Shrimp or Prawns

What is the difference between shrimp and prawns? Is it only the size? Or is it where they came from? Which is best? I love large shrimp, but can not allways find them.

In this case, it's true that size does matter.
As to which is best...Depends on what you want to do.

From Wikipedia-
"The terminology is sometimes confusing as the distinction between "shrimp" and "prawn" is sometimes blurred. Recent aquaculture literature increasingly uses the term "prawn" only for the freshwater forms of palaemonids and "shrimp" for the marine penaeids."

SO, if you don't know your palaemonids from your penaeids, you're in deep DoDo!

Also from Wikipedia:
"The global annual production of freshwater prawns in 2003 was about 280,000 tonnes, of which China produced some 180,000 tonnes, followed by India and Thailand with some 35,000 tonnes each. Other major producer countries are Taiwan, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. In the United States, there are only a few hundred small farms for M. rosenbergii with an overall production of just about 50 tonnes in 2003.[2] The U.S. is, though, the largest producer of farmed crayfish. In 2003, U.S. farms produced 33,500 tonnes of red swamp crawfish (Procambarus clarkii), a crayfish species native to North America."

HOWEVER, the best shrimp come from the good ol' Gulf Coast of the U.S., by God, A. Just ask Forrest Gump!

The best shrimp believe it or not come from the West Texas desert town of Imperial north of Fort Stockton off I10. That is where the Atlantic Ocean shore used to be. They were drilling for oil and found a gusher of ancient sea water unpolluted by millions of years of man made materials, so they use it to grow shrimp.

http://www.usmsfp.org/farm-websites/texas%20news/seafoodwithoutthesea.htm

http://chefmoz.org/United_States/TX/Imperial/Permian_Sea_Shrimp1060660726.html

joe

Which is best? How big do prawns go?

quote:

http://www.usmsfp.org/farm-websites/texas%20news/seafoodwithoutthesea.htm

http://chefmoz.org/United_States/TX/Imperial/Permian_Sea_Shrimp1060660726.html

That is one the most fascinating food stories I've read lately. I hope I get to try them sometime.

No one answered my last question. Also what are wild shrimp?

quote:

Originally posted by Polish guy

No one answered my last question. Also what are wild shrimp?

I have always assumed that wild shrimp were those that were caught in the oceans or gulfs and not farm raised.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

I've seen prawns bigger than a chicken leg.
Wild shrimp are just that...wild. Not raised. We're getting some farm raised shrimps here in Kentucky now if you can believe it.

Why am I imagining driving through Kentucky surrounded by vast fields of shrimp?

Trick is knowin' when to pick 'em.

quote:

Originally posted by Pat T Hat

Trick is knowin' when to pick 'em.

And I imagine round up time at a shrimp farm is a pain.

joe

Wonder what would be the hardest. Using those itty bitty lassos's or saddling them seahorses?

Numerous tobacco farmers in East Tennessee are converting their farms to fresh water shrimp. I have no idea about the profitability or taste but they have been written up several times in Knoxville.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

quote:

Originally posted by Sundancer7

Numerous tobacco farmers in East Tennessee are converting their farms to fresh water shrimp. I have no idea about the profitability or taste but they have been written up several times in Knoxville.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Rice farmers here after the harvest flood their fields and grow crawfish on the off season.

joe

That's my understanding of what's happening up here. Putting the tobacco settlement monies to good use.
I'd heard this years crop (catch?) was pretty decent. I think they sell at about ten per lb.
The texture is supposed to be a little softer and the taste milder, or so I hear and read.
You have to get your order in evidently. Seems they sell out rather quickly. Whether that has to do with quantity or quality I won't know till I get to try them.

quote:

Originally posted by Pat T Hat

That's my understanding of what's happening up here. Putting the tobacco settlement monies to good use.
I'd heard this years crop (catch?) was pretty decent. I think they sell at about ten per lb.
The texture is supposed to be a little softer and the taste milder, or so I hear and read.
You have to get your order in evidently. Seems they sell out rather quickly. Whether that has to do with quantity or quality I won't know till I get to try them.

$10 lb. is pretty steep for shrimp. I hope they're darn good shrimp.

joe

#1 - Since those Tobacco Shrimp are grown on land that was used to raise tobacco, does that mean they can be eaten to satisfy a nicotine fit?
#2 - $10 bucks a puund isn't bad for prawns. We have a specialty market here that sells them $15-20 bucks a pound.

quote:

Originally posted by Texianjoe

$10 lb. is pretty steep for shrimp. I hope they're darn good shrimp.

joe


Your proximity to the Texas coast is showing. While those of us near to shrimping waters would think $10 a pound on the high side, for most of the country it's a very good price.

quote:

Originally posted by Foodbme

#1 - Since those Tobacco Shrimp are grown on land that was used to raise tobacco, does that mean they can be eaten to satisfy a nicotine fit?
#2 - $10 bucks a puund isn't bad for prawns. We have a specialty market here that sells them $15-20 bucks a pound.

The unfiltered ones. Not sure about the menthol.

These couldn't get anywhere near prawn size. The pictures I've seen put them at about 18-24 to 1 or so. Just a guess.

I wonder if there is a farm raised prawn? Seasons to short to grow that big in this climate.

*********************************


Here is an edit about Kentucky shrimp.
It would seem farm raised shrimp actually grow bigger in this climate because the cooler temps slow sexual maturity. That is when the growth cycle slows or stops.

They also use the term "prawn" regardless of size as an industry term in farm production. They seem to only use the term shrimp in marketing. At 2-4 inches at harvest you could not market as a prawn.

The texture is supposed to be more akin to lobster according to the Ky. Dept of Agriculture.
The 2006 season had about 35 shrimp farms in Ky and the average price this year was around $8.00 per lb.

Hey that google things pretty coolhuh?

Prawns are raised in fresh water. Most come from Asian countries. Very few are raised in the US.