9 Types of Lobsters You Should Know About (2024)

If you orderlobsterat a restaurant or pick one out of a supermarket's tank in most of the United States, chances are you're getting a Mainelobsterwith a hard shell. The Mainelobsteris just like the soft-shell Mainelobsterand the Canadianlobster. However, it's unique because of where it lives. You can spot the Mainelobsterin the North Atlantic, off the east coast of the United States, especially near New England and Maine.

The Mainelobsteris smaller than the Canadianlobster because it lives in slightly warmer waters. Even though it's smaller, its meat is sweeter, which makes it just as good.

The soft-shell version of the Mainelobsteris the sametypes of lobsteras the hard-shell one, except it has shed its old shell more recently and its new one is still getting hard. Soft-shelllobstersare usually caught in the summer, and they're not as tough as the hard-shell ones. So, it's really hard to move them away from the coastal areas where they're caught. This means you can find a lot of them in places like coastal Maine, and they're usually cheaper.

Since their new shell has a lot of space for growing, there's less meat inside a soft-shelllobster compared to a hard shell of the same weight.

But because the space that would be meat is filled with water, thelobsterends up extra tender because the water soaks into the meat while cooking. For the best results, try boiling your soft-shelllobsterin salt water, as this won't mess up the delicate meat. If you want to jazz up the dish a bit, you could make a classic New Englandlobsterroll by mixing chunks oflobstermeat with mayo and putting them in a buttery toasted hot dog bun.

CanadianLobster

Just like how people have different flavors and sizes,lobstersfrom Canada are a bit different from the ones in Maine. They are still the sametypes of lobster, but the ones from Canada are bigger and not as sweet. Their shells and meat are also denser, but not too different. Since not many people talk about Canadianlobsters, they are usually cheaper than Mainelobsters. So, if you lovelobstersbut don't want to spend too much money, Canadianlobsterscould be a good choice.

You might have heard of the Norwegianlobsteror Dublin Bay prawn, it's a small kind of yummyseafoodpreferred by the people of Europe. You can find it in a famous dish called scampi, but it's usually more expensive than versions with fish orshrimp. The North Sea near Norway, Scotland, and northeast England is where langoustines are mostly caught. It's best to get them from September to May. These months are when langoustines are at their peak. So, if you want the best langoustines this is the time to get them!

Langoustines are firmer and sweeter than biggertypes of lobster, and you can mix them with other foods in a dish.

The New Zealand rocklobster, also known as Kaura, can weigh between one and ten pounds. Most of their weight is in their tail because they don't have claws like other warm-waterlobsterspecies. They're pretty common in the waters around New Zealand and can also be found in Australia. If you want to find one, look near rocky areas along the coast. You can spot them on the east coasts of both the North and South Islands and around the southwest coast of the South Island.

When it comes to cooking thesetypes of lobster, boiling them in salt water is the best way. But you can also parboil them and grill them with some butter for a tasty treat!

Ornate RockLobster

The ornate rocklobster, also known as Panulirus Ornatus, is a cool sea creature that lives in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. Sometimes they even end up in the Mediterranean Sea, which is pretty surprising! Thesetypes of lobsterlook super fancy with their cream and blue shells, and sometimes they have orange, pink, and purple colors too. They can grow really big, up to 20 inches, or even more in a short amount of time. People love to catch and eat theselobstersbecause they taste so good!

Just like othertypes of lobsterin warm water, the Florida spinylobsterdoesn't have those big claws. But don't worry; it still has lots of tasty meat in its tail. The meat isn't as sweet or delicate as the kind you'd get from a Mainelobster, but it still tastes really good and goes well with all sorts of food, like pasta, soup, omelets, and gumbo. Some people say it tastes a bit like crawfish.

People also call it the Caribbeanlobster, and you can find it on menus from Key West to Kingston. Theselobsterslive anywhere from South Carolina to Brazil. In Florida, you can usually get freshlobsterlike this for about eight months out of the year.

California SpinyLobster

The Californialobsteris like the Caribbeanlobster, but it doesn't have claws and likes warm water. Unlike the East Coastlobster, the Californialobsterisn't often eaten on the West Coast. People who live on the West Coast love them, but they're hard for other Americans to find. People in China like them though, so most of the lobsters caught in California and Mexico end up there.

Because of this,lobstersare expensive in America, so people often choose other kinds ofseafood instead.

The South African lobster is special because it's not like other types of lobster. It's all spiky and doesn't have those big claws, kind of like a warm water lobster. But surprise, surprise, it's a cold-water critter.

If you're in the U.S., you'll probably only see South African lobster tails in the frozen section. Since they don't have claws, you won't be missing out on much, except for something called Tomalley if you're a fan. To make sure there are enough of these lobsters left in the sea, the government has rules about how many can be caught each year. They catch them in traps out in the wild and then freeze them right away on the boat to keep them fresh.