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Lobster

This shell fish is in season from the beginning of April to the end of October, so that during these months it supplies to some extent the place of the oyster. It is highly esteemed, and may be served in various ways. Medium-sized lobsters are the best for eating, and very small ones, which are the cheapest, may be used for sauce. The flesh of the male, or cock lobster as it is termed, is more delicate than that of the hen, and its shell assumes a brighter red after boiling. The hen is valued, however, on account of the spawn, which is used for making sauce, and the coral for garnishing salads, etc. The common lobster sometimes weighs as much as ten or twelve pounds when loaded with spawn, but a lobster of one pound weight, or even less, is considered fit for the market. When boiled, its beautifully clouded and varied bluish-black turns to a nearly uniform red. Lobsters are certainly nutritive, but not so much so as is commonly supposed. Not being easily digested, they require condiments, of which the most proper are those most frequently used, namely, vinegar and pepper. On some constitutions lobsters have a pernicious effect, and occasion eruptions of the skin and other distressing symptoms of derangement. Great care should be taken that they are in good condition, and quite fresh. When stale, they are unwholesome in a high degree.