It is possible that all of us come to mind that catchy ‘Che, take me home’ from Rodolfo Langostino at the end of the 90smoment in which we began to suspect the need for a prawn to speak to us with an Argentine accent.
However, that takeoff that years later has colonized our Christmas meals It is well worth taking a look at the newspaper library and, above all, at ichthyology, to understand that shrimps do not exist.
Yes, there is no species of decapod crustacean that science has seen fit to call prawn with its common name, unlike what happens with a legion of names, headed by prawn, prawn or shrimp that are the most common nomenclatures of these Christmas banners, present in some prawn recipes as illustrious as the ones we have in DAP.
However, it is convenient that we be clear that there are certain species of crustaceans that have ended up giving life to what we know today as shrimps and that in reality they are still longer and thicker prawns than usual. The difference is that the usual prawns in our country, some with such well-known origins as Sanlúcar de Barrameda, the popular brindle or also in other national latitudes such as Vinaroz, in Castellón, which are also justly famous.
However, the two strongholds of the Spanish shrimp (Penaeus kerathurus either Melicertus kerathurus) are smaller than their Latin American brothers that, with this marketing pull, have been making a name for themselves at the cost of being called prawns and prawns and that in reality they are still prawns.
Of other species, it is true, as it happens with the Penaeus vannamei either Litopenaeus vannameiwhich is what has been known as vannamei shrimp or, popularly, whiteleg shrimp in most of Latin America and that it is one of the most widespread farmed crustaceans in the world.
On the other hand, the other most popular way to find the shrimp is in the so-called Pleoticus muelleriwhich receives names such as Argentine shrimp, Patagonian shrimp, southern shrimp or Argentine red shrimp, as well as southern or Argentine shrimp and that they are not as widespread in aquaculture as the vannameialthough they are also very abundant.
The irony is that it is usual that we have seen that shrimp with an Argentine bearing boast of origin or accent and, curiously, Argentina is not a world power in the production of vannamei shrimpwhich is what we usually see as the traditional Rodolfos, but it does export Pleoticus muelleri.
In any case, both species of prawns They are very frequently seen in our supermarkets, specialized frozen food stores and in the markets, although we will rarely find their scientific name very visible, but always on the label and in the nutritional information. By the way, to find out where your prawns or king prawns come from this Christmas, check out a stamp that says FAO on each box. If it lands next to number 41 (Southwest Atlantic) or 87 (Southeast Pacific) it will be Latin American prawns.
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For this reason, part of the problem with these shrimps or prawns is that many times we confuse one species with another and then we are not aware of which animal we have eaten, making a distinction between prawns of different qualities that may not only come from different origins and fishing methods, but may even be different species.
Images | iStock
In DAP | How to identify the true red shrimp, the queen of Spanish crustaceans, and where to eat the best ones
In DAP | How to make perfect grilled prawns (with the trick to avoid staining anything)