BE SURE TO LEAVE A COMMENT OR ASK A QUESTION TO BE ENTERED IN TODAY'S DRAWING!
If I was to ask what is one of the most expensive entrée on a menu, I’d be willing to bet the majority of us would say lobster and in most restaurants we’d be correct. But what would you say if I told you that back one hundred and fifty years ago that wasn’t the case?
If I was to ask what is one of the most expensive entrée on a menu, I’d be willing to bet the majority of us would say lobster and in most restaurants we’d be correct. But what would you say if I told you that back one hundred and fifty years ago that wasn’t the case?
There
were times after summer storms that coastal people would wake up to hundreds of
stranded lobsters. The lobsters would
wash up on shore and be unable to return to the sea. The promised stench of
hundreds of pinching crustaceans dying on the beach motivated the locals to grab
their shovels and wade through the writhing lobsters with their strong claws in an attempt to scoop
them up and throw them back in the sea.
When you are picturing this mass of crawling, pinching creatures you
need to understand that these are not the two pound lobsters we see in the
supermarket and at tanks in restaurants today. These were like the goliath of
lobsters. Giants that could reach well over twenty some pounds.

So
with the lobster so plentiful I bet you’re thinking the people must have ate
well. Perhaps they did and perhaps they didn’t . It would depend on who you
talked to. See it all goes back to that
age old thing called supply and demand.
They had more lobster than they knew what to do with so the mammoth sea
creatures were considered garbage food much like carps are considered the
garbage fish of the lakes. They were used for fertilizer to help enrich and
nourish the ground of their gardens. An
easy catch, they were also used for bait to catch fish they would serve at the
dinner table.
However,
they were used for human consumption—as inhumane as is—they were fed to
servants, children, slaves, and indentured servants. That was considered
cold-hearted by many, making a person eat lobster day after day. So much so that
it was actually put into contracts that a servant would not have to eat lobster
more than three days a week. A group of indentured servants in a Massachusetts
town got so disgusted with their daily diet of lobster that they went to court
filing against the masters they’d sworn to serve. They won their case and would
no longer have to eat lobster more than three times a week. Oh that I should
have to suffer so. :o)
But
on the good side of it, they were so plentiful that the poor didn’t have to go
hungry. If they needed food all they had to do was wade along the shore or walk
in a tide pool and pick up their dinner. Thus, lobster was considered poor man’s
food and not desired by anyone. People were actually ashamed to eat lobster. In
1881, Halifax had the privilege of English visitor John Rowan. He watched in
amazement as young boys went ‘lobster spearing’ and collected hundreds with
hooks and sticks off the shore. He was noted as saying, “To give some idea of
the little value put upon lobsters by the country people, I may mention that on
some parts of the coast they boil them for their pigs, but are ashamed to be
seen eating lobsters themselves. Lobster shells about a house are looked upon
as signs of poverty and degradation.”
![]() |
1904 picture |
I'm giving away a Mango Bath Basket and a copy of Before the Season Ends by Linore Rose Burkard. You can relax in the tub and read! If you love a good Regency be sure to leave a comment or ask a question on this post to be entered to win Linore's book and your personal mini mango spa! Giveaway Ends April 14th!
Debbie Lynne Costello is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube
Agency. She attended Heritage University, where she studied Journalism and
worked in the editing department.
She has completed five full length
novels set in the Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA area in the late 19th century
and is now seeking homes for them.
She and her husband have four
children. They live in upstate South Carolina with their family. She spent
thirteen years coaching cheerleading and trying to make a difference in young
girls’ lives. Debbie Lynne has raised Shetland sheepdogs for seventeen years
and occasionally shows them. In her spare time, she sews, paints, knits, camps
(in a fifth wheel) and plays with the grandbaby.
WEBSITE: www.debbielynnecostello.com BLOG: www.theswordandspirit.blogspot.com BLOG: www.fictionaddictionfix.blogspot.com
WEBSITE: www.debbielynnecostello.com BLOG: www.theswordandspirit.blogspot.com BLOG: www.fictionaddictionfix.blogspot.com
Fascinating information! I love the part about not having lobster shells about the house. And since I love mango and Regency - I hope I win the giveaway. But most of all, I'm glad I read this riveting post. I learned a lot!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Karla! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Please come back and leave your email so I can contact you should you win! Good luck! It sounds like the giveaway package and you are a perfect match!
DeleteWho knew??! Never having had lobster myself, I've always thought of it as the rich person's food. Funny that it was originally the other way round!
ReplyDeleteCan't imagine the size of the lobsters you were talking about! That's enormous! My kids would definitely have liked to see lobsters that size. Even today, they always want to visit the lobster tank at the grocery store. There is apparently something fascinating about lobsters! :)
Oh I know! I could always find my boys around those tanks. It was like a magnet for them. It is funny how supply and demand really plays a part in our likes and dislikes. It isn't like the quality of lobster changed just the perceptive of them. Love lobster dipped in butter! We used to buy poor man's lobster which is Monk fish, however that is rich man's lobster now. LOL. Last time I went to get some it had out priced what I was willing to pay.
DeleteHi Debby Lynn, this was such a fun post! I had no idea this was how lobster was viewed in the past. Thanks for sharing!! I'm so excited that you are now represented by Tamela Hancock Murray! She has such a great reputation and works witih my agent, Steve Laube. So we are sort of "sisters" in our representation. : )
ReplyDeleteCarrie! Thank you for coming by! I LOVE Tamela!! Thank you for sharing my excitement. So we are sisters now? How cool is that?!!!
DeleteHi Debby, I would gladly take all the books you need to find homes for, I have lived near Savannah for many years and enjoy reading stories that are set in the SC/Ga area. Lobster is not something I ever eat or want to but your story was interesting. I am a steak kind of person...
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your gift basket and the book, hope to win...
Paula O(kyflo130@yahoo.com)
Hey Paula! Thanks for coming by. Oh I love Savannah and Charleston. Everything i write is set in those areas. LOL! WEll, nothing wrong with a good steak! I like lobster as long as I don't have to see him before I eat him. Something about that makes me want to just let him go back into the sea. I'm just a softie when it comes to animals.
DeleteI loved the story about lobsters. Who would have known? LOL. I've been to Maine several times, and we have always stopped at roadside stands for fresh lobster. One of my favorites, and a bit more affordable than in a Grand Rapids restaurant! What a beautiful giveaway! Thank you for offering this lovely contest!
ReplyDeleteNancee
quiltcat26[at]sbcglobal[dot]net
Hey Nancee! We went up to Kennybunkport and ate at a little mom and pops place. What was really cool about it was it was where George Bush would go to eat. They had pictures on the wall. Very fun! And of course the lobster was great!
DeleteNot so sure about the lobster - I am really not a fan....lol However, I am getting a brand new bathtub, and might be enticed to read in it if I win the basket. :) Thanks for the giveaway and another tidbit of history!
ReplyDeleteBetti
bettimace(at)gmail(dot)com
LOL Betti. Nothing like relaxing in mango bath saltz while you read a great Regency! Good luck and thanks for stopping by! It's good to see you here. :o)
DeleteWow, what a cool post! Who'd a thunk? Thanks for sharing today. :)
ReplyDeletewriter(underscore)weaver(at)yahoo(dot)com
Thank you Anna. It's amazing how much cool history is out there. I mean I never would have thought I'd find such interesting stuff when I started researching fishing and crabbing! Gotta love history! Good luck!
DeleteI love how the Lord takes unsuitable matches and makes them His own!! Would love to win this copy of Before the Season Ends by Linore Rose Burkard. Kathleen ~ Lane Hill House
ReplyDeletelanehillhouse[at]centurylink[dot]net
Thanks for coming by! It's great to see you here, Kathleen. Good luck on winning!
DeleteWow! A poor man's food? I wish! LOL This was a very fascinating post, Debbie, now I want lobster....and crab! :)
ReplyDeleteNo need to enter me into the contest. I already own Linore's book. God bless.
Awe thanks for stopping by Chaplain Debbie. I'm glad you enjoyed the post!
DeleteGreat blog, Debbie Lynne! What a fascinating history of lobster as a menu item. Hard to believe that people actually went to court to keep from having to eat lobster more than three times a week. LOL I think I could eat Red Lobster's lobster bisque soup and langostino lobster mashed potatoes at least three times a week without complaint. :)
ReplyDeleteI know right? Love a good lobster bisque soup. And just think the butter they had to dip their lobster in! Oh my goodness. Fresh sweet butter. Yum!!!
Deleteyes, great post! We vacation in Maine from time to time, and they would feed them to the prisoners up there. The convicts had laws on the books similar to the servants' that they wouldn't have to eat the lobster more than once a day. Funny how time and tide changes things. ;)
ReplyDeleteYes, I read that they fed them to prisoners, too. Really amazing that they'd trade a lobster for a chicken. LOL
DeleteInteresting blog - just goes to show that we can get too much of ANY good thing! Thanks for the opportunity to win the book & bath basket!
ReplyDeletebonnieroof60@yahoo.com
Yep that's right, Bonnie. I guess just like the Israelites and the quail. Good luck!
DeleteI had to chuckle at the servants suing their owners over lobster. Must have been the manna of the day. :)
ReplyDeleteLOL! I just mentioned the quail. heehee. Yep must have been.
DeleteI guess it's easy to get tired of anything, if we have to eat it day after day. My oh my! I haven't eaten a whole lobster for years! Interesting article!
ReplyDeletemay_dayzee (at) yahoo (dot) com
Thanks Kay. I guess we can get tired of anything. But I'm more a person who can eat the same thing over and over and not tire of it. But over years I probably would.
DeleteWho would have know that? I love history thanks for sharing today's post. It was very interesting. I'm not a big fan of lobster but I know some people in my family who would love to have one of those giant lobsters.
ReplyDeleteKatie J.
johnsonk133 at yahoo dot com
Hey Katie! I'd love to see one of those giant lobsters...Alive that is. Who would have thought we could have a history lesson on lobster? LOL
DeleteI love to relax with a good book in the tub. You can forget your worries for a little while. Thank you for the giveaway.
ReplyDeletegriperang at embarqmail dot com
Hey Angela! Your my kind of person. Nothing like it is there? Only problem is keeping the bath water warm long enough. ;o)
DeleteI agree - I never knew that about lobsters...that was so interesting...I love reading stuff like this and sharing with my family over a dinner meal - it usually start out with "Did you know...?" thanks for the giveaway too.
ReplyDeletetruckredford (at) gmail (dot) com
Heehee. Thanks Eliza! I find this kind of stuff fascinating! Good luck on the giveaway!
Deleteahhh a soak in the tub with your mango gift basket goodies sounds lovely....of course reading your book. I also LOVE lobster. When we were kids we had TORSK...which mom called "Poor Man's Lobster"...cod fish I believe...she boiled, and added butter and lemon to. It was good too.
ReplyDeleteDo you enjoy lobster? Do you fish?
Thanks for coming by. hmmmm I do like lobster but prefer crab and I like a mild fish if I can dip it in butter! I love anything if I can dip it in butter. LOL> Please leave your email addy so I can contact you should you win the drawing. :o)
ReplyDeleteWoah, I cannot imagine seeing those big things on the shore - especially trying to shovel them back into the water!! Boy, the things you learn while researching. Thanks for a fun post!
ReplyDeleteSusan P
farmygirl at hotmail dot com
LOL! Can you imagine walking on the beach at dark? It'd be enough to keep me off the beach. Thanks for coming by Susan. Good luck on the drawing.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, no late night beach walking for me!! :)
DeleteI really had no idea that lobster eating had such a history or that they were garbage seafood. Did you do the research about lobsters for a book or something specific? It was fascinating, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteJasmine A.
montanamade(at)gmail(dot)com
I was doing research for fishing/crabbing and ran across this tidbit. It was so interesting that I got side tracked. Lol. Thanks for coming by and good luck!
ReplyDeleteDebbie, that is so interesting. To think that lobsters were unwanted and then were food for the poor. Today, that thought is reversed as lobster is costly due to the method of catching them.
ReplyDeletedeamundy(at)gmail(dot)com
Hey Deanna! I know. Just think if we could pick up our lobster off the shore! Thanks for coming by, and good luck!
DeleteGood evening, Ms. Debbie Lynne! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm finally able to get my tail caught up with all the lovely posts here on the Society!! It's been a whirlwind since Eastertide, that much I can assure you! Oyy. And, yes, I absolutely adore the Regency! When I was younger, I used to try to collect the short story collections simply called: A Regency Christmas! They had numbers attached to them too! Such as the kind seen here: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/p/mary-jo-putney/regency-christmas-ii.htm. Now, I didn't know of the names "Mary Jo Putney or Mary Balogh" as I do today -- as this goes back to the early 90s, but what caught me up in the Regency world were the gentlemen and ladies who populated the stories! This of course, led me into Jane Austen and all the lovely authors of the 19th century! I'm not even sure if I was able to get all the editions of those Regencies, as I think I only have II and IV! Laughs. This is long before we had Powells or Better World Books, or Out of Print searches available online! As much as the 'used book shoppe' wasn't exactly nearby or popular as they are today! Isn't it interesting how things change in such short order!?
And, like the lobster, used books are just as high in demand now as the curious creatures who make me smile! I am still not sure how I'm going to be able to 'try' lobster knowing wells,... how they have to be cooked!? Sighs. At least they are monitored these days and they do not over harvest them! :) I didn't know of the full history, as I am still in the beginning stages of learning more about the lobster trade, so I appreciated your foothold on this topic!
OOh my! I did a search for *Regency Christmas* on Better World Books and guess what!? There are a heap to gather still!! Eek. Thanks for reminding me of a bit of joy I used to have in my younger years that I now can resume!! Wicked!
I'd be delighted to win a book held within the Regency era!
Jorie
inkand-blogaways(at)usa.net
Hey Jorie! Let me guess, you love Regency. LOL> So many Regency lovers out there. You are not alone! Do you get Linore Rose Burkard's Regency News Letters? If not, you will love them! Just go to her website and sign up. Linore knows Regency like the back of her hand and sends out lovely newsletters filled with Regency information along with beautiful pictures! And so glad you are back with us here at The Society! Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteLiving in Maine, I've long been fascinated by the history of lobsters. It really has changed over the years, hasn't it? It is my absolute FAVORITE food. I've seen some of those gigantic shells in person at local museums that they are amazing to see. This was a wonderful post! Great website!
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming by Carla and I'm so glad you enjoyed my post! I would love to see some of those gigantic shells in person.
DeleteAND THE WINNER OF THE MANGO BATH BASKET AND BEFORE THE SEASON ENDS BOOK IS...KATIE J!! CONGRATULATIONS, KATIE! I'VE SENT YOU AN EMAIL. PLEASE SEND ME YOUR ADDRESS SO I CAN MAIL YOU YOUR PRIZE!!
ReplyDelete