49
votes
Accepted
Why do shrimp / lobster / crab turn pink or red when cooking?
Crustaceans like shrimp, lobsters, crabs and crayfish have a pigment called astaxanthin in their shells.
Astaxanthin belongs to the terpines class of chemicals of which the carotenoid ¹ class is a ...
- 5,817
32
votes
Which method of killing the lobster would cause the least pain and distress?
Put the lobster in the freezer for about 30 minutes, it will basically be in a sleeping/coma state when you take it out. Then cut into its head lengthwise to destroy its brain before it wakes up.
...
- 1,084
28
votes
How can you 干/乾 燒 lobster on an electric cooktop, in a residential apartment?
Short answer: you can't, but probably not for the reason you think.
Longer answer: the phrase you're quoting above, 干燒/乾燒, means "dry-fried", which generally (and somewhat paridoxically) ...
- 55.8k
13
votes
Which method of killing the lobster would cause the least pain and distress?
I've not tried it personally, but I've heard good things about using clove oil to anesthetize the lobster (incidentally, the same link that the second quote in the question is pulled from).
The above ...
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8
votes
Why do shrimp / lobster / crab turn pink or red when cooking?
This is most probably due to the occurrence of a specific carotenoid (Astaxanthin) in their body. This carotenoid (like many others) is
susceptible to enzymatic or nonenzymatic oxidation, which ...
- 181
6
votes
Accepted
Lobster Death! Freezer vs. Alcohol
The way fish (shelfish included) is dispatched impacts both its flavor and texture. The Japanese have a long history of this knowledge. This type of fish killing is called ike jime.
Dave Arnold ...
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5
votes
Lobster Death! Freezer vs. Alcohol
Does cooking a lobster alive alter the flavor/texture?
No, not really.
Is there any truth to the claims that lobsters don't feel pain?
Absolutely not. They feel pain just like you do.
Does killing a ...
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3
votes
Which method of killing the lobster would cause the least pain and distress?
Less of a practical suggestion but suffocation with a noble gas would not hurt a human and is being considered as a way to kill livestock. For a lobster this should work the same.
https://vimeo.com/...
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2
votes
Accepted
Recipes say not to boil butter for beurre monté - why?
Cooking doesn't equal boiling, mind. For example, sous-vide cooking cooks something at very low temperature.
Beurre monté is a sauce of emulsified butter, which will remain emulsified up to 80-85ºC (...
- 2,820
2
votes
Accepted
Will lobsters caught in June be shedders?
Probably not, the shedding season starts mid-late July according to this site:
By mid-to late July the Gulf of Maine begins to warm up significantly
which triggers the seasonal molt.
The end of ...
- 73.1k
1
vote
Lobster Death! Freezer vs. Alcohol
Assuming you can get fresh lobster, you definitely should keep it as fresh as possible prior to cooking. Generally, that will mean keeping the bug alive until it's cooked.
I haven't heard of this ...
- 14.8k
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