Live Maine Lobsters are good for You, Too!
It's hard for us to imagine why Maine's earliest residents didn't eat the lobsters they harvested. Although they've been harvested from the Maine coastal waters for generations, it wasn't until recently that people started respecting them as the fine fare they are. In fact, early Colonists used them as fertilizer. They were only food for the poor, slaves, indentured servants, and children. Since that time, though, our eating tastes have changed. In the 1840s the demand for live Maine lobsters was so great that the first commercial lobster fishery came into being, supplying the finest restaurants in America's biggest cities.
People today thoroughly enjoy the extravagant taste of fresh live Maine lobsters. With many foods, the adage that if it tastes good it can't be good for you holds true. Lobster meat is an exception to the rule. It is a very healthy food with fewer calories, less fat, and relatively about the same amount of cholesterol as a skinless chicken breast.
By examining the nutrition fact sheet on a can of lobster meat, we find that a 3 oz. serving contains only 98 calories with only five calories being attributed to fat. The serving also contains 300 mg. of the important mineral, potassium. The daily percentages of the vitamins and minerals which are supplied by this 3 oz. piece as listed on the can are as follows:
1. Vitamin A - 2% 2. Calcium - 6% 3. Riboflavin - 4% 4. Iron - 2% 5. Vitamin E - 6% 6. Niacin - 4% 7. Vitamin B6 - 4% 8. Vitamin B12 - 45% 9. Magnesium - 8% 10. Selenium - 50% 11. Manganese - 2% 12. Phosphorus - 15% 13. Zinc - 15% 14. Copper - 80%
Just imagine getting all that nutrition out of one tiny three ounce piece of lobster. You might try comparing these figures with those on any other canned good in your cupboard. That will show you just how impressive these numbers are.
Most of the live Maine lobsters are harvested by a crew consisting of a boat captain and one or two assistants. These small crews are able to maintain an astounding 800 traps at a time. Their daily routine involves hauling in some full traps and replacing them with empty ones. They keep track of their traps by using buoys marked with their own designs that have been registered with the state of Maine.
Lobsters are harvested in Maine twelve months a year. The majority are caught between late June and late December when the lobsters are most active. Although lobsters are harvested during the other months of the year, too, the catch is much lower.
One of the specialties among live Maine lobsters are new shell lobsters. Mature adult lobsters continue to molt about once a year. During molting they shed their old, tough shells for new, larger ones. It is at this point, when the shells are still very soft, that harvesters are most avid to trap them. There are people who will pay very high premium prices for new shell lobsters, because the meat is especially flavorful, and the shells can be cracked with the bare hands.
You don't have to wait to go to an expensive restaurant in order to give into your craving for fresh Maine lobster. There are websites online which ship them overnight, fresh from their door to yours. Add the taste and convenience to the healthy qualities of lobster meat, and you've got a combination that's hard to beat!
People today thoroughly enjoy the extravagant taste of fresh live Maine lobsters. With many foods, the adage that if it tastes good it can't be good for you holds true. Lobster meat is an exception to the rule. It is a very healthy food with fewer calories, less fat, and relatively about the same amount of cholesterol as a skinless chicken breast.
By examining the nutrition fact sheet on a can of lobster meat, we find that a 3 oz. serving contains only 98 calories with only five calories being attributed to fat. The serving also contains 300 mg. of the important mineral, potassium. The daily percentages of the vitamins and minerals which are supplied by this 3 oz. piece as listed on the can are as follows:
1. Vitamin A - 2% 2. Calcium - 6% 3. Riboflavin - 4% 4. Iron - 2% 5. Vitamin E - 6% 6. Niacin - 4% 7. Vitamin B6 - 4% 8. Vitamin B12 - 45% 9. Magnesium - 8% 10. Selenium - 50% 11. Manganese - 2% 12. Phosphorus - 15% 13. Zinc - 15% 14. Copper - 80%
Just imagine getting all that nutrition out of one tiny three ounce piece of lobster. You might try comparing these figures with those on any other canned good in your cupboard. That will show you just how impressive these numbers are.
Most of the live Maine lobsters are harvested by a crew consisting of a boat captain and one or two assistants. These small crews are able to maintain an astounding 800 traps at a time. Their daily routine involves hauling in some full traps and replacing them with empty ones. They keep track of their traps by using buoys marked with their own designs that have been registered with the state of Maine.
Lobsters are harvested in Maine twelve months a year. The majority are caught between late June and late December when the lobsters are most active. Although lobsters are harvested during the other months of the year, too, the catch is much lower.
One of the specialties among live Maine lobsters are new shell lobsters. Mature adult lobsters continue to molt about once a year. During molting they shed their old, tough shells for new, larger ones. It is at this point, when the shells are still very soft, that harvesters are most avid to trap them. There are people who will pay very high premium prices for new shell lobsters, because the meat is especially flavorful, and the shells can be cracked with the bare hands.
You don't have to wait to go to an expensive restaurant in order to give into your craving for fresh Maine lobster. There are websites online which ship them overnight, fresh from their door to yours. Add the taste and convenience to the healthy qualities of lobster meat, and you've got a combination that's hard to beat!
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