When choosing items for a seafood feast, wild caught American shrimp are popular among gourmet cooks. Shrimp are not only famed for superb flavour but they can be a crucial part of a healthy diet.

Wild American shrimp are tasty steamed, boiled, griddled, fried and in recipes like scampi. They are favored as an appetizers such as shrimp cocktail, bisques and salads. They also freeze well and can be bought in giant numbers, processed and excess amounts frozen for later meals.

Shrimp are low fat and calories and have no carbohydrates 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 is the average number of specimens per pound. This is applicable to both whole and heads-off products. As an instance, headless shrimp of 16/20 count means there are sixteen to twenty headless product per lb. Counts for headless product usually range from 16/20 (large) to 60/70 ( tiny ). Pacific pink shrimp are even smaller, having counts of about 100 to 140 full shrimp per pound.

Wild Yank shrimp are also a good choice in terms of sustainability. Many of the American fisheries have been recognized 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 Yank Shrimp receive special labeling. Collaboration in the certification program is available to harvesters, processors, distributors, shops, greengrocers and restaurateurs.

Another American fishery has received global recognition. Oregon’s pink shrimp fishery has earned the world’s first sustainable shrimp certification under the Sea 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 fitness of the planet’s seas and to assist in creating a sustainable world seafood market. MSC pursues its mission by certifying fisheries that meet its sustainable standards and developing market requirement for authorized seafood. The MSC model relies on consumers rewarding sustainable fisheries by selecting seafood that originates from licensed sustainable fisheries.

Pink shrimp, AKA bay or salad shrimp are little ( 100-140 entire per lb ). They’re cropped using advanced trawl strategies. Pink MSC authorized shrimp are dropped at shore for cooking, peeling and freezing, leading to an highly fresh product of excellent quality.

The variety of high quality, healthy and sustainable Yank shrimp makes them an excellent choice for seafood lovers.
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If you find this article useful, you should also check out cooking101.org to learn more about some easy techniques of cooking all sorts of quality meals, including recipe for shrimp soup.

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