Daily entries from the 17th century London diary
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Was lobster an expensive delicacy or was it regarded as a “poor man’s meal?”
I have read that one reason the Pilgrims in Massachusetts were so short of food during their first year in America is that they did not consider lobsters edible.
Lobsters vs Pilgrims
Not very credible, if you check this site:
“The English colonists ate a variety of shellfish, including lobster, but they preferred their traditional, grain-based fare. Shellfish might have been an especially important staple of the colonist’s diet before the English grain-based foods were plentiful.”
http://www.es.umb.edu/faculty/edg/files/bhms/bh2ms.htm
The main problem seems to have been not so much one of taste but preservation in a time when there were no cooling facilities…
At some point even:
“Lobster was a poor man’s food.”
http://www.fostertravel.com/CNBRUN.html