How to Tell a Crayfish From a Lobster

In the Water

• 1

  Check the salinity of the water in which the animal lives. Lobsters live in marine environments, while crayfish thrive in fresh water.

• 2

  Note the depth at which the animals live. Crayfish live close to a stream bank or lake verge where they can build mud mounds to see them through a dry spell. Lobsters typically live in deeper waters, not near shorelines.

• 3

  Look at the organism's size. The average crayfish measures 6 or 7 inches in total length, whereas lobsters regularly reach well over a foot long.

• 4

  Look at the size of the creature's pincers or claws, its two serrated frontal appendages that it uses for feeding, fighting and self-defense. Crayfish have fairly modest pincers; lobsters, particularly the North American variety, have massive pincers.

On the Plate

• 5

  Look at the size of the meat if it is out of its shell. Although both animals' meats come from the creatures' flexible tail, lobster meat forms a large steak-like portion. The much smaller crayfish look more like shrimp, forming small bite-sized crescents.

• 6

  Check the color of the meat. Crayfish shells and lobster shells can both impart a ruddy color to the outermost surface of the white meat, but lobsters are large enough that cutting into the meat will reveal a pure white flesh. The color of crayfish meat more closely resembles the ecru hue of white-meat chicken.

• 7

  Taste a bite of the dish. Lobster tastes faintly marine and, if the chef handled the meat correctly, almost sweet. Crayfish have a more pronounced seafood flavor; they go well with spicier food, unlike mild lobster.

• 8

  Note the price of the meat. Crayfish cost little along the Gulf Coast states where the populace eats them regularly, while lobsters cost less in the New England states.