Lobster baru populer di pertengahan abad ke 19, diperkenalkan oleh penduduk New York dan Boston.<ref>{{cite book|author=Colin Woodard|url=http://www.colinwoodard.com/lobstercoast|title=The Lobster Coast|publisher=New York: Viking/Penguin|isbn=0-670-03324-3|year=2004|pages=170–180}}</ref> Ketika itu, kapal khusus juga dibangun untuk menjaga agar lobster yang ditangkap tetap hidup selama transportasi<ref>{{cite web | title=The Lobster Institute: History | work=The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine | url=http://www.lobster.um.maine.edu/index.php?page=52 | accessdate=2012-06-11 }}</ref> Ketika itu lobster merupakan makanan orang miskin di [[Maine]], [[Massachusetts]], dan penduduk pinggir pantai Kanada.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article581926.ece |title=How lobster went up in the world |publisher=The Times |date=October 24, 2005 |location=London |author=Mark Henderson |accessdate=May 11, 2010}}</ref> Lobster ketika itu juga disajikan kepada [[narapidana]] untuk mengganggu selera makan mereka.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.maine.gov/sos/kids/about/lobster.htm |work=All About Maine |title=Lobster |publisher=[[Secretary of State of Maine]] |accessdate=July 29, 2013}}</ref> Pemanfaatan lainnya dari lobster ketika itu adalah sebagai bahan pupuk dan umpan ikan, dan baru [[pengalengan ikan|dikalengkan]] pada awal abad ke 20.<ref name="Fish Forever">{{cite book|first=Paul|last=Johnson|title=Fish Forever: The Definitive Guide to Understanding, Selecting, and Preparing Healthy, Delicious, and Environmentally Sustainable Seafood|chapter=Lobster|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7645-8779-5|pages=163–175}}</ref>
Lobster umumnya dimasak dengan dikukus atau direbus.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.atwoodlobster.com/site/cookinglobster.asp |title=Cooking lobsters |publisher=Atwood Lobster Company |accessdate=June 30, 2007 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070607114042/http://www.atwoodlobster.com/site/cookinglobster.asp |archivedate=June 7, 2007}}</ref> Kadar [[merkuri]] dari lobster Amerika sekitar 0.31 ppm.<ref name=mercury>{{cite web |url=http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/Product-SpecificInformation/Seafood/FoodbornePathogensContaminants/Methylmercury/ucm115644.htm |title=Mercury Levels in Commercial Fish and Shellfish |publisher=[[Food and Drug Administration]] |accessdate=December 25, 2009 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20130306184953/http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/Product-SpecificInformation/Seafood/FoodbornePathogensContaminants/Methylmercury/ucm115644.htm |archivedate=March 6, 2013 |deadurl=yes}}</ref>
