Comments on: Giant Lobsters and Their Puny Brethren. Plus, A Wild Vegetable.

By: davearnold

davearnold — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 20:47:56 +0000

Interesting question Rusty,
I wish I had weighed the meat. The first time I cooked a huge one I had no scale (my mom’s house). The second time I cooked one I was in a rush (demo). I’d bet your yield would vary considerably depending on hardshell or softshell at any weight size. The shells of the big guys ere very thick. Dunno. Very good question.

By: Rusty Shackleford

Rusty Shackleford — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 18:08:02 +0000

Hey Dave,

what do you think the ratio of of meat to shell of a large lobster versus the usual tiny 24 ouncers in terms of value? Is it worthwhile to buy a larger lobster or many small ones?

By: davearnold

davearnold — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:12:29 +0000

Wow. Great comment.

By: Arielle Johnson

Arielle Johnson — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:35:24 +0000

OK. Not a huge number of sensory-analytical studies in lobster, but, from what I have been able to find ["Aroma Components of Cooked Tail Meat of American Lobster
(Homarus americanus)" G.-H. Lee et al, J. Agric. Food Chem. 2001, 49, 4324-4332; and "Evaluation of the Aroma of Cooked Spiny Lobster Tail Meat by Aroma Extract Dilution Analysis" Keith R. Cadwallader et al, J. Agric. Food Chem. 1995, 43, 2432-2437; n.b. that in both studies, the lobsters were cooked to 80 celsius, which seems high to me], Lobster (tail meat) contains significant levels of buttery(diacetyl), fishy(trimethylamine, z-4-heptenal), and nutty/popcorn/malty/cooked potato ( 3-methylthiopropanal, heptanal, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, 2-acetothiazole, a few others) aroma compounds, and levels of octanal and acetaldehyde (both “sweet”) which may not be above threshold, but may play a role in the lobster aroma. So, 2 things: the creamy/malty/nutty/sweet compounds in lobster may enhance its perceived sweetness, and, if one accepts the concept of some flavor pairings working based on shared impact compounds, lobster and butter may be a “natural” fit due to shared high levels of diacetyl (which in the food industry is the main flavorant of microwave popcorn). Sounds like someone should do a lobster-popcorn dish.

By: Mikko Räsänen

Mikko Räsänen — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:39:15 +0000

One point about the age. I have heard a claim that hunter should always hunt in a way that mimics evolution. In nature very young individuals tend to die more often than older “more fit to live in this world” individuals. So when a older individual is hunt species potentially loses better genes. Of course one can hunt very old animals that tend to die anyways because of their age. Maybe huge lobsters are that old they can be hunt.

By: davearnold

davearnold — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:21:02 +0000

Tell us what you find.

By: Arielle

Arielle — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:20:05 +0000

New-englanders gotta have their butter- I didn’t try lobster without it until I was in my teens.

RE: sweetness, want to look into this more, but it’s possible that some of the volatiles in the lobster’s aroma are either sweet-active or cause increased perception of sweetness (much like anethole in anise/fennel, which does both)

By: Joyce

Joyce — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 13:22:23 +0000

The stuff that turns red upon cooking is the roe (the eggs), and only found in females. You will notice that it often has a definate granular texture (depending on how close to spawning she is). If that red roe is on the outside of the lobster the female is spawning and you shouldn’t be eating her.
The tamale (which I’m told is the liver) is normally green and silky in texture, but can vary according to what the lobster has been eating. For example, using herring for bait will make the tamale blackish and oily and not so tasty. The little sac of black near the eyes we always called “the old woman” and it’s very bitter and icky.

By: Cesar V

Cesar V — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 01:43:41 +0000

Cool post!
A few questions:

I prepared 3 lobsters today and I’m still confused about the ‘tamali’. There is a DARK green viscera-like pair of sacs that turns intense red upon cooking, is that the ‘tamali’? Or is it the very light green/brown brain-looking stuff that does NOT change color upon cooking…Isn’t the hepatopancreas? Do you have pictures that could clarify this mistery?

What is with the fixation of eating lobster smothered in butter? It seems to me that this is a northamerican practice…Spanish particularly refuse to do this…I partially agree – otherwise part of the sweetness you mention must come from the butter…

and finally, aminoacids that might contribute to the sweeteness include: glycine, alanine, arginine, valine or methionine…

By: Auldo

Auldo — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:39:54 +0000

I don’t think you can dismiss something, because it is not linked to what we/some of us think of as important. Are we the pinnacle of what Earth has produced? Is a 100 year old tree just a tree?

Oh oh, never ending off-topic internet discussion around the corner.