Prawns provide 20% protein and have a favorable ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fats, as well as an important mineral content (calcium, zinc, iron and iodine) and somewhat lower vitamin content (niacin and vitamin A). However, they have a high cholesterol content: 200 milligrams per 100 grams. Therefore, those who must control their cholesterol should exclude shellfish from their diet.
Nutritionally, prawns are similar to langoustines, shrimps and prawns. They provide less energy than other shellfish such as spider crabs or crab (125 calories) but slightly more than scallops (84 calories), mussels (67 calories), barnacles (59 calories) and oysters (56 calories). Water represents 78% of the weight of the shrimp and proteins, as mentioned above, reach values of 20%.
It is important to note that the term shellfish is used to designate both mollusks (mussels, oysters, clams) and crustaceans, including prawns. As is well known, the shelf life of shellfish is very short. To achieve optimum quality, shrimp should be refrigerated in cold chains as soon as possible, once caught, in order to process them as soon as possible. In addition to microbial alteration, they can suffer blackening due to the action of certain enzymes in their tissues, or melanosis.
Once on land, the prawns are washed and classified by size, after which they are inspected and packaged and then frozen.
Now, shrimp sizes are determined by how many units of shrimp there are per pound of weight. The sizes are: U7, U8, U10, U12, 16/20, 21/25, 26/35, 36/40, 41/50, 51/60 and 71/90.
What does the U stand for?
In these cases, the U stands for under. This means that, if we see U10, it means that we are going to find less than 10 prawns per pound.
On the other hand, we must take into account that the names or sizes may vary in each place of distribution, but the size variation is very little.
A size 36/40 means that there are between 36 and 40 shrimp units per pound; the equivalent in one kilogram would be between 80 and 88 shrimp.
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