The lobster season is underway. It’s a big deal around here, but it hasn’t always been that way.
Most of us have heard stories that lobster was only eaten by those who couldn’t afford anything else. They would wash up on the shore, so you could just go for a walk and pick up a feed.
I really have to tip my hat to the person who first figured out they were edible. When you think of it, it was probably a lousy hunter who had nothing to eat and finally said, “I’m so hungry, I’m gonna eat that big ol’ sea-bug.” Or they simply got mixed up in a pile of seaweed when someone was having a family clam bake at the beach, and when they saw them change colour, they decided to give them a try.
That person is lost to history. We will never know his or her name and be able to celebrate them. Although maybe there is an old Mi’kmaq story that I haven’t heard, telling us who first thought eating one of those things was a good idea. If you know, please pass it along, ’cause I’m thinking I party should be held in their honour.
In Europe, lobster were long considered a delicacy, but not so here. For many years, lobster were cheap protein. They were served to prisoners and indentured servants and scrounged from the beaches, by those who had little else. There were even laws passed limiting the number of times per week you could feed them to prisoners and slaves.
So when did they become a delicacy? Apparently, that was the railroads. As people started to travel, they had to be fed. The railroads figured they could take this cheap protein, start telling people it was something fancy and make money. It is pretty tasty, so feeding it to people who had no idea it was thought of as food for prisoners and the poor increased demand and status. Demand goes up, the price goes up, and suddenly lobster is the “in” thing.
Lobster is really an example of a classic marketing success story. It didn’t hurt that numbers went down as they were fished and they no longer washed up on shore in piles two feet deep. That just made them harder to come by and drove the prices even higher.
So here’s to good catches and decent prices. I’ve heard plenty of stories from older family members about how the were embarrassed to take lobster sandwiches to school. It’s a hard thought to get your head around. So I’ll just concentrate on melting the butter.
