Why do we boil Lobsters Live

[Paul B]

Why do we boil lobsters live, and do they feel pain?

It turns out that dead lobsters start becoming poisonous with in 25 minutes of death and that is why we are not allowed to sell dead lobsters.

My Dad had a seafood market and we kept the lobsters alive in huge vats for that reason.

It also turns out that lobsters feel pain and there is no good way to kill one painlessly.

This video is long but interesting.

 

[exnisstech]

We did this once once when we vacationed on the coast of Maine. Never should have let the kids name the lobster. None of us were prepared for the sound Jake made when we dropped him into boiling water. That was my first and last time eating lobster. Not so much killing it but the meat was too rich for me. I prefer something milder like shrimp or even crawfish

 

[Nano_Man]

A lot of people eat lobster
I've never tried one caught plenty over time but I was never brought up on sea food. Fish and chips is as far as I go

 

[MC Blowfish]

I've had lobster a couple times. I liked it, but honestly I should have picked something else. The fact that they have to cook them alive is not humane.

 

[kevgib67]

When I was in high school our band had a fundraiser for live lobster . I felt so guilty putting it in boiling water but it was delicious. Never did it again, I prefer it being done in a kitchen while I’m in a dining room at a restaurant.

 

[13rodo]

Interesting watch! I’m going to assume everything in it is accurate and not an AI hallucination I find the distributed nervous system pretty interesting. It also does a pretty good job pointing out how humans often get things wrong because we assume everything is built like ourselves.

 

[Üter]

many years ago THC was tried.

https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news...ate-charlottes-legendary-lobster-pound-maine/

 

[BrokenReefer]

I love lobster. Give me a cold lobstah roll any day!!

 

[PhishEDELIC]

My knowledge of marine aquariums got me a job for 15 years working for a company that built lobster tanks and serviced them for supermarkets. I always found it amazing that the seafood department was expect to maintain a saltwater tank and keep a marine animal alive. Imagine that in other departments. The meat department keeping a pen in the back with live pigs for pork chops, lol.

 

[Paul B]

Not so much killing it but the meat was too rich for me. I prefer something milder like shrimp or even crawfish

I don't eat lobsters myself but have cooked many. My Daughter, granddaughter, and wife loves them, but my Dad owned a seafood market, and we had to eat all the lobsters that just died so we didn't have to throw them out. Then for probably 25 years we SCUBA dove here and caught them every day and many nights.

I got very sick of them many years ago.

I even taught classes on them at my Grandson's school when he was little.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I thought there was a way you could use a knife on the spine area of the lobster to kill it quickly? Maybe I’m wrong and thinking of something else (this is coming from a guy who has never cooked lobster, and has only had a lobster roll once, and lobster pasta once. Never had a legit lobster tail, just small little chunks)

 

[CHSUB]

Hard boiling water kills them almost instantly, I’ve cooked thousands because I worked at one of the busiest restaurants in Newburyport Ma. Head first and no worries it dies quickly….
Don’t eat them if you don’t want to!

 

[Üter]

I thought there was a way you could use a knife on the spine area of the lobster to kill it quickly? Maybe I’m wrong and thinking of something else (this is coming from a guy who has never cooked lobster, and has only had a lobster roll once, and lobster pasta once. Never had a legit lobster tail, just small little chunks)

yes. you knife them behind the head. you can also freeze them for a bit so they fall asleep.

 

[diggers]

We put our crayfish (Western Australia) to sleep in fresh water or put a knife down the back of their shell. Straight into boiling water sounds sketchy. . .

 

[Paul B]

Hard boiling water kills them almost instantly,

It seems, according to the video I linked, that it takes 3 seconds for them to die in boiling water and that is too long for some people.

yes. you knife them behind the head. you can also freeze them for a bit so they fall asleep.

Also, it says that doesn't kill them because their nervous system runs all along the creature, right to its tail. I also like to put them in cold fresh water in the freezer for a half hour or so to kill them, then I grill them.

Grilled lobster, or almost anything else tastes better than boiled. Lobsters don't have much taste anyway and boiling doesn't help. Either way, I am not a fan.

 

[droblack]

I know with live blue crabs, they are often immersed in ice water to knock them out prior to cooking. Blue crab claws taste much better than lobster to me, but a lot of work for little reward.

 

[areefer01]

Why do we boil lobsters live, and do they feel pain?

I do not know. On the other hand what I do know is that Eddie Murphy back in 82 did a skit that asked viewers to call a number to vote whether he should boil Larry the Lobster or be saved. Live. It basically flooded the lines with calls so much that the instant surge generated network operation centers to light up. Not a full outage but one the engineers noticed never the less.

And no, Larry was not saved but rather for dinner the following weekend...

 

[Paul B]

Again, my wife, daughter, and granddaughter love blue claw crabs. I am also not a fan except my wife makes crab sauce from that that is delicious.



I catch them and clean them, and I think they die quickly. To clean them, you pick it up alive by the claws, trying not to get bitten. Rip off the claws, then grab the top pointed end of their shell and, with your other hand, the legs and pull them apart.

 

[get-salty]

I've boiled them alive before and honestly... I wont do it again.
It is a little disturbing...
I may put them in the deep freezer first then to the boiler.

Blue crabs.. idc, into the boiler !

 

[CatsandClowns]

Why do we boil lobsters live, and do they feel pain?

It turns out that dead lobsters start becoming poisonous with in 25 minutes of death and that is why we are not allowed to sell dead lobsters.

My Dad had a seafood market and we kept the lobsters alive in huge vats for that reason.

It also turns out that lobsters feel pain and there is no good way to kill one painlessly.

This video is long but interesting.

I purchased a lobster once, it was dumb, on a whim, and was overpriced for what you get. Not worth it. I couldn’t bring myself to boil it though while still alive. I’d heard they don’t feel pain but regardless, boiling it alive felt just wrong to me. Anyways we used a good ol’ Chinese cleaver in one swift move down on the dinner