# Diff between shrimp & prawn?



## Chopstix (Feb 19, 2006)

I thought shrimps were generally smaller than prawns but I see prawns and shrimps of the same size being sold side by side.  I've noticed that shrimps tend to shrink/shrivel so much more than prawns do after cooking.  Can someone validate this?  So what really is the difference between the two?


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## ironchef (Feb 20, 2006)

Chopstix said:
			
		

> I thought shrimps were generally smaller than prawns but I see prawns and shrimps of the same size being sold side by side. I've noticed that shrimps tend to shrink/shrivel so much more than prawns do after cooking. Can someone validate this? So what really is the difference between the two?


 
Usually, many places designate prawns as shrimp that still have the heads attached.


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## Haggis (Feb 20, 2006)

I have also heard that the difference is that of size. However I have always just thought that shrimp was a term used almost exclusively in the Americas.


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## buckytom (Feb 20, 2006)

there is no hard and fast answer. essentially, they are one and the same creature, (sub?)class malacostracan, order decapoda.
this order includes several multi-legged crustacea like crabs, lobsters, shrimps/prawns, crayfish, and woodlice.

the terms prawn and shrimp are used differently and interchangeably in various areas of the world, and it is difficult to nail down which is which, for the larger and smaller decapods.

so, the only difference is linguistic.


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## pdswife (Feb 20, 2006)

Bucky... you're up very late tonight. Hope everything is ok.  Nighty night. sleep well and dream sweet!


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## grumblebee (Feb 20, 2006)

Buckytom is correct. It just depends on where you are from. (eg: in India, all "shrimp" are called prawns, whereas in North American, "prawns" generally refers to large shrimp w/ the heads still on) 

http://www.theepicentre.com/tip/shrimp.html


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## Michael in FtW (Feb 20, 2006)

In the US and Britain large shrimp are often called prawns. In India all shrimp are called prawns - which also seems to be the norm for Australia. In some parts of the world prawn is used to denote a fresh water shrimp - the word shrimp being reserved for it's salt water cousins. In other places - the words are used interchangeably for the same thing. I've gotten bags of dried shrimp from my local Asian market and some are labeled as shrimp, some as prawns, some as shrimp (prawns), and some as prawns (shrimp) - they were all smaller than my thumbnail so in that case size wasn't a factor. 

One other critter worth mentioning, just for the fun of it, is the Dublin Bay Prawn. I ran across it after something someone somewhere else said that "shrimp scampi" was a redundant misnomer since scampi in Italian means shrimp - thus it translates to "shrimp shrimp". Actually - this may be a form of Italian truth in advertising - indicating you're getting a dish with large shrimp the size of a scampi. Dublin Bay prawn = Dublin prawn = langoustine = scampi = Norway lobster. Although they look similar to a large shrimp, but with prominent fore claws, they are in fact a small lobster.

Throwing off the commercial, culinary and cultural habit/linguistic confusions ... yes, there actually is a difference between prawns and shrimps biologically - which appears to be primarily the differences in the gills. Here is probably more information than you ever wanted to know about prawns, shrimps, and scampi / Norway lobster.

I would suggest that the next time you see prawns and shrimps of the same size being sold side by side and you want to know the difference - ask the person selling them. They will be able to tell you how *they* define the difference.


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## Chopstix (Feb 20, 2006)

Wow, thanks for all the answers.  Especially to Michael of FtW!


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## Constance (Feb 20, 2006)

I remember when I was a little girl, and we drove to San Francisco to visit my aunt. We had dinner in China Town, and my favorite thing was the tempura fried prawns. They were better than shrimp, but I think it was the tempura batter that I liked so well...and the sweet & sour sauce. 
I've heard from someone on the cooking channel...Bobby Flay, I think...is that the difference between the two is that the prawns are sold with the head on.


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## cafeandy (Feb 20, 2006)

****...i thought prawn were asian freshwater shrimp...HUGE!!!

i have a friend who raises them in ponds outside houston...

cafeandy


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## jennyema (Feb 21, 2006)

Ate lunch at Legal's the other day and they are having some Shrimpapalooza or something.

The placemats have a whole column devoted to "The Difference Between Shrimp and Prawns."  Legal's claims that they are actually different critters, though closely related.  But I believe they may have been referring to Dublin Bay Prawns as Michael explained.


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## Alix (Feb 21, 2006)

Testing to see if this works...


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## jnette (Feb 26, 2006)

Just recently "fresh water prawns" have been showing up in the markets in places of the Northwest.  When I asked where they came from, I was told India.  I bought some, they were much cheaper than the normal ones, and I can see why. they had no flavor.

When I told frriends from the South about this, they said there are all kinds of fresh water ponds where they are grown in the South and have fantastic flavor.
Jnette


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## Hopz (Mar 9, 2006)

Of course everyone's answer is correct, but let me toss in the following...

While they are generally the same animal... Shrimp are generally smaller, Prawns generally larger, BUT the main difference is where they were caught and where they are advertised... it has been my experience thet the west coast restaurants called 'em prawns, and the Gulf Coast/East coast call them shrimp. 
FWIW a lot of the shrimp come from the Gulf of Mexico and a lot of the prawns from the left coast...
When I lived in Florida I had shrimp traps behind my house... had to empty the darn things in the morning there were so many... THOSE were good shrimp although they were the size of Prawns..


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## Vermis (Apr 22, 2006)

buckytom said:
			
		

> order decapoda.
> this order includes several multi-legged crustacea like crabs, lobsters, shrimps/prawns, crayfish, and woodlice.


Woodlice are order isopoda, but on this forum I don't think it matters much. 

Having a zoological background, I'd tend to agree with the links Michael posted. Also, it illustrates the confusion that common names can cause. Look at this article on the genus _Penaeus_ (and surrounding family), for example. The common names column is a mishmash of prawns and shrimp, with some species named as both.

So, from a non-scientific POV, there's not much difference between prawns and shrimp - especially when it's the same animal.


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## kingprawn6324 (May 14, 2006)

*to cook or not to cook shrimp*

Hello Chopstix,
Correctly as many have said, there is no real difference between prawn & shrimp. Scientifically only. Prawn have 3 sets of tiny pincers on there front sets, shrimp only have 2 sets of pincers. Also prawn shell segments overlap like roof tiles, segment 1 overlaps the 2nd, this then overlaps the 3rd. Shrimps 2nd segment overlaps both 1st & 3rd, like a saddle over the two.
Regarding the cooking and more shriveling, all shrimp can be cooked but beware - the "DEEP SEA" (Solenocera spp - latin name)variety are a very soft shrimp and are not good for cooking because they do loose a lot. These tend to be from India, better for cooking are Pakistan, Bangladesh (Kari kadi)origin. Latin name - parapenaeopsis stylifera. Best regards.


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## Little Miss J (Jul 15, 2006)

Now I am really confused....I have peeled (so I cant check) green shrimp in my freezer which my local fish shop sold to me as green prawns....I guess they don't know the difference either!


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## BreezyCooking (Jul 15, 2006)

While there may be some scant/technical zoological difference, that's really not the way people cook & eat - unlike gardening, where tiny differences & latin names are more important.

The only difference I've ever seen is completely geographical - I've never ever seen "prawns" offered in any seafood market or restaurant here in VA or in NY - they're always called shrimp, heads on or off, & graded by size.  My friend in the UK, however, has the exact opposite - everything there is called a "prawn", graded by size, never a shrimp.


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## TATTRAT (Jul 15, 2006)

Though the size difference and locality are the main foundation for the difference, it is funny that even the locality has inconsistancies.

Australia: Prawn=BIG
England:Prawn=Small( to U.S. salad shrimp)
Asia: Prawn=A U.S. regular ol shrimp

you can see where this is going....I guess it all depends on who/what/wher you are. And of course there are the imatesticle scientific diferences.


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## RPCookin (Jul 15, 2006)

Call 'em prawns.... call 'em shrimp.... by whatever name I still love to eat 'em.  With pasta, with rice, chilled with cocktail sauce, seasoned and grilled .... whatever.  They are still one of the best seafood products on the planet...


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