Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1886-08-06
LOBSTERLORE.
An Entertafning Chap'0
Upon this crustacean'
Where Lobster, o,ms From anu NO"
they are Prepared for OOn'ump'iOn

The Chicago T,;Bans says, The season
Tor HOLSTERS, unlike that of oysters lasts
practically all the year around ou' ,..ua 10,
The first three months Of it--or 'i'',T
thcreaftcr-the quality is somewhat ,.. on
color. The most fertile fields oil supply
are the Massachusetts, Maine, New
found and Labrador coasts WIN '"0
odds largely in favor Of the first two
though the largest specimc arc ne"F'S
always from labrador. This city at pres
ent consumes from 200 to 1900 HOLSTERS
a week, which is neither above nor be-
low the records Of former times,
the demand having apparently s'oou
about still for some years. The supplies
reach the city daiiyby express "a TWO
conditions-alye and "boiled." A loo-
'ter, when properly handled, VIII i've
for week out Of the water, with no
stronger nutriment than that which 1t
derives from conyulsive clawings at the
air and the limbs Of its travelling com
panions. The live ones are packed IN
barrels-l2j to the barrel-carc beng
taken to insure each one the most com
Portable position po sible across the body
Of its next-door neighbor, and ventila-
ton being secured by means OF large
holes bored in the head and sides OF the
barrel. The "boiled" Holsters are close
ly packed between layers of seaweed and
ice, and reach their destination ready
for the table. with the exception,
of course, of the necessary cleaning.
The "boiled" lobster being the kind
most generally called for, is the most I'M
portant feature Of the trade. All the
boiling for the Chicago market IS done
in Boston, and persons of delicate emo
tional construction may possibly be
shocked to learn that to be fit for human
food a lobster must be boi ed alive. 1t
is a phenomenon no less remarkable than
indisputable that one that dies natural
death. j. C. Of suifocation due to removal
from its natural element sea-water, is not
a fit article for diet, and experts say that
nine out of ten cases of indigestion re-
Sulting from 4 lobster supper are due tc
the fish having been allowed to die of it
own cordinstead of at the merciles'
hands OF its captors. As soon as possible
after being caught the HOLSTERS are thrown
by the Bosom merchants into huge
tank of bqling water, seasoned with
peck Of Salt toeach' barrel Of the fluid
Sea-water, contrary to the opinion o
many, is not used, being unfit for cook
ing purposes of any description. Th'
boiling process lasts about twenty min
utes, and the Holsters, after being given
q prober inc to cool, areready for ship
ment. The sooner lobster is boiled
after being taken from the ocean the lon
ger it will keep after boiling.
The same rule that applies to boile'
HOLSTERS with regard to the necessity o
sudden death applies to bfoiled HOLSTERS
which come next in popularity as a
article of diet. The proprietor of one
the large Chicago fish restaurants a da
or so ago initiated the writer into th
mysteries of the process employed |
himself and his competitors. At Il
word of command a stalwart cook,
white apron and paper cap, seized agrei
wriggling fellow from refrigerator ne
by, and slammed it violently down upo
the spotless marble execution BLOCK
Selling a large, keen-bladed knife, /
held his prey securely down with his lei
hand, and with two strokes Of tn
weapon welded in his right laid tn
quivering creature squarely in two froI
head to tail. The two halves that
moment later lay side by side on the sla
were certainly dead enough, not so muc
as shudder animatlng the layers q
jelly-like flesh, and one could scarccI
conceive a more expeditions mode Q
death. A call from a customer sent on
of the halves onto the griddle at tina
moment, so that the possibility of secur
ing real '1ive broiled lobster" in Cnicag
NAV he reoardod as established