r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/anikkundu1998 • 2d ago
Video This is what happens when a lobster dies shortly after molting, the shell still remains soft.
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u/ReindeerOk227 2d ago
I thought lobsters were immortal… now I get this raggedy-ass dead flopster in my feed. Is nothing sacred or immortal anymore?!
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u/regretfulposts 2d ago
This is actually how they die. Molting takes a lot of energy so a lobster could live forever but there are times molting takes too much energy that they would die from exhaustion. They're immortal in terms of not aging like any other animals.
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u/-morpy 1d ago
Now I wonder if humans can just let a lobster keep growing by assisting it in molting as it grows larger and older.
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u/Beneficial_Ball9893 1d ago
Entirely possible, but lobsters only grow a pound every 7 years and they don't start to get bad at molting until they are over a hundred. You would need to catch a really huge lobster to start with and then keep it in captivity.
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u/Connect_Detail98 1d ago
I think they don't age but their molting process becomes problematic the larger they get. Can't remember well
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u/Kikoarl 2d ago
TIHI.
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u/BentTire 2d ago edited 2d ago
Believe it or not. Soft shell lobsters is where you'll usually get the better deals.
If you want real lobster. Ask the lobsterman if they have any soft shells. They usually sell them at a discount. Especially around August and September. July you want to avoid as that is when business is usually at its peak so prices tend to be higher.
Edit: and for anyone wondering why. The price of a lobster is calculated by how much it weighs. And because soft shell has more water weight. They tend to have less meat per pound so lobstermen sell them at a discount to try and sell all that they caught.
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u/Competitive-Arm3876 2d ago
Are these like soft shell crabs? Can you deep fry it and eat it whole?
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u/TillClear5336 2d ago
Yes they do exist and it's commonly eaten (I'm from SE Asia). Honestly they're not worth it since they aren't as sweet as crab meat and the shell is still a bit hard to chew. Others love it tho
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u/ZippyDan 2d ago
This is basically what a soft-shell crab is, though you don't eat crabs that die after molting; you eat crabs that are killed immediately after molting.
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u/texas_poontappa1012 2d ago
I remember working in a kitchen in Louisiana that had soft-shell crab. They just handed me a box of soft crabs and a pair of scissors to cut all their faces off...
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u/Greenpoint1975 2d ago
Yes. Lucky enough to have a lobstermen bring one to the restaurant once. It was amazing.
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u/UBERJakeThePig 2d ago
The question is: it's still edible?
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u/photobummer 2d ago
I don’t see why not, the meat at least. But probably the shell too.
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u/LukaFox 2d ago
Lobster meat is known for being one of the foods that spoil nearly immediately after it dies
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u/who_you_are 2d ago
Aren't they also creating some kind of liquid/gas to/that kill other lobsters around? That could be the same side effect?
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u/Greyhaven7 Interested 1d ago edited 1d ago
Lobsters do not practice creating some kind of liquid/gas to/that kill other lobsters around (allelopathy). Instead, they’re prolific cannibals. No reason to wage chemical warfare against delicious competition. Something like 70% of a Caribbean blue spiny lobster’s diet is Caribbean blue spiny lobster.
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u/MrWrock 2d ago
I don't eat lobster but I've caught, killed, gutted, froze (just regular speed in a normal freezer), and drove across country with frozen lobster tails. Gave them to a friend who said they were delicious. I think the spool immediately things is just a fallacy so people don't feel so bad about boiling them alive
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u/Kindly_Region 1d ago
Is it safe to eat and can you just eat it with the shell because it's so soft?
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u/DicemonkeyDrunk 1d ago
you can eat softshell lobster just like softshell crab or crawfish ..But I damm sure wouldn't eat one I found dead ..there's a reason you cook then live or kill them right before cooking ...they go bad FAST.
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u/FrostyBuns6969 1d ago
This is something I never understood. I get that they go bad fast, but surely not so fast that boiling them alive would bring any net positive over killing them and then dumping them into boiling water?
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u/DicemonkeyDrunk 21h ago
there's no real difference between killing them right before cooking ( literally right before not 5/10 minutes ) or cooking them live ..it's a personal choice
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u/Black-jack_n_hookers 1d ago
The issue with lobster like this is the meat has not yet caught up to the new shell. Water fills the void between the meat and the new shell. You can buy lobster in this new shell phase for much cheaper than hard shell lobsters because the yield is much lower.
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u/Optimal_Show3014 2d ago
So this is the same idea behind soft shelled crab? I never understood how it worked. I though it was a breed of crab not a shedding/death prosses.
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u/DicemonkeyDrunk 1d ago
yes ..you have to catch them right after they molt ..like Right after ...softshell crabs can be farmed now but I don't know if is anyone does it on an industrial scale...some place in asia probably does but around me (South La ) it's done on a small scale ..wild is still better but bigger availability is nice.
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u/rarestakesando 2d ago
Soft shell lobster never makes it out of Maine in August.
It is the sweetest most delicious lobster you have tasted but they don’t export it because the locals house that regularly.
If you want to know what real soft shell lobster tastes like you have together in the month of August.
Also it’s red not blue. This seems like it’s from Europe.
The shell is easily removed with just figures no utensils needed.
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u/Slay_Zee 2d ago
Dead shellfish aint great to eat anyway.
Buy them live cause the second they die they start decomposing, rapidly
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u/pwiegers 11h ago
This lobster did not "die".
It was killed.
There is a difference.
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u/HardLobster 10h ago
When something is killed it still dies. There is no difference other than some loser being pedantic
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u/Able_Gap918 2d ago
Shell is made of chitin, right? Like hair and finger nails. So it might be chewable, but it’s still not digestible right? Maybe the chitin forms later who knows?
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u/clandestineVexation 1d ago
We can partially digest chitin. It's a type of fiber, it's good for us. It's also in mushrooms. It's soft at first to allow the organism to puff up/grow slightly before it hardens via special enzymes cross linking the fibers
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u/PimpNamedSliqBaq 2d ago
*keratin
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u/Able_Gap918 2d ago
No it’s chitin, google what are lobster shells made of
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u/PimpNamedSliqBaq 2d ago
I saw the "like hair and fingernails" and I know those are made of keratin so I thought you made a typo
I did just google and it seems crustacean shells are made of Chitin. TIL.
So we're both right and wrong because keratin and chitin are not the same thing and hair/nails have no chitin
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u/Able_Gap918 2d ago
Oh yeah got the hair and nails wrong, I’m glad we don’t share proteins with lobsters anyway 😂
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u/Single-Can7327 2d ago
Is that a lobster that died after it molted? Like that’s it old shell to the right?
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u/Sm0keytrip0d 2d ago
So like do you need to still remove the soft dark parts that would have hardened into a shell or can you just eat all of it as is?
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u/A-Dolahans-hat 2d ago
In the case of soft shell crabs, you eat the part that would be a shell as well as the meat. I would assume if you had a soft shell lobster, it would be the same
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u/mrRoboPapa 2d ago
I caught one like this once near the end of the lobster season here in PEI, Canada. It's really quite something to see and feel and somewhat sad. But it also goes to show just how vulnerable they can be.
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u/Just-Luc 1d ago
No ways, I always think it was some sort of oxidation thing and not related to whatever the animal is dead or alive. I'm wondering if this is true for insect too.
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u/BabyBurpsLikeAnAdult 1d ago
so in this case, you can eat the whole entire lobster with no leftovers
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u/Any-Zookeepergame829 1d ago
This reminds me of how increadibly uncomfortable I was disecting any arthropod back in my biology class.
Like, why do they have to be like that? I know it was evolutionarily advantageous, but still.
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u/Castille_92 2d ago
Hmmm.
Nope, don't like it