How To Choose Gourmet American Shrimp
When picking items for a seafood banquet, wild caught American shrimp are popular among gourmet cooks. Shrimp are not only famed for outstanding flavor but they can be an important part of a healthy diet.
Wild Yankee shrimp are tasty steamed, boiled, griddled, fried and in recipes such as scampi. They are popular as an appetisers such as shrimp cocktail, bisques and salads. They also freeze well and can be purchased in enormous numbers, processed and excess amounts frozen for later meals.
Shrimp are low in fat and calories and have no carbs or trans fatty acids. They contain vitamins B3, B6, B12, vitamin D and Omega-3 greasy acids and are sources of tryptophan, selenium, protein and minerals including iron, phosphorus, zinc and copper.
American species include white (Litopenaeus setiferus), brown ( Farfantepenaeus aztecus ), pink ( Penaeus duorarum ) and royal red ( Pleoticus robustus or Hymenopenaeus robustus) rock (Sicyonia brevirostris) and Northern ( Pandalus borealis ).
Shrimp are sized by “count”. The number of specimens per lb. This is applicable to both whole and heads-off products. For example, headless shrimp of 16/20 count means there are 16 to twenty headless product per lb. Counts for headless product usually range from 16/20 ( huge ) to 60/70 ( tiny ). Pacific pink shrimp are even smaller, having counts of about 100 to 140 full shrimp per pound.
Wild Yankee shrimp are also a good selection re sustainability. Plenty of the Yankee fisheries have been known for ethical cropping strategies.
The Wild American Shrimp Certification Program certifies that warm-water, wild caught shrimp from U.S. coastal waters meet a high standard of quality and consistency. Certified Wild American Shrimp receive special labeling. Collusion in the certification program is available to harvesters, processors, distributors, shops, greengrocers and restaurateurs.
Another Yankee fishery has received world recognition. Oregon’s pink shrimp fishery has earned the planet’s first sustainable shrimp certification under the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification program.
The Marine Stewardship Council ( MSC ), which runs the world’s leading independent certification program for sustainable fisheries, and independent certifier TAVEL Certification Inc., awarded Oregon pink shrimp its certification on December 6, 2007. The action distinguishes Oregon’s pink shrimp trawl fishery as a sustainable and well-managed fishery. The Sea Stewardship Council certification also permits Oregon pink shrimp to be sold using the coveted blue MSC eco-label indicating a sustainable fishery.
The Marine Stewardship Council is an organization that works to enhance the health of the planet’s seas and to help create a sustainable global seafood market. MSC pursues its mission by certifying fisheries that meet its sustainable standards and developing market demand for certified seafood. The MSC model is predicated on customers rewarding sustainable fisheries by choosing seafood that originates from certified sustainable fisheries.
Pink shrimp, AKA bay or salad shrimp are little ( 100-140 entire per lb ). They’re cropped using sophisticated trawl strategies. Pink MSC certified shrimp are dropped at shore for cooking, peeling and freezing, resulting in an extremely fresh product of excellent quality.
The variety of high quality, healthy and sustainable American shrimp makes them an excellent choice for seafood lovers.
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