CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF LOBSTERS

The nutritive value of a fishery product is of considerable interest to the consumer. Some years ago, Prof. W. O. Atwater, of Middletown, Connecticut, made a series of careful analyses of the composition of the flesh of three lobsters from the coasts of Maine and Massachusetts, and the figures given below represent the results:

Per cent.
Proportions of edible portion and shell:
Total edible portion39.77
Shell57.47
Loss in cleaning2.76
Proportions of water and dry substance in edible portion:
Water82.73
Dry substance17.27
Chemical analysis calculated on dry substance:
Nitrogen12.54
Albuminoids (nitrogen × 6.25)78.37
Fat11.43
Crude ash10.06
Phosphorus (calculated as P2O6)2.24
Sulfur (calculated as SO3)2.47
Chlorine3.46
Chemical analysis calculated on fresh substance in flesh:
Water82.73
Nitrogen2.17
Albuminoids (nitrogen × 6.25)13.57
Fat1.97
Crude ash1.74
Phosphorus (calculated as P2O6).39
Sulfur (calculated as SO3).43
Chlorine.59
Nutritive value of flesh of lobsters compared
with beef as a standard and reckoned at 100
61.97