What's the Difference Between Shrimp and Prawns?

[+Dafey 14,794]

Quote

 

Shrimp have developed a reputation as the appetizers of the sea. They’re an ideal finger food, easily dipped into cocktail sauce. If you eat enough of them, it can constitute a meal. Shrimp is even more popular in America than tuna, with Americans eating an average of four pounds of the delicious little crustaceans every year.

Few people, however, ask for prawn cocktail or prawn scampi. While prawns seem virtually identical to shrimp, they seem to have languished in popular culture. So what’s the difference between shrimp and prawns?

According to Food & Wine, both shrimp and prawns are decapods, each with 10 legs and an external skeleton. But that’s largely where the similarities end. Prawns are in the decapod suborder Dendrobranchiata, with claws on three pairs of legs, large secondary pincers, and a freshwater habitat. Their gills branch out and their bodies—which are typically larger than a shrimp’s—are less curved.

Saltwater-raised shrimp, in contrast, have a more distinctive bend to their bodies thanks to the second segment of their shell overlapping the first and third segments. They also have one fewer pair of claws plus plate-like gills and large front pincers.

Once they’re out of their shells, those details become irrelevant. Shrimp and prawns have a nearly identical taste, though some people might be able to detect a slightly sweeter flavor to prawns. Shrimp has become more of a catch-all term for both crustaceans in northern states, while southern states and other countries like the UK and Ireland favor the term prawn. So while you might be getting one, the other, or both in restaurants, in terms of linguistics, prawn taco just doesn't have the same ring to it.

https://www.msn.com/en-ph/foodanddrink/foodnews/whats-the-difference-between-shrimp-and-prawns/ar-AADwXnv?ocid=spartandhp

 

 

[cookie47 1,900]

Below gives an outline of the difference in terminology between Shrimp and Prawn "as far as Australia is concerned" and how shrimp was used in the a Tourism commercial advertising that was directed at the United States in the mid 80s.

Copy from Wikipedia... 

Barbie" is Australian slang for barbecue and the phrase "slip a shrimp on the barbie" often evokes images of a fun social gathering under the sun. Australians, however, invariably use the word prawn rather than shrimp. Because the commercial was commissioned for broadcast in the United States, the change was made to limit audience confusion.[1][2] 

[+Dafey 14,794]

Who's that young guy in the photo?

[cookie47 1,900]

That's Paul Hogan of Crocodile Dundee Movie fame (and others), and depicts the him "saying" put another shrimp on the Barbie, he was also a well known Australian comedian.

The Advertising campaign was massive at the time to encourage Americans to Visit Australia which were in numbers very low in 80s..

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[Ozepete 9,502]

Then in the Oz interior there is the 'Yabby", similar but more like a small crayfish.  Best cooked by boiling along with a brick. Once the brick is soft, throw out the yabby and eat the brick! Nearly all Oz interior water ways, dams etc have yabby in them and was always great fun as a kid fishing for them with a bit of meat on a string / stick. 

[Davaoeno 37,339]

Obviously not to be confused with a yobbo 😂 

[Ozepete 9,502]

21 minutes ago, Davaoeno said:

Obviously not to be confused with a yobbo 😂 

That's the critter on the dry end of the stick!  

[bert 123]

4 hours ago, Ozepete said:

Then in the Oz interior there is the 'Yabby", similar but more like a small crayfish.  Best cooked by boiling along with a brick. Once the brick is soft, throw out the yabby and eat the brick! Nearly all Oz interior water ways, dams etc have yabby in them and was always great fun as a kid fishing for them with a bit of meat on a string / stick. 

been there done that some are big  but for taste boot leather would be better

[Headshot 29,311]

5 hours ago, Ozepete said:

Then in the Oz interior there is the 'Yabby", similar but more like a small crayfish.  Best cooked by boiling along with a brick. Once the brick is soft, throw out the yabby and eat the brick! Nearly all Oz interior water ways, dams etc have yabby in them and was always great fun as a kid fishing for them with a bit of meat on a string / stick. 

In the US, we have the crawdad, which is just another type of yabby. If properly cared for, they are great eating. I used to fish for them with a line like you did, and we also set out traps for them, which made a lot more sense since we could leave the traps out overnight and catch many of the little critters. If you let them soak in a tank with some brine water for a while, which will purge their systems, and then they taste a whole lot better after they are cooked. They are cooked on a barbie, though. A big pot filled with water and lots of seasonings is a better prep method.

As for lobsters, I like them all. Each of them has its own unique flavor, and if cooked properly can make for a tasty feast. My favorite way to eat any lobster is slightly seasoned with clarified butter mixed with lemon juice in which to dip the meat just before it goes into my mouth. I won't ever turn down a meal of lobster ... of any variety.

[+Salty Dog 68,025]

Give me shrimp or crab over lobster any time… 

[+Dafey 14,794]

8 hours ago, Salty Dog said:

Give me shrimp or crab over lobster any time… 

never thought of putting shrimp on top of my lobster...what a great idea!