Lobster has a lean rich meat. Virtually the entire lobster is edible, excepting only the outer shell, a small portion of the head and a tiny vein running down the tail. It is very nutritious and its characteristic flavour and aroma, make it a gourmet prize the world over.

Lobster meat contains healthy amounts of iron, zinc, selenium, calcium, iodine, high quality protein, nine essential amino acids, vitamins A, B, and B6. there is almost no cholesterol or saturated fats, and few calories in this healthy seafood.

Nutrient Analysis (3.5 oz. or 100g serving of cooked lobster)

The lobster fished off Eastern Canada and the northeastern United States is the American lobster. The rock lobster is a spiny lobster, which has no claws and is found off the coast of Europe and in more southern waters.

Female lobsters generally are wider in the upper dorsal tail region (allows room in the tail to store the premature eggs). Females can also be distinguished by their soft, thin set of first pleopods (swimmerets). Males have a hard, thicker set of first pleopods and have smaller hard appendages attached to their second set of pleopods.

Contrary to popular belief, lobsters are not scavengers. They eat fish, alive or dead and animals that live in the bottom of the ocean, such as clams, snails, starfish and crabs. Lobsters are also cannibals, feeding on smaller, weaker lobsters. The teeth of a lobster are in its stomach. The stomach is located a short distance from the mouth and the food is actually chewed in the stomach between three grinding surfaces that look like molar teeth, called the "gastric mill".

The largest (recorded) lobster caught was 42.4 lbs. (19.2 kg), had a carapace of 14.9" (37.8 cm) and a total body length of 24.1" (61.2 cm). It was caught in 1934 and was probably at least 100 years old!

A canner may be only 5 or 6 years old, a one pound lobster would be about 7-8 years old, and a jumbo (over 8 lbs) may be 20-50 years old! A lobster's age is approximately his weight multiplied by four, plus three years.