# Prawns are shrimp, right?



## Caslon (Jan 20, 2018)

Whatâ€™s the Difference Between Shrimp and Prawns? | Food & Wine

Let us all waste bandwidth discussing, hehehehe.

I ask this because some major restaurant  chain is now tv advertising a delicious lo0king steak and* prawn* meal commercial.  Not steak and shrimp....steak and prawns.

Shrimp and prawns. 
A rose by any other name.


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## caseydog (Jan 20, 2018)

Since my brain is packed with information that in no way benefits me financially, I already knew shrimp and prawns were different animals. Brits like to call our Gulf coast shrimp prawns, but they also pronounce aluminum wrong. 

I like them both, by the way. 

CD


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## giggler (Jan 20, 2018)

*picture of a prawn*

picture of a prawn


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## giggler (Jan 20, 2018)

picture of a shrimp


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## giggler (Jan 20, 2018)

picture of a Scampi


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## buckytom (Jan 20, 2018)

We've had this discussion here once a long time ago.

Some people call the big shrimp prawns, and some people call the little shrimp prawns, and vice versa.

A few people got upset because they felt they were more correct.

And then there's Dublin Bay Prawns, which is a slightly different animal.


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## Andy M. (Jan 20, 2018)

Yes, they are different animals.

The way the name is used is not necessarily correct.  Restaurants will use one name over the other because they like the sound of it better.  Maybe steak and prawns sounds cooler or MORE EXPENSIVE than steak and shrimp.

Misusing or creating new names for foods is not a new thing, but is is annoying.


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## RPCookin (Jan 20, 2018)

giggler said:


> picture of a prawn



That photo is a spiny lobster - or in the Bahamas they call it a crayfish.  Certainly isn't a prawn.

From Wikipedia:



> The term "prawn"[2] is used particularly in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Commonwealth nations, for large swimming crustaceans or shrimp, especially those with commercial significance in the fishing industry. Shrimp that fall in this category often belong to the suborder Dendrobranchiata. In North America, the term is used less frequently, typically for freshwater shrimp. The terms shrimp and prawn themselves lack scientific standing. Over the years, the way shrimp and prawn are used has changed, and nowadays the terms are almost interchangeable.
> 
> In the United Kingdom, prawn is used more commonly on menus than shrimp, while the opposite is the case in the United States. The term prawn also loosely describes any large shrimp, especially those at 15 (or fewer) to the pound[citation needed] (such as king prawns or jumbo shrimp).





> According to the crustacean taxonomist Tin-Yam Chan, "The terms shrimp and prawn have no definite reference to any known taxonomic groups. Although the term shrimp is sometimes applied to smaller species, while prawn is more often used for larger forms, there is no clear distinction between both terms and their usage is often confused or even reverse in different countries or regions."[3] Writing in 1980, L. B. Holthuis noted that the terms prawn and shrimp were used inconsistently "even within a single region", generalising that larger species fished commercially were generally called shrimps in the United States, and prawns in other English-speaking countries, although not without exceptions.[4]





> The terms true shrimp or true prawn are sometimes used to mean what a particular person thinks is a shrimp or prawn.[2] This varies with the person using the terms. But such terms are not normally used in the scientific literature, because the terms shrimp and prawn themselves lack scientific standing. Over the years the way shrimp and prawn are used has changed, and nowadays the terms are almost interchangeable.



There's more HERE if you want to read it.


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## RPCookin (Jan 20, 2018)

Andy M. said:


> Yes, they are different animals.
> 
> The way the name is used is not necessarily correct.  *Restaurants will use one name over the other because they like the sound of it better.  Maybe steak and prawns sounds cooler or MORE EXPENSIVE than steak and shrimp.*
> 
> Misusing or creating new names for foods is not a new thing, but is is annoying.



This is the real answer to the question the OP posed.  If a restaurant wants an upscale image, they use "prawn" on the menu, and if they want to keep that image, those prawns had better be a lot more than bite size.  Otherwise they are still just shrimp with a God complex.


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## giggler (Jan 20, 2018)

here is a picture of a Crayfish. Round here they are called Crawdads.

note, craw dads are the same size as shrimp


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## buckytom (Jan 20, 2018)

RPCookin said:


> This is the real answer to the question the OP posed.  If a restaurant wants an upscale image, they use "prawn" on the menu, and if they want to keep that image, those prawns had better be a lot more than bite size.  Otherwise they are still just shrimp with a God complex.




Well, that would depend on where the restaurant is located.

More from Wiki: "Although the term shrimp is sometimes applied to smaller species, while prawn is more often used for larger forms, there is no clear distinction between both terms and their usage is often confused or even reverse in different countries or regions."[3] Writing in 1980, L. B. Holthuis noted that the terms prawn and shrimp were used inconsistently "even within a single region", generalising that larger species fished commercially were generally called shrimps in the United States, and prawns in other English-speaking countries, although not without exceptions.[4]"

The discussion we had here pretty much played that out. Although there were more international members back then.


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## RPCookin (Jan 20, 2018)

giggler said:


> here is a picture of a Crayfish. Round here they are called Crawdads.
> 
> note, craw dads are the same size as shrimp



I know the difference... in the Bahamas a spiny lobster is a crayfish in the local vernacular.  If you see crayfish on a menu, it's a spiny lobster.   They grow very large, can be 2 feet long not counting the feelers, but they are still crayfish to a Bahamian.   In that country, it has to have claws to be called a lobster.

In the US, crayfish are crawdads (and some people call them crawfish to add more confusion), and both are freshwater crustaceans.  

This is a spiny lobster or Bahamian crayfish (scuba divers just call them "bugs"):


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## caseydog (Jan 20, 2018)

giggler said:


> here is a picture of a Crayfish. Round here they are called Crawdads.
> 
> note, craw dads are the same size as shrimp



In Louisiana, they are called crawfish. Apparently what they call a crayfish in Australia is a somewhat different beast. 

CD


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## buckytom (Jan 20, 2018)

When I was a kid, people called them crayfish in NJ and NY state, but I haven't heard it said in a very long time. It's crawfish. 

Btw, I miss Mudbug, a member who hasn't been around in a long time.

And lol, a mudbug is defined as a freshwater crayfish, not crawfish.


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## caseydog (Jan 20, 2018)

buckytom said:


> When I was a kid, people called them crayfish in NJ and NY state, but I haven't heard it said in a very long time. It's crawfish.
> 
> Btw, I miss Mudbug, a member who hasn't been around in a long time.
> 
> And lol, a mudbug is defined as a freshwater crayfish, not crawfish.



When I lived in NJ as a kid, we also called them crayfish. When I lived in Port Arthur (cajun country) everyone called them crawfish. After very heavy rains, we would see them in my backyard. And, they would leave behind these mounds where they came out of the ground that would harden when dry, and were real lawnmower blade killers. 

I rarely heard anyone in cajun country call them mudbugs. It is almost always crawfish. 

Here is a shot of my crawfish boil rig in action down on Bolivar Peninsula. The crawfish were kind of small that year, but tasty. 

CD


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## dragnlaw (Jan 21, 2018)

When I was about 9 (+/-) my Dad called them "crawdads". We found them in the creek behind our summer place.  They were quite small and we did not eat them, which says a lot as my Dad would have caught and eaten them had they been worth while.  This was in Ontario, the '12 Mile Creek' ran down between Hamilton and Toronto.


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## CakePoet (Jan 22, 2018)

Scampi isnt a square block  it is a Nephrops norvegicus, a type crustacean.


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## buckytom (Jan 22, 2018)

Lol, that's another one.

CP, I think giggler meant a scampi sauce, which is primarily butter and garlic.


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## CakePoet (Jan 22, 2018)

Or surimi?


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## Mad Cook (Jan 22, 2018)

giggler said:


> picture of a prawn


No it isn't. Looks like what we call crayfish in the UK.

To all intents and purposes prawns are a large version of shrimps, the latter being probably 1/2 and inch long when shelled. 

In the past we've been greatful for Americans invading Britain but this time we'd like you to de-mob the American breed of crayfish which have decimated our British ones. 

Google "Signal Crayfish - Inland Waterways Association" for the whole sorry story.


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## Mad Cook (Jan 22, 2018)

giggler said:


> picture of a shrimpView attachment 28934


AKA Prawn in UK. Over here Shrimp are smaller but look the same.

(Incidentally, neither are red until cooked.)


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## CakePoet (Jan 22, 2018)

And in Sweden we just call them räka...


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## RPCookin (Jan 22, 2018)

Then there is "scampi".  That's an Italian word for "shrimp", so saying you are having shrimp scampi is the same as saying your are having shrimp shrimp.


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## caseydog (Jan 22, 2018)

Mad Cook said:


> AKA Prawn in UK. Over here Shrimp are smaller but look the same.
> 
> (Incidentally, neither are red until cooked.)



Shrimp caught in different waters are different colors. In the Eastern Gulf, East of the Mississippi River, the shrimp are a reddish color. West of the Mississippi, they are grey/brown. It is because of the silt from the Mississippi River, which drifts to the West when it hits the Gulf of Mexico. 

Prawns... don't live in the Gulf of Mexico, since they are fresh-water crustaceans. 

Oh, and the "H" in Herb is silent.  

CD


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## Caslon (Jan 23, 2018)

So...do prawns have a similar flavor and texture to shrimp?  I don't think I've ever eaten prawns (grilled at least).


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## caseydog (Jan 23, 2018)

Caslon said:


> So...do prawns have a similar flavor and texture to shrimp?  I don't think I've ever eaten prawns (grilled at least).



Yes, they do. Anything you can cook with shrimp, you can cook with prawns. Even though they are different animals, they have very similar taste and texture. That is probably why there is so much confusion about shrimp and prawns. 

CD


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## tenspeed (Jan 23, 2018)

RPCookin said:


> Then there is "scampi".  That's an Italian word for "shrimp", so saying you are having shrimp scampi is the same as saying your are having shrimp shrimp.


Shrimp shrimp must be small shrimp, as opposed to jumbo shrimp.


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## RPCookin (Jan 23, 2018)

caseydog said:


> Yes, they do. Anything you can cook with shrimp, you can cook with prawns. Even though they are different animals, they have very similar taste and texture. That is probably why there is so much confusion about shrimp and prawns.
> 
> CD



Casey - I don't know if you read all of the Wiki references, but prawns and shrimp ARE the same thing, just by different names in different regions.  

Essentially, prawns are just shrimp with a high opinion of themselves.


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## dragnlaw (Jan 23, 2018)

I went into a fish monger's place in Florida on the coast. Was buying some shrimp for supper.  the display case was amazing in the different shrimps,etc available.  

I saw some that were quite large and very pink and asked what was the best way to re-heat them...  she looked a little shocked and said

 "oh my dear, these are raw not cooked!"   I was so thankful I had asked! 

Couldn't imagine what my face would have looked like had I bitten into a raw shrimp!



I


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## dragnlaw (Jan 23, 2018)

Scampi Shrimp reminds me of a favourite Florida restaurant my husband and I would visit on our trips just to have that dish. 

For several years we couldn't manage a visit and when we finally did...  we had only shrimp in the dish.  We called the server and asked about it, the manager came and explained to us that it was the sauce that was being referred to. 

We mentioned that we had had this dish many times there and it definitely had both...  so he became vague saying that during his time there (3 years) the recipe hadn't changed.  Well, due to the time line we could hardly prove it but accepted the change. 

The following year while cleaning out a corner in my basement came across a menu we had brought home from there back in the day... 

Sure enough!  the menu described the dish as having both scampi and shrimp in a garlic (and something) sauce!  

*So the dish*, in my mind, originally was created with both.  Due either to availability, appreciation, costs or 'whatever'! it* was changed*.


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## buckytom (Jan 23, 2018)

dragnlaw said:


> I went into a fish monger's place in Florida on the coast. Was buying some shrimp for supper.  the display case was amazing in the different shrimps,etc available.
> 
> I saw some that were quite large and very pink and asked what was the best way to re-heat them...  she looked a little shocked and said
> 
> ...



Amaebi, raw shrimp for sashimi or sushi, is a delicacy available around January and February here. The texture is kinda like very firm snot, but they are sweet and tasty.


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## caseydog (Jan 23, 2018)

RPCookin said:


> Casey - I don't know if you read all of the Wiki references, but prawns and shrimp ARE the same thing, just by different names in different regions.
> 
> Essentially, prawns are just shrimp with a high opinion of themselves.



_Both shrimp and prawns are Decapod crustaceans, meaning they both have ten legs and possess external skeletons. However, that’s where their classification similarities end. Shrimp belong to the sub-order Pleocyemata, while prawns belong to the sub-order Dendrobranchiata._ - Food & Wine

Scientifically, they are not the same animal. 

_Prawns have branching gills, claws on three pairs of their legs and second pincers that are larger than their front ones. Additionally, prawns lack the distinct bend in their bodies that is seen with shrimp and each of their body segments overlaps the one behind it in succession.

Shrimp, on the other hand, have lamellar (or plate-like) gills, and claws on two pairs of their legs. Their front pincers are typically their largest. Additionally, shrimp have a distinct bend in their bodies and their second segments overlap the first and third segments. _ - Food & Wine

CD


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## RPCookin (Jan 23, 2018)

caseydog said:


> _Both shrimp and prawns are Decapod crustaceans, meaning they both have ten legs and possess external skeletons. However, that’s where their classification similarities end. Shrimp belong to the sub-order Pleocyemata, while prawns belong to the sub-order Dendrobranchiata._ - Food & Wine
> 
> Scientifically, they are not the same animal.
> 
> ...



Since when is Food And Wine a scientific treatise?  Then too, they don't speak for the whole world.  If you Google "shrimp" and "prawn" you will get a lot of the same pictures.  Wikipedia even says that there is no science behind the two names - they are both used colloquially and interchangeably to refer to the same group of edible critters.  I found no credible reference that could make a definite statement as to which is which.


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## caseydog (Jan 24, 2018)

RPCookin said:


> I found no credible reference that could make a definite statement as to which is which.



_Shrimp belong to the sub-order *Pleocyemata*, while prawns belong to the sub-order *Dendrobranchiata*._ That seems pretty definitive to me. But who am I to argue with a Google search? Especially if they show a lot of pictures. 

Pork Roll and Taylor Ham are two names for the same thing, and people argue over that. Here, we have two different actual scientific names for shrimp and prawns, and people still argue over it. 

I give up. Everyone can believe what they want to believe. 

CD


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## CakePoet (Jan 24, 2018)

Räkor..  For ones Swedish is simple.   It is räkor unless it is humrar, kräftor eller krabbor.


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## RPCookin (Jan 24, 2018)

caseydog said:


> _Shrimp belong to the sub-order *Pleocyemata*, while prawns belong to the sub-order *Dendrobranchiata*._ That seems pretty definitive to me. But who am I to argue with a Google search? Especially if they show a lot of pictures.
> 
> Pork Roll and Taylor Ham are two names for the same thing, and people argue over that. Here, we have two different actual scientific names for shrimp and prawns, and people still argue over it.
> 
> ...



You are assigning colloquial identifiers to the scientific names based on what was printed in a foodie magazine.  While Wikipedia has been known to be wrong about some things, they agree with most every other source that the 2 terms cannot be assigned to the scientific classification.



> The term "prawn"[2] is used particularly in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Commonwealth nations, for large swimming crustaceans or shrimp, especially those with commercial significance in the fishing industry. Shrimp that fall in this category often belong to the suborder Dendrobranchiata. In North America, the term is used less frequently, typically for freshwater shrimp. The terms shrimp and prawn themselves lack scientific standing. Over the years, the way shrimp and prawn are used has changed, and nowadays the terms are almost interchangeable.
> 
> In the United Kingdom, prawn is used more commonly on menus than shrimp, while the opposite is the case in the United States. The term prawn also loosely describes any large shrimp, especially those at 15 (or fewer) to the pound[citation needed] (such as king prawns or jumbo shrimp).


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## caseydog (Jan 24, 2018)

RPCookin said:


> You are assigning colloquial identifiers to the scientific names based on what was printed in a foodie magazine.  While Wikipedia has been known to be wrong about some things, they agree with most every other source that the 2 terms cannot be assigned to the scientific classification.



I'm not sure what part of "I give up" is hard to understand. I know when I'm better off talking to my dog, and I got there hours ago. 

This is an argument that is just not worth having. 

CD


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## buckytom (Jan 24, 2018)

It's Taylor Ham!


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## caseydog (Jan 24, 2018)

buckytom said:


> It's Taylor Ham!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLoWbDkF6cI

CD


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## brasato (Jan 25, 2018)

Hi from Italy.
I have a curiosity.
In italian shrimp mean...shrimp and scampi mean langoustines, but I see many american recipes called "shrimp scampi" where only shrimps are used. So I'm curious to understand what is intended in usa with the word scampi, considering that scampi is an italian word (the plural of scampo to be precise) to indentify langoustines, but it seems that in usa identifies something else.


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## tenspeed (Jan 25, 2018)

In the US shrimp scampi means shrimp prepared with garlic, oil / butter, lemon and herbs usually served over pasta.  Langoustines (or scampi as you call them) do not grow in North American waters, and are generally not available.


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## Andy M. (Jan 25, 2018)

brasato said:


> Hi from Italy.
> I have a curiosity.
> In italian shrimp mean...shrimp and scampi mean langoustines, but I see many american recipes called "shrimp scampi" where only shrimps are used. So I'm curious to understand what is intended in usa with the word scampi, considering that scampi is an italian word (the plural of scampo to be precise) to indentify langoustines, but it seems that in usa identifies something else.



Buongiorno. ""shrimp scampi" refers to a dish made with shrimp cooked on the stovetop with a white wine and butter sauce.


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## brasato (Jan 25, 2018)

Thank you very much both for the answers.
@tenspeed we have scampi (lagoustines) in the mediterranean, they are delicious (in my opinion the best way is to eat them raw) but they are really really expensive, the big ones cost not less than 30/35 euros/kilo.


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## caseydog (Jan 25, 2018)

brasato said:


> Hi from Italy.
> I have a curiosity.
> In italian shrimp mean...shrimp and scampi mean langoustines, but I see many american recipes called "shrimp scampi" where only shrimps are used. So I'm curious to understand what is intended in usa with the word scampi, considering that scampi is an italian word (the plural of scampo to be precise) to indentify langoustines, but it seems that in usa identifies something else.



Hello, my family came to the US from Torino. When you consider that we call most Italian cites by a different name here in the US, it is not surprising that someone from Italy would be confused. We call Torino, Turin, and Firenze, Florence. It all goes back to Italian immigrants, like my great-grandparents, Americanizing in order to fit in, and become Americans. Here in the US, my own last name is pronounced wrong, but I'm used to it.

Shrimp Scampi is an example of that. It is like fajitas from Mexico. Fajita is skirt steak, yet in the US, we eat chicken fajitas... or chicken steak. Technically, it makes no sense, but the name "chicken fajitas" has become normal. In the same way, Shrimp Scampi has become normal. 

Italian immigrants in the early 1900s, like my great-grandparents, adapted recipes from Italy to use ingredients that were abundant here in America. They had to do that, since it was not practical to import ingredients from Italy. 

Here, shrimp scampi is actually shrimp, most of it from the Gulf of Mexico, that is cooked in butter and garlic. Why? Because Gulf shrimp are abundant here. 

Italian food here is different than Italian food in Italy. That came from necessity. Italian immigrants 100 years ago cooked with what was abundant here. 

CD


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## RPCookin (Jan 25, 2018)

Here is part of a menu from the restaurant where we had lunch in Vernazza on the Cinque Terra.  Aside from some odd phraseology in some of the translations, I do see "shrimp" listed as an ingredient in the first dish on the page.  

I took the photo to memorialize the third item on the page.  We hoped that it was a case of something being lost in translation, but it didn't sound appetizing.







We ate at that table on the balcony right above the guy reading a book.


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## caseydog (Jan 25, 2018)

Wow, what a cool place to have lunch. I'll assume the man below you was wearing pants.  

CD


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## buckytom (Jan 25, 2018)

Lol, dinner and a show.


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## dragnlaw (Jan 26, 2018)

His pants were probably as big as the girls' on the next level down. LOL


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