The Truth About Shrimp
Shrimp accounts for about 25 percent of all seafood sold in the United States, making it the best-selling creature of the water. Despite its popularity, a number of misconceptions still surround these tasty crustaceans. Separate the myths from the truths about the seafood voted "most popular."
More from Coastal Living
26 Favorite Shrimp Recipes
Island-Inspired Cocktails
Sweet-and-Spicy Island Fare
MYTH:Shrimp must be deveined.
TRUTH: That depends on your preference and patience. Large shrimp are fairly easy to devein. Simply slit the back with a paring knife and lift the vein out with the knife point. But don't feel you have to devein. If you can't see the vein when the shrimp is raw, chances are you won't when it's cooked. Similarly, smaller shrimp have smaller veins, often not visible. Deveining comes with aesthetics, not hydiene. If the veins don't show, don't bother.
Related Video: How to Peel, Devein, and Butterfly Shrimp
MYTH:Shrimp should be cooked until they curly into a closed loop.
TRUTH: Shrimp cook quickly, which makes them easy to overcook. Prepare them just until they no longer look translucent and they will taste crisp, tender, and moist. Keep an eye on them; most shrimp cook fully in less than five minutes. Experiment with shrimp steamed, boiled, sautéed, or fried. You can serve it shell and tail on, shell off and tail on, or shell and tail removed. When paired with a sauce, serve shrimp peeled and remove the tail. For finger food, leave the tail intact, as it makes a convenient "handle."
Related Article: Top Tools for Cooking Shrimp
MYTH:Shrimp is available either fresh or frozen, and fresh tastes better.
TRUTH: Almost all shrimp you buy is frozen at sea or shortly thereafter. More than likely, "fresh" shrimp is actually thawed. Truly fresh shrimp appears more translucent than thawed shrimp, and its highly perishable nature makes it rarely available. The United States imports 80 to 90 percent of the shrimp its residents consume, so it stands to reason that the product is shipped frozen.
Related Article: No-Cook Seafood Recipes
MYTH:All shrimp species are pretty much the same.
TRUTH: Hundreds of shrimp species swim in the seas, and some have minute differences we would never notice on our plates. The greatest variation may exist between the broad categories of warm-water, cold-water, and freshwater shrimp. Warm-water shrimp grow larger, but tend to taste less sweet than their cold-water cousins. Freshwater shrimp are usually farm-raised and prized for their size. Regardless of raw shrimp's color, which can range from white to yellow to brown to striped, all shrimp turn pink when cooked.
Related Article: 20 Ways with Crab
MYTH:Jumbo shrimp are all the same size.
TRUTH: The terms used to describe shrimp size-small, medium, large, jumbo, colossal-mean different things in different locations, and the jargon has no industry regulations. The more universal technique measures shrimp by the count, or number. If the shrimp are "16-20s," that means there are 60 to 20 shrimp per pound, regardless or the label's large, extra-large, or jumbo designation.
Article by Marge Perry
More from Coastal Living
15 Healthy Seafood Recipes
New Ways with Avocado
15 Coconut Creations
Get a Free Trial Issue!
