff emeritus
- 29,291 posts
Posted 04 May 2003 - 03:44 AM
Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)
#2
Varmint
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- eGullet Society staff emeritus
- 5,135 posts
Posted 05 May 2003 - 06:23 AM
And a follow-up question: What effect do you think "pounding" lobsters has on their flavor?
Dean McCord
VarmintBites
VarmintBites
#3
Brooke Dojny
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- participating member
- 17 posts
Posted 06 May 2003 - 10:49 AM
Hi Fat Guy--
I have no scientific data to back up my opinions, but here they are, for what they're worth:
I have had great lobsters from waters off all of New England - never eaten Canadian or North Carolinian creatures. It could be my imagination but I do believe that lobsters who have spent their lives in colder waters taste better - and that, of course, means Maine waters. Maybe it's not the cold - maybe the rocky, less muddy bottom?
This goes againt most common wisdom, but I happen to prefer soft-shell lobsters, which are mostly caught in the summer months. To my palate, they taste sweeter, and I'll sacrifice that for the more-meat-per-pound in hard-shells. Also hard-shells can really give you a nasty cut when you're trying to pry the meat out!
Size-wise, I've never noted any taste differences.
"Pounding" (empoundment in salt water storage) is fine if the pound is of sufficient size. However, lobsters that spend more than a couple of weeks in a tank in a fish market lose that ocean tang and sometimes develop off flavors.
I have no scientific data to back up my opinions, but here they are, for what they're worth:
I have had great lobsters from waters off all of New England - never eaten Canadian or North Carolinian creatures. It could be my imagination but I do believe that lobsters who have spent their lives in colder waters taste better - and that, of course, means Maine waters. Maybe it's not the cold - maybe the rocky, less muddy bottom?
This goes againt most common wisdom, but I happen to prefer soft-shell lobsters, which are mostly caught in the summer months. To my palate, they taste sweeter, and I'll sacrifice that for the more-meat-per-pound in hard-shells. Also hard-shells can really give you a nasty cut when you're trying to pry the meat out!
Size-wise, I've never noted any taste differences.
"Pounding" (empoundment in salt water storage) is fine if the pound is of sufficient size. However, lobsters that spend more than a couple of weeks in a tank in a fish market lose that ocean tang and sometimes develop off flavors.
