When choosing items for a seafood feast, wild caught American shrimp are favored among gourmet cooks. Shrimp are not only known for excellent flavour but they can be a vital part of a healthy diet.

Wild American shrimp are delicious steamed, boiled, griddled, fried and in recipes like scampi. they are also popular as an appetisers like shrimp cocktail, bisques and salads. They also freeze well and can be purchased in enormous numbers, processed and excess amounts frozen for later meals.

Shrimp are low in fats and calories and have no carbs 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 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 16 to twenty headless product per pound. Counts for headless product typically range between 16/20 (large) to 60/70 ( little ). Pacific pink shrimp are even smaller, having counts of one hundred to 140 whole shrimp per pound.

Wild Yankee shrimp are also a good choice in terms of sustainability. Many of the American fisheries have been known for ethical cropping strategies.

The Wild Yankee Shrimp Certification Program certifies that warm-water, wild caught shrimp from U.S. coastal waters meet a high standard of quality and consistency. Authorized Wild American Shrimp receive special labeling. Participation in the certification program is available to harvesters, processors, distributors, outlets, greengrocers and restaurateurs.

Another Yankee fishery has received world recognition. Oregon’s pink shrimp fishery has earned the planet’s first sustainable shrimp certification under the Marine 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 boost the fitness of the planet’s seas and to help create a sustainable global seafood market. MSC pursues its mission by certifying fisheries that meet its sustainable standards and developing market requirement for certified seafood. The MSC model relies on customers 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 are harvested using advanced trawl strategies. Pink MSC certified shrimp are dropped at shore for cooking, peeling and freezing, resulting in an intensely fresh product of wonderful quality.

The variety of top of the range, healthy and sustainable Yank shrimp makes them an excellent choice for seafood lovers.
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If you enjoy cooking and making food, visit cooking101.org for more recipe and guides on how to cook quality meals. Along the way, you might want to check out buffalo shrimp recipe.

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