Lobster Base

Customer Rating:
Summary: Wonderful for seafood recipes
Comment: I'm really rather surprised to see the mixed reviews on here, although I wonder if some of the less favorable reviews have more to do with the recipes in which the base was used. Keep in mind, this is basically a replacement for bouillon cubes, but with a lobster flavor instead of beef or chicken. It packs an intense flavor and, yes, does have a lot of sodium (but not as much as a dried bouillon cube). For most recipes, this means easing up on any additional salt.

That said, I've used this not only for lobster bisque but also for a broth for seafood risotto and a paella and it makes for a wonderful dish that can't be beat except by your own lobster stock (and this is a lot cheaper). If you'd like a particularly good recipe for which you can use this stuff, check out the Seafood Risotto recipe at the Rustic Kitchen website. That's a restaurant in Boston that hosts a cooking show with a local celebrity chef -- the recipe is delicious. Bon appetit!

Customer Rating:
Summary: Too salty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment: I ordered this specifically for a recipe for Chi Chi's seafood enchiladas/Cancun on Recipe Zaar. The recipe consistently got five stars rating. It called for a tablespoon of lobster base (for a half recipe). I followed the recipe exactly, adding no salt and using no salt butter. The dish was so salty that we threw it out. Later, while trying to figure out what went wrong I found that this particular lobster base has 800 mg of sodium per tsp. So, I had used 2400 mg of sodium in a recipe for 4-6 enchiladas. We like salt--too much sometimes--but this was beyond the pale!! Now, I've got 2 jars of this base and doubt I'll ever use it. What a disappointment! Just be careful!

Customer Rating:
Summary: This one is my favorite
Comment: Of the Better Than Bouillon lineup, I've used chicken, mushroom, beef, vegetable, ham and lobster; they are all very good (much better than any other bouillon I've tried), but lobster stands out as both unusual and good: complex, balanced, not fishy.

Here's what I've been using it for recently: I separate a big bunch of
CHARD into leaves and stems, slice the
CHARD STEMS fairly small and sauté them for a few minutes in
WALNUT OIL; add a teaspoon of
LOBSTER BOUILLON, some
CASHEW PIECES and some
RAISINS; while this cooks, slice up the
CHARD LEAVES; add the leaves, cover, and cook for a few more minutes (mix it a couple of times to get the flavored oil distributed evenly).

The number of raisins has a big effect on sweetness; I've tried it at various points between almost none and enough that there's a raisin or two in every mouthful, and I'd say that somewhere in the middle is optimal (a lot of raisins is good too, but shadows the lobster).

I echo the comments of other reviewers: if you use BTB, omit the rest of the salt from the recipe until you're sure it needs it. They make a "reduced sodium" version of some flavors, but it's only 25% less; I couldn't tell that it was less salty.

Customer Rating:
Summary: not as expected
Comment: Didn't taste like I thought it should. Kinda awful. It went into the garbage.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Soup, sauce or seasoning
Comment: Lobster base is delicious in a variety of contexts. I have made seafood sauce for pasta, Seafood Nuberg over a pastry shell. Seafood soup becomes a quick and simple favorite. Any type of seafood can be enriched with this product. I have made stuffing for fish using this lobster base to season the bread and veggies. It's great in stuffed clams. It simply adds wonderful flavor to all things from the sea, fish, clams, crab, scallops, as well as lobster. It's the missing ingredient in recipies I have tried to copy from outstanding dinners I have been served at restaurants.