Where does it come from?
What does it mean?
You may have most specifically heard it in reference to Lobsters. But, why were Lobsters referred to as the "roaches of the sea"?
Well besides some of their physical characteristics, not long ago, the early 1800's and before to be exact, people ate Lobster all the time. It was very plentiful and easy to catch. It scurried across the ocean floors much the same way that cockroaches do on land. It got so bad that when fisherman would catch them in their nets they would be angry that these nuisances were taking up valuable net space that could be used to catch something of value. Fisherman were often even seen throwing them back out into the ocean.
Poor people and prisoners were the only ones to eat Lobster at this time, since it was very cheap. It was even used as fishing bait and to feed pets such as cats and dogs. It was basically a sign of extreme poverty just to see Lobster shells lying around. People would often try to hide the Lobster shells so others wouldn't know they had been eating them because of the socioeconomic implications.
Flash forward to today and Lobster is a sign of delicacy and only eaten by people with money or on special occasions.
So what the heck changed?
Well in the late 1800's railways started connecting the East coast with the West coast, and everything in between. When this happened, fisherman and food producers realized that they could sell their Lobsters to people inland as something rare and exotic because they didn't know about the Lobster's tarnished reputation. This provided large profit margins for them. Then, as more and more people inland started eating them, the demand for the animal spiked and suddenly Lobster had some real value.
Restaurants across America also started figuring out that there was quite a large profit margin to be made from these previously cheap animals so they started serving them everywhere, which also increased demand. Some restaurants even figured out that if you cooked the Lobsters while they were still alive, they had a much better taste. Which, as you can imagine, increased demand even more.
Lobster demand reached a fever pitch during World War II. It wasn't rationed like many other food items because of it's plentiful supply. So, as more and more people tasted Lobster for the first time the demand for it only continued to rise.
Pretty soon you had an item that was only reserved for peasants, prisoners, and animals now garnering nation wide demand. As you can imagine prices soared. By 1950 Lobster had cemented itself as a luxury food item served at the finest restaurants.
Now, instead of fisherman discarding them from their nets, there were whole fleets of fisherman going out specifically to catch these Sea Roaches.
Funny how time and a little demand change can affect the price of a product huh? The actual taste of Lobster changed very little from the times when it was served to peasants and prisoners until now when it is eaten by royalty.
In conclusion, the product has changed very little, but our tastes and preferences have changed very much. Who would have guessed, "the history of the Lobster", a perfect lesson in economics! :)
Live well my friends!
Sources:
http://www.foodbeast.com/news/foodbeast-picks-the-best-meals-weve-had-in-2016/
Image Sources:
http://garpga.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/870-2
https://bjws.blogspot.com/2016/10/gone-fishing-american-slaves-atlantic.html
https://recipereminiscing.wordpress.com/2015/02/20/lobster-from-poor-peoples-fare-to-delicacy/
https://www.floridamemory.com/blog/tag/railroads/
http://en.people.cn/n/2015/0217/c205040-8851789.html
Follow: @jrcornel
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We love catching and eating sea roaches. Too bad we can't just break off the tails and throw them back so they can grow another one.
Haha that would be great wouldn't! Maybe we can combine their DNA with that of a lizard... ;)
Lol! Thats very interesting! I had no idea
Interesting stuff ey!
Very cool!
I heard Lobsters scream with pain when they are boiled!
So rough!
I think what you are referring to is just the steam escaping their shell, makes a loud noise. But I don't know for sure unless I could ask a lobster and have him tell me :)
yeah thats it!
cheers
Hopefully that is the case anyways!
This is very interesting, I love lobster and ate two of them just yesterday!
Crazy to think that lobster was that unwanted. I am no fan of fish, but crab and lobster taste great to me. Maybe nobody put any effort into making a delicious sauce to spread onto the meat.
Yep, I am not really really a fan of fish in general, but crab legs are my favorite food on the planet... lobster not far behind.
Whoa interested information! Never knew they'd be called Sea Roaches of all the things! :D
I know... and to think people used to throw them away... now people might dig through the trash for them ;)
that'd be something.. dumpster diving for sea roaches :D
Haha! Pun intended?
hahaha! indeed! :D
Also, dumpster diving is a real thing in Europe apparently. :D
Nice post! My wife never likes me reminding her that they're bugs.
Haha I wouldn't either! Red Lobster is probably my favorite restaurant... crab legs, lobster tail, and coconut shrimp... man my mouth is watering!
100% correct. Lobsters as well as crayfish are arthropods. The same line as cockroaches. They are scavengers that eat the garbage that falls to the ocean floor. They also will readily become predatorial if food supplies are low. A friend of mine once caught a crayfish and put it his fish tank with his goldfish. Within a day the fish started disappearing. He stayed up one night and watched his aquarium. He found that when the fish were dormant, the crayfish would attack and pull the victim under the rock in the tank. It would eat everything. Nothing was left. I do enjoy a good lobster tail occasionally and I try not to think about what I'm eating. :-)
wow, that is interesting. We had a crab that used to do that when added to our salt water fish tank. We had to separate him :)
Yea I saw a picture of a roach and a lobster side by side... I hope I can forget that some time soon before I go to Red Lobster again ;)
Hee Hee!
@jrcornel - I love lobster even though they are scavengers and here, they ain't that expensive.
In the country - where I came from - the Philippines, they are neither, cause they are sold the same price here but they're bigger there.
for now, am breaking up with lobster maybe .. later - somewhere else I'd sink my teeth in on one again
I get your message, indeed the higher the demand the higher the price of a product goes up. Hopefully, Steem gets the same fate :)
Haha yes indeed! It would be great if steem followed a similar trajectory!
@jrcornel we'll never know BTC used to be worth - 5 euro back then and even less then it went up and hit rock bottom and soaring high again so maybe ... crossing fingers!
I saw ned's tweet about what BTC don't have the other day so Steem might have a chance!
There's always the chance! :)
Interesting post.
Thank you!
You have inspired me to write this post. With honorable mentions to you of course.
https://steemit.com/life/@solarguy/my-lobster-fest-from-back-in-the-day-toronto-canada-100-solarguy-content
Haha well thank you very much for the mentions! I'll have to check it out!
Hi @jcornel, I just stopped back to let you know your post was one of my favourite reads yesterday and I included it in my Steemit Ramble. You can read what I wrote about your post here.
Well thank you very much for the inclusion and for the kind words! :)
You're welcome :)
This is awesome. I had heard this story before but it is well worth hearing again!
Haha I agree! And thanks! :)
That's an interesting history. It's a shame that so many foods have been tagged as "food for poor people", with folks ashamed to say they eat that food. I've seen that with dandelion greens and other incredibly tasty and nutritious wild greens. And with some garden crops, too, like collards - I think they are better than kale, but they get looked down on by some, for socioeconomic reasons. And with different kinds of fish, too -- so many fish have been called "dogfish" as an indicator that they are only good for feeding to the dogs - when they are perfectly worthy of eating by people. Happy New Year - and here's to everyone having plenty of tasty and healthy food, with no shame involved, ever!
I agree! Some say that about ramen noodles... I eat them every couple of weeks, I like the taste :)
haha -- Ramen are a good food. I used them in the Steemit Culinary Challenge, with some ideas for making them a little more substantial -- Make Backpacking Ramen Noodles Better With Weeds.
Thank you , very interesting article , nice photos !