Varieties
There are two types of true clawed lobster: the Homarus gammarus and Homarus americanus, both of which come from the North Atlantic. The Canadian/American species is widely available in the UK because the demand for lobster is high. The European species is caught from the Mediterranean right up to Scandinavia and the brilliant blue-black varieties from Scotland are particularly esteemed, as are those from Cornwall. The males have larger claws but females are supposed to be tastier. The brownish-pink rock (or spiny) lobster is really a seawater crayfish and although it is clawless, some say it is sweeter and superior in texture to true lobsters

Serving suggestions
Prime lobster can be cooked and served very simply indeed. You could grill it and serve with melted butter, and maybe fresh lemon and black pepper. In China it might be steamed and covered with ginger, spring onions and soy sauce. In Goa, lobster traditionally features in a cucumber and lime salad. However some of the classic recipes are extremely rich, such as France's lobster Thermidor, which douses the flesh with cream sauce, mustard and parmesan cheese. Try it with a mild curry-flavoured mayonnaise such as that for Coronation Chicken. Lobster is good with chillies, tarragon, tomatoes, citrus fruits, and tropical fruit such as mango or pineapple. Remember the coral and tomalley (liver) can be added to sauces, and the shells used for stock, sauces and making shellfish butter.

Preparation
To cook a live lobster, place it in the freezer for 2 hours before cooking to kill it painlessly. Bring a large pan of heavily salted water (it should taste like the sea) to the boil, add the lobster and return to the boil. If the lobster is under 750g cook for 15 minutes, if it is about 1.25kg cook for 20 minutes. Grilling takes 6-10 minutes depending on the size.
Use a large cook's knife to cut down the centre of the tail end, then turn the lobster around and cut lengthways through head section. Discard the head sac and remove the intestinal vein from the tail. Also discard the gills (dead men's fingers) from the underside of the body shell.
If you want to remove the tail in one piece, cut along either side of the belly shell with scissors, then pull back the shell flap and lift out the meat. Slice into medallions, then lift out the intestinal tract from each piece, or if you prefer to keep the tail whole, run a sharp knife along the back of the piece