What is the difference between Lobster and Norway Lobster ?
Langoustines or Norway Lobster
Do you know the real difference between Lobster and Norway lobster ?
In this article we are going to explain the difference between Lobster and Norway Lobster, also called Langoustines or “little lobster.”
Contents :
Lobster science
an order of crustaceans which also includes shrimp and crab. Animals in the decapoda order have five pairs of walking legs and are typically marine.
Not only are lobster and Norway lobster in the same family, they also share the same suborder or sub-family, “Pleocyemata.”The difference between the two is at the infraorder level. Lobster belongs to Astacideo whereas Langoustines belong to Anomura. Anomura are the “crab-like” species, even if they are not true crabs.
Lobsters as a food
Both lobster and Norway lobster can be cooked by boiling, steaming, or baking. When eating lobster, we usually eat the tail, claws and knuckles, as that is where the meat is located. With Norway lobster, which is more like a big shrimp, we usually eat the tail only.
Lobsters are usually twice as big as Norway lobsters, and when cooked have a darker red color. Norway lobster has a light orange color similar to the color of shrimp.
Check this link for Langoustines Recipes.
As a food, the Norway lobster is similar to crab taste and texture, and is sweeter than shrimp. Norway lobster is often sold as a premium shrimp. Lobster, by comparison, is a meatier version of shrimp and crab without the fishy smell.
Norway lobster also release a lot of flavor when cooked, making it perfect for any dish needing a flavorful broth. Even better, you can use it to make paella.
Locations and fishing grounds for lobsters
As we wrote earlier, you can find Maine lobster on the American northeast Atlantic coast. Canadian lobster is found even higher in colder water, on the Canadian coasts. California lobster is found on the Gulf of California and along the Pacific coast. Finally, Australian lobster is found on the Australian, New Zealand and South African coast.
Norway lobster is found off the Atlantic European coasts, alongside France, Great Britain, the Scandinavian countries, and the islands off their coasts.
An advantage of Norway lobster is that much of it is fished in the pristine waters of the islands in the Atlantic and along the coast of Scotland. You can find more information about those on this page.
On this website you can find more information about Norway lobsters and their locations.
What about buying lobsters frozen ?
Many people mistakenly believe that frozen food is less fresh than fresh food. In most cases it’s not true. In fact, especially with seafood, buying frozen is often a better idea.
You can check this article about octopus where you will be surprised about the fact that frozen octopus is actually better than fresh.
Whether or not you buy lobster fresh or frozen, it will taste the same, smell the same, and the quality will be the same. On top of that, if you buy it frozen you can store it and keep it in your freezer for months. If you buy it fresh, you will have to eat it within a couple days of buying it.
Buying frozen is also going to be a little cheaper than buying fresh due to shipping costs. If alive, the lobsters will have to arrive alive in the shop, which is more expensive.
Last but not least, if you choose to buy live lobster, you will have to kill the animal yourself, which can be hard to do for many people.
We hope this article has been helpful for you. If you would like to learn more about seafood, check out our blog page or website where we have a lot of information about seafood and other delicious food products.
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