a term which always refers to certain crustaceans, to wit those in the sub-order Natantia (swimmers) in the order Decapoda Crustacea (ten-footed crustaceans), but which, with the associated term ‘prawn’, is used in different ways on the two sides of the Atlantic— and in other parts of the world, depending on whether use of the English language has been influenced by the British or by Americans. Since the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) has taken the trouble to produce a comprehensive Catalogue of Shrimps and Prawns of the World (Holthuis, 1980), they may be allowed to explain:
we may say that in Great Britain the term ‘shrimp’ is the more general of the two, and is the only term used for Crangonidae and most smaller species. ‘Prawn’ is the more special of the two names, being used solely for Palaemonidae and larger forms, never for the very small ones.
In North America the name ‘prawn’ is practically obsolete and is almost entirely replaced by the word ‘shrimp’ (used for even the largest species, which may be called ‘jumbo shrimp’). If the word ‘prawn’ is used at all in America it is attached to small species.
This entry deals with shrimp in the British sense. The first thing to be said is that there are unmanageably large numbers of species and that it is often both difficult and pointless to distinguish between them. The main use of these small shrimps in SE Asia is in the production of shrimp paste, a fermented product which goes under names such as blachan (Malaysia and Indonesia); see blacang. The fishermen who harvest and process the shrimps for this purpose are not likely to pause in their work to check the specific identity of each tiny creature.
There are, however, some species which deserve particular mention. In Europe Crangon crangon is the most common small shrimp, often called brown shrimp, and the one which is the object of important traditional fisheries in England (especially Morecambe Bay), the Netherlands, Belgium (where a traditional fishery at Oostduinkerke by men mounted on large horses may provide the absolute extreme in ratio of size between hunter and hunted), Denmark, and elsewhere, including the Mediterranean. C. franciscorum represents the same genus in the NE Pacific; it is known as California, bay, or grey shrimp.
These little shrimps are translucent (grey) when alive, but take colour (brown) when briefly boiled, which is all the cooking they need. This is one reason why they may be called either grey or brown shrimp, the other being that they can adapt their translucent colouring to their environment, matching the sand on or in which they live.
In the Indo-Pacific species described as having ‘commercial importance’, i.e. sought by fishermen and regularly sold in the markets, are found in a few genera such as Acetes and Caridina, but the identification of all those which disappear into shrimp paste would be, as indicated above, an impossible task.
Potted shrimp is a delicacy in England, especially the north-west. It was well described by Dorothy Hartley (1954). Shrimp paste is also an English favourite; quite different from the fermented shrimp paste of SE Asia.
See also prawns.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
Hartley, Dorothy (1954), Food in England, London: Macdonald.
Holthuis, L. B. (1980), Shrimps and Prawns of the World, Rome: FAO.
