Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The soft, green liver of cooked lobster.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The soft yellowish or greenish hepatic substance or so-called liver of the lobster. As used for food it is also called sauce. See green-gland (under gland) and hepatopancreas.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun cooking The hepatopancreas of a crustacean.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun edible greenish substance in boiled lobster

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Galibi tamali.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word tomalley.

Examples

  • A substance known as tomalley access the lobster's liver and pancreas.

    CNN Transcript Jul 29, 2008 2008

  • And, I'm sure this may gross some of you out but to me, it's like finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: lots of tomalley, the creamy, green substance found in the cavity of the lobster:

    Archive 2009-08-01 Tokyoastrogirl 2009

  • I think I would like tomalley more if it weren't that color.

    Tuna Toast Tokyoastrogirl 2009

  • And, I'm sure this may gross some of you out but to me, it's like finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: lots of tomalley, the creamy, green substance found in the cavity of the lobster:

    Tuna Toast Tokyoastrogirl 2009

  • Same with crawfish tomalley except orange instead of green.

    Tuna Toast Tokyoastrogirl 2009

  • The Food and Drug Administration warned against eating lobster tomalley in the summer of 2008 due to high levels of a naturally occurring toxin likely stemming from red tides, or dangerous algal bloom.

    Q&A: Is it safe to eat fish skins and guts? 2008

  • Don't eat the green tomalley, or liver, in lobsters or the "mustard" in blue crabs; they may contain high levels of harmful chemicals known as PCBs or other toxins.

    Health Guide: the Benefits and Risks of Shellfish 2008

  • And you should avoid eating tomalley, the greenish substance in a crustacean's gut that serves as a liver and pancreas, even though some people consider it a delicacy.

    Q&A: Is it safe to eat fish skins and guts? 2008

  • And you should avoid eating tomalley, the greenish substance in a crustacean's gut that serves as a liver and pancreas, even though some people consider it a delicacy.

    Q&A: Is it safe to eat fish skins and guts? 2008

  • Is it safe to eat fish skin or crab and lobster entrails (tomalley)? —

    Q&A: Is it safe to eat fish skins and guts? 2008

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • TORONTO -- While it seems hard to imagine the warning is necessary, Health Canada is urging people to limit their consumption of lobster tomalley - the green goo most people quickly scrap away as they get ready to sink their teeth into succulent lobster meat.

    Turns out the tomalley, which serves as a liver and pancreas for a lobster, can sometimes contain a toxin known as paralytic shellfish poison. If ingested in large amounts, the toxin can cause tingling and numbing of the arms and legs, headaches, dizziness and nausea. In rare cases paralysis, respiratory difficult and even death can occur, if medical help isn't procured.

    Adults should limit themselves to the tomalley of no more than two lobsters a day, the department warns, while one a day should be the limit for children.

    October 13, 2007

  • Eeew. Eeew. Eeew.

    October 13, 2007

  • a slight bump on the head from WeirdNet if one clicks "more"

    June 21, 2009

  • What Weirdnet fails to mention is that tomalley is also the brother of famed Australian poet Ern Malley, and a direct descendant of Ireland's infamous swashbuckling Elizabethan piratess, Grace O' Malley (aka 'Granuaile').

    Anyone wishing to learn more about swashbuckling Elizabethan Irish lady pirates is referred to the excellent "Skye O' Malley" books by the redoubtable Bertrice Small.

    June 22, 2009

  • not to be confused with hot tomales

    June 22, 2009

  • "Chilled half-lobster, with an unsightly smear of tomalley vinaigrette, gets by on its winning personality (it's well steamed and satisfying, and it's lobster, after all."

    - Shauna Lyon, "Tables for Two: The John Dory Oyster Bar" in the May 30, 2011 issue of the New Yorker, p 18

    May 30, 2011

  • *hork*

    May 30, 2011