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It's that time of year again -- lobster season. For the next seven months seafood enthusiasts will be boiling, baking, buttering and savouring the taste of Bermuda lobsters.

However, Bermuda lobsters are not the real McCoy but impostors. Since they have no claws, local lobsters are really cray fish or spiny lobsters.

Spiny lobsters are typically found in caves and crevices of rocky reefs during the day. But once night falls, they leave their shelter to roam the reef for food.

According to the Food Lover's Companion, all of the meat in spiny lobsters is found in the tail -- unlike their cousins the well known Maine lobsters which has a good deal of meat in its claws.

And with this particular type of lobster, bigger is not always better. The bigger the lobster, the tougher the meat -- so don't turn your nose up at a one-and-a-half pounder (see side bar).

Freezing lobster also toughens the meat -- due to lose of moisture -- so avoid buying one that is frozen.

Remember, once a lobster is dead bacteria well form quickly so it is important that the lobster be alive when you purchase it and you should only buy them on the day you intend to cook them.

The Food Lover's Companion recommends shoppers pick up the lobster to make sure the crustacean is alive -- if the tail curls under the body it is okay.

This test becomes very important if the lobster has been stored on ice. The ice causes the lobster to become so sluggish that it will be difficult to see movement -- make sure you look closely.

Once home, do not kill the creature more than four hours before you are ready to cook it. Lobsters can be kept in either saltwater or wrapped in a wet cloth and stored for no longer than a few hours on a bed of ice in the refrigerator.

Lobsters must either be cooked alive or killed just before cooking begins.

Some people put their lobsters in the freezer to humanely kill them rather than just tossing them into boiling water.

And The Food Lover's Companion advises the public that if they are purchasing precooked lobster, make sure the tail is curled -- it is a sign that the crustacean was alive when it was cooked.

ROCK LOBSTER -- The Bermuda lobster -- also known as the Spiny lobster -- can be found in the caves and crevices of rocky reefs. September marks the beginning of lobster season which runs until March.