Canned Lobster Is The Affordable Way To Eat Luxurious

Although lobster is considered a luxury today, it didn't have the most glamorous beginnings. When Europeans first arrived in North America, lobsters were everywhere. According to Insider, There were so many lobsters that when the creatures ended up on shore, there were two-feet high stacks of them. They were so common that the sea creatures were even being used as fertilizer for gardens by Native Americans and colonists. Unimpressed by lobsters galore, Europeans arriving in America nicknamed them "cockroaches of the sea." Because the crustaceans offer a lot of protein, in states like Maine and Massachusetts, they were typically given to the poor, including inmates, those studying certain trades, slaves, and children. Some servants even asked that their contracts allow them to only eat lobster two times per week. 

However, the popularity of canned goods and the railway helped elevate lobster to the delicacy we know and love today. In the mid-1800s, people in the middle of the country started buying loads of canned lobster and even taking train trips to areas where lobsters lived just to enjoy the seafood. Restaurants in New England began providing lobster, thanks to the tourists flocking to this location. By the late 1800s, lobster started to become pricy at restaurants in cities like Boston and New York, per History. By World War II, lobster was considered a delicacy and because it was not rationed, the wealthy became linked with lobster. Today, canned lobster offers a way to dine like royalty all summer long.             

If you're hoping to dine like Rockefeller this summer, you might start off with a steak and lobster dinner, plus a few glasses of wine. But it's not always easy to splurge on a lobster dinner. Thanks to canned lobster, you can impress your guests with lobster-based dishes throughout the summer. Various sources point out that recently, cans of seafood have been dubbed "hot girl food." Caroline Goldfarb, one of the founders of the canned fish company Fishwife, told VICE, "There is no food that will make you hotter than tinned fish. Straight up. Do you know a hot girl who doesn't exist on protein? I don't." An editor for NYLON also tweeted "hot girls are always like 'tinned fish is actually really good,'" a post that racked up nearly 5,000 likes. 

Thanks to TikTok's "tinned fish date night" trend, Scout, a seafood startup that began offering tinned fish in 2020, is raking in the dough. Ali Hooke, a content creator on TikTok, shared that she and her hubby often have "tinned fish date night," a video that likely helped the hashtag #tinnedfish reach nearly 30 million views on TikTok. After the trend took off, Adam Bent, CEO and co-founder of Scout told ModernRetail that people went wild for their products. "Our products were totally wiped out from the shelf, including mussels, which before was our lowest performing product," he said.  

Scout's Atlantic Canadian Lobster is a fan-favorite that is available at Whole Foods. While the product is sometimes unavailable on Scout's website, you can look for it on Amazon for $15.95 and Instacart for about $14. Micki Wagner tried Scout's tinned lobster for BEST and shared, "their lobster is a bestseller for a reason. When you first open the can, you're met with distinct chunks of red lobster meat swimming in lemon olive oil." She added "it tasted like the lobster you get at a restaurant after squeezing some fresh lemon over top. It's light, bright, slightly briny, and totally something any lobster lover would house in one sitting." One Redditor added, "I found the Scout lobster to probably be as good as one could expect from tinned lobster. It wasn't overcooked/rubbery, there were decent bite-sized pieces, and it was not overpowered or adulterated with any offensive seasonings."

You can whip up plenty of dishes using canned lobster. For breakfast, make a lobster and asparagus omelet with sour cream and chives. For lunch, you might make a lobster BLT sandwich. If you're in the mood for spicy, you can create spicy lobster tacos. And if you'd prefer something sweet, try experimenting with a lobster quesadilla with pineapple-mango relish. Alternatively, keep it simple with a lobster-based salad or pasta, along with lobster cheese and crackers. This way, you can eat like a king or queen from the comfort of your own home.