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Lobsters cooked alive for safe eating
 Q:
Why are lobsters most often cooked alive--Jill A. Beardstown, IL
A: "Because lobster meat can go bad quickly, it's generally necessary to cook a lobster while it's still alive," says Gulf of
Maine Aquarium. Never eat a cooked lobster with its tail uncurled because that indicates it died before it was cooked.
Right: [OAR/NURP] A lobster's claw can crush clamshells.
"They are cooked alive for a good reason: Bacteria quickly multiply in a perished lobster, endangering the consumer,"
says Ryan Bartholomew of LivelyLobsters.com.
I've surfed the web far and wide and all sites agree to cook lobsters alive. That's the reason--for a dish that's safe to eat.
By the way, Dave Dow, former director of the Lobster Institute, says a lobster has a brain the size of a grasshopper's and is a collection of nerve endings, like
an insect's nervous system. The tiny brain lacks a central nervous system and therefore cannot process pain signals.
(Answered by April Holladay, science correspondent, August 22, 2001)
Further Surfing:
Lobster Institute: Lobster Basics http://www.lobster.um.maine.edu/lobster/info/cookbook/basics.html
A guide to cape cod: recipes
Gulf of Maine Aquarium: All about lobsters
Chicago Social Magazine: Lobster Chez Vous
U of Maine: Food safety on the water
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