The small lobster and the large shrimp. The differences between decapods can sometimes become very blurred. Even more so if we do not find great morphological differences. Between these two seafoods we find many similarities, no doubt, but what is the difference between the shrimp and the prawn.
What is shrimp
The first thing to know is that shrimp is a name given to certain species of decapods for their commercialization. The main thing we need to know is that, at the end of the day, they are large shrimp. Sometimes the most obvious reasoning is the correct one.
Differences as animals
As animal species they do not represent much difference from each other. Both shrimp and prawns are decapods. Seafood aficionados will already know that this means that they are ten-legged species. Among them we can find lobsters, prawns, shrimps, spider crabs or even crabs. Among them we can differentiate that some have claws, others do not, the shape of the body can be different, the size can vary a lot, etc. However, this is not the case of shrimp and prawns, which could be confused.
So where is the difference?
Color is a good way to tell them apart. Although there are many different species of both, prawns tend to have a pinkish color and shrimps have colors closer to red and orange.
Gastronomic difference
The main difference between these two species of seafood is really in the taste. The taste of shrimp is very similar to that of prawns. While the shrimp has an intense flavor and a harder meat, the prawn has the soft flavor of the shrimp, a more tender texture and also has much more meat than the shrimp, which is why we find a juicy jewel of the sea that is especially loved by children.
La verdad…… ambos son exquisitos platos para disfrutar, si bien es cierto que personalmente prefiero el Langostino, pero un buen gambón no es para despreciar.
Disfrutarlos a fondo es lo mejor.