Hlap or European lobster (lat. Homarus gammarus) is a sea crab, similar to lobster.
Their color is black often covered with lots of blue and red stains but sometimes they can be completely blue or red.
They are oblong with hard armor and a tapered tail. Their pliers are extremely large but different in size. With the larger pliers they crushe and sow prey, and with the smaller ones defend and feed. They can weigh more than 9 kg.
They are territorial crabs that unlike lobsters, defend their habitat (holes and rivers). Most often they live under the rock where they excavate a hole on the sandy bottom up to 150 m deep, most often between 10 and 40m.
Hlap is ideal for gastronomic delight.
For the preparation of hlap specialties, prerequisite is to place them in a pot alive.
Hlap is cooked in boiling salted water (best in the half-sea salt mixture, half salty water) and they are cooked depending on the weight. Those above a pound are cooked for 15 minutes, and heavier more than 25 minutes, in a cooked pot. When cooked, they change color into pink.
