They lurk in the depths of the ocean, feasting on the remains of their fallen neighbors. With stalked eyes, muddy coloring, and large predatory claws, they’re reminiscent of insects and are admittedly neither cute nor cuddly. They’re ancient, they’re cannibalistic, and they’re delicious dipped in lemon and butter. They’re the beloved lobsters, a crustacean sensation. Lobsters have spent decades clawing their way up social and culinary ranks, rising from their status of an aquatic beach pest to the iconic culinary symbol of New England as we know them today.
In early America, lobsters would wash up on Boston beaches after storms and litter the shores with their decomposing bodies. Piles of carcasses would collect and rot, prompting frustrated New Englanders to put them to good use. The festering carcasses were harvested and ground into a slurry, which was then used as fertilizer or fed to prisoners and peasants as a high-protein fuel [1].
