Why do you have to cook lobsters when they are still alive?

Answer 1

BECAUSE THE WHOLE LOBSTER IS COOKED !!!
AND FOR FRESHNESS !!!

(I KNOW KINDA CRUEL , HUH ?)

Answer 2

You don't have to but, the reason to cook the lobster ALIVE is to avoid food poisoning. All shellfish have a tendency to take revenge and toxicate themselves quickly, unless immediately frozen once dead. If you DO decide to cook a dead lobster, do NOT eat it if it smells like AMMONIA.

The only other way to kill a lobster would be to quickly pierce their brain stem with a knife. That takes the precision of a surgeon. lobsters have such small brains everyone but PETA thinks they feel pain.

Did you know that if you put a lobster in the pot and he does not kick for a short period it is not fresh?

Answer 3

You don't have to. You can buy the frozen ones ;)

Most people prefer the taste of fresh lobster. You also do not have to worry if the lobster has thawed and then been refrozen. No worries about foodborne illnesses either if cooked and handled correctly.

Answer 4

American lobsters are a popular food, commonly boiled or steamed; for either method, they must be alive until they are cooked to avoid food poisoning. Hardshells (lobsters that are several months past their last molt) can survive out of water for up to two days if kept refrigerated. Softshells (lobsters that have only recently molted) will not survive more than few hours out of water.

Answer 5

All shellfish have a higher risk of bacterial contamination once they are dead, (meaning of natural causes not dead from cooking). If you receive a dead shellfish, (such as a clam), from the supermarket, you have no way of knowing how long it's been dead. The longer, the greater the risk of bacterial contamination. Thus, cooking them alive of course means they'll be freshest in terms of taste but also in terms of food safety.

Chef Mark

Answer 6

You don't have to but it is easier than using a knife or other tool to "off" them and then cook them up. I think lobster, like crab needs to be cooked immediately after death therefore it's easier to kill two crustaceans with one pot of boiling water ;-)

Answer 7

You want fresh, you got fresh.
You'd rather they be old & smelly?
They're food not people.
If I cooked you alive, maybe you might have a complaint, at least for a few seconds...

Answer 8

Fresher - tastes better.

Answer 9

Fresh, fresh, fresh.

Answer 10

because when they die, they be come poisonous.