The Delightful History of Lobsters
The story of how the ubiquitous lobster once called with disdain as the “cockroach of the ocean” went from a poor man’s food to an expensive, gourmet delicacy.
Are You a Lobster Lover?
You know the situation perfectly if you are a lobster lover.
A reasonable lobster dinner in a big city is one of the most expensive menu items, ranging from $30 to $50 for a mid-sized lobster. The price can run even higher depending on where you are dining.
And unlike other fisheries or farms, lobster farming is difficult as the crustaceans grow slowly, eat a lot, and are susceptible to a contagious disease. That is the reason that lobsters are synonymous with luxury. It is a status symbol and an indulgent delicacy for most families to eat only on special occasions. As Greg Elwell, the food critic, writes.
"Lobster is fancy. If you imagine a lobster talking, it probably has a British accent. Draw an animated lobster and I bet you’ll include a top hat, a monocle, and an opera cape."
But it was not always like that.
In the 1700s, lobsters were considered trashy and repellent food and called the “cockroaches of the sea.” Only the less fortunate people consumed it, namely widows, orphans, prison inmates, and servants.
Lobster shells lying around a house’s front yard were considered a sign of poverty and moral degradation. Sometimes its shells were ground up and used as manure, but beyond that, lobsters were considered dirt food not fit for “respectable” human beings.
But little could anybody guess that within less than 100 years, the invention of the railways would usher in a golden era for the ubiquitous lobster.
The History of the Lobster
Indeed, lobsters were so abundant in the early days of the American Massachusetts Bay Colony that the governor of the colony, William Bradford, was embarrassed to admit to newly-arrived colonists that the only food they “could present their friends with was a lobster ... without bread or anything else but a cup of water”.
Later, there were also rumors that the servants revolted against serving the lobsters and finally won an injunction that they would be served lobsters a maximum of three times a week and no more.
This hatred for lobsters took a complete U-turn less than a hundred years later when railways began to spread across America. As the railways connected the length and breadth of the American continent, railway managers found that the inland customers did not know what a lobster was and they could serve it as a rare sea delicacy.
Inland passengers were intrigued. The lobster was delicious. They asked for more, unaware that the coastal people considered them trash.
Lobsters Became the King of Seafood
By the 1880s, chefs began to cook lobsters in better ways. They cooked it live, spiked it with butter and garlic, and made it much more appetizing. Soon restaurants started to serve lobster in the salad section, like bread and butter pickles or cottage cheese.
Americans started to love lobster, and refrigeration and ice packing further allowed lobstermen to ship their product inland, spreading its fame.
Demand overtook the supply, and soon lobster prices hit the roof in the 1920s. But came the great depression, and lobsters became unaffordable for most people. The lobster was again demoted to provide a cheap source of protein for the American soldiers. But this lobster slowdown did not last for long.
By the 1950s, lobsters had regained their position as the uncrowned king of seafood delicacy. Lobsters were firmly established as a gastronomic delight worldwide, and eating it became a status symbol for all classes, from newly minted rich families to the Rockefellers.
Movie stars were photographed dining out on the delicacy. Restaurants began serving it as an exotic treat. Prices rose and have remained like that till this day.
Thus, the ubiquitous lobster attained legendary fame through a strange twist of fate and the imagination of a visionary and unsung railway manager who first thought of serving lobsters in a railway dining car.
Just imagine what would have happened if the dining cars had continued serving liver or processed ham. Was it a turning point in culinary history? The next time you savor a sweet lobster, do think about it.
Sources
· A BRIEF HISTORY OF LOBSTERS AND HOW THEY BECAME SEAFOOD ROYALTY
A friend of mine grew up in rural Nova Scotia. Lobster sandwiches were a sign that your family couldn't afford anything else. They were amazed to find out that lobster was considered a delicacy, not a food of last resort. Personally, I think it's a lot of work for not a lot of food, and since finding out that tomalley had shellfish toxins and heavy metals in it, I haven't had a lot of lobster, even though it is good.