Protective atmosphere
Most fresh shrimp products are packaged under a protective atmosphere. This means that the pack will not contain air but that a mixture of (usually) carbon dioxide and nitrogen will have been added to the shrimp products. This gaseous mixture will not only ensure that bacteria will develop at a significantly slower rate but it will also ensure that, on the one hand, specific putrefactive bacteria cannot develop at all and that other bacteria (for example, lactic acid bacteria) can, on the other hand, develop. This will not only extend shelf life but will also guarantee food safety.
Broken
A way in which to indicate shrimp bits. Shrimp is usually a very expensive product. When peeling shrimp, it is very usual that the tail meat breaks in two. It would not be realistic to chuck this product away, which, incidentally, is still in a perfect state, because of the cost price. People, however, who pay for good shrimp do not want to have bits and pieces mixed in with their shrimp. This is the reason why broken shrimp are kept separate when being processed and are traded at a lower price.
CP, PC
Shrimp can first be cooked and then peeled (CP; Cooked Peeled) or it can first be peeled and then cooked (PC: Peeled Cooked). In this last case, you can also say cooked PUD or cooked PD shrimp. There is a large difference between PC and CP. If you peel shrimp raw and then cook it (PC), the meat texture and colour will be different than if you first cook and then peel (CP) the shrimp. The CP shrimp are, in general, more highly regarded because of their texture and natural colouring. The colouring of PC, on the other hand, is usually moderate and variable which means that shrimp are sometimes coloured using natural pigments.
If, however, you first cook and then peel, you will be contaminating the sterile cooked product, which is not the case with PC. There are more benefits related to PC. The raw product is cooked in Europe which means that the producer is more able to guarantee that hygienic working practices are being followed. You can also submit the raw product to a special preprocess and, therefore, make this shrimp, after it has been cooked, the best option possible for using in prawn salads and such. You can always see on Heiploeg products whether the shrimp is PC or CP; the pack will either say 'Cooked and peeled' or 'Peeled and cooked' which exactly describes what is applicable to the specific product.
FAO
This abbreviation stands for 'Food and Agriculture Organisation' and has its seat in Rome. It is a commission that draws up many directives in relation to food production in the broadest sense of the word. Nowadays, the fishing areas for shrimping products are specified using the sea from which they originate. A zoning system put forward by the FAO also lies at the bottom of this. A subcommission of the FAO is the Codex Alimentarius. This subcommission draws up directives related to food processing issues.
Gamba
The word 'Gamba' is a Spanish word with which a specific group of shrimp is specified in the Spanish language. Spanish also has more names for shrimp species and groups, such as 'Camarón' (including the Northern Shrimp) 'Langostino' (a few of the Penaeid shrimp) and 'Quisquilla' (our brown shrimp). The word 'Gamba' has been taken over by the North Western European industry and gastronomy and is usually used for large, often raw, unpeeled Penaeid shrimp with head. The larger tropical shrimp completely peeled but still with its tail (i.e. tail-on) are also sold under this name in Germany. The name 'Gamba' in the North Western European industry is, therefore, a purely fancy name and most definitely does not refer to a specific shrimp species.
Glazing ice
Frozen shrimp, both IQF and block frozen shrimp, are surrounded with a quantity of ice (i.e. ice coated). This quantity of ice has the primary function of protecting the product against dehydration while it is frozen. Shrimp that has not been glazed will start to have a white 'polystyrene foam type' appearance. A minimum quantity of approximately 10% glazing ice around the shrimp is sufficient to prevent this. Often labelling is related to the frozen weight and count. Shrimp products that have been glazed correctly provide clear information regarding the real quantity of product in the pack.
Defining glazing ice
Unambiguity must, of course, exist when defining glazing ice since, globally, very large trading transactions take place using glazed shrimp and, in view of the massive value difference between shrimp and water, agreement regarding the definition method is, therefore, a requirement. Heiploeg uses the globally used method as prescribed by the FAO/Codex Alimentarius. In short, the method can be described as follows for IQF products: 500 grams of product is placed in 4.0 litres of water which is brought to a temperature of 27°C and is stirred until all visible ice has disappeared. Next, the deglazed product is placed on a screen with a 20 cm cross-section with a mesh width of 2.8 mm. The screen will have been set up at an angle of 20° and the product will be allowed to drain for a period of two minutes. Next, the product is again weighed and the glazing percentage is expressed as a percentage of the original glazed weight. The above definition has been accepted globally but other (lower) values are obtained through this method than if you allow the IQF products to completely defrost ‘naturally’ and, next, allow it to drain during the night in the fridge.
HLSO
This abbreviation can be found, for example, on the packaging of so-called Scampi and stands for 'headless shell on'. A shrimp presentation form is involved whereby the head (really the whole of the front body section) has been removed and the tail piece is still unpeeled. The benefit in relation to HOSO is clear; due to the lack of the relatively large front body section, you are buying a considerable larger quantity of edible product and you will have less waste.
HOSO
This abbreviation can be found on packs of raw gambas or other unpeeled shrimp. It stands for Head On Shell On. Only the very best quality raw shrimp can be used for this presentation form. If the raw shrimp is thawed and allowed to breathe for some time (hours), the head will start to become considerably looser and will break off. Raw HOSO shrimp are of the very best quality; producers often freeze this shrimp after they have been harvested or caught on board at sea. Also see HLSO.
IQF
The abbreviation IQF stands for 'individually quick frozen' and refers to the processing whereby shrimp is individually frozen using a freezing process that ensures it is quick (one to a few minutes). This concept is the opposite of the block-frozen process in which shrimp are proportionally allowed to freeze slowly in a freezer in a block that usually weights two kilos. IQF products can be easily defrosted and the user is given the option to only defrost the quantity he requires at the time. The IQF freezing process is, however, more expensive than the block freezing process.
Jumbo
The word 'Jumbo' is a frequently used global designation in the shrimp industry. The word suggests that large shrimp are involved. How big depends completely on the supplier. The name is a fancy addition to refer to the larger sizes within a specific product range and does not provide any guarantee regarding the shrimp species or the actual shrimp size.
Melanosis or black spot
If raw shrimp is kept unpeeled, black spots can develop as a consequence of an enzymatic process between the armour and the meat. This is completely unrelated to bacterial decay.
Peeling machines
Different peeling machines are used globally for peeling the various shrimp species.
PD
This abbreviation stands for Peeled Deveined, which means that the blackish vein has been removed from the meat. This either took place by slitting the top of the meat open or by pulling the vein (the tract) out from the meat using a needle. Given that this is very laborious, this is mainly done in relation to the more expensive and larger species, such as the Giant Tiger Prawn (Penaeus monodon).
PUD
This abbreviation stands for Peeled, UnDeveined. Undeveined (literally it means: not undone of its vein) means that the tract has not been removed from the meat. The tract can be found back to back in relation to the peeled tail meat of a shrimp. This is removed from certain large (expensive) shrimp products. This is not necessary in relation to smaller species and it is not really feasible either. Many products of peeled tropical Penaeid shrimp are made of PUD shrimp. They are, therefore, peeled when raw in the country of origin, frozen and cooked when they arrive in Europe.
Scampi
The word 'Scampo' (plural: scampi) is Italian for Norway Lobster (Nephrops norvegicus). A lobster species is involved and not a shrimp species. The word 'Scampi' (plural: Scampi) has also been the name given to the Giant Freshwater Prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) for many decades. Nowadays the word 'Scampi' is used for large raw shrimp, unpeeled and without a head (HLSO, Headless Shell On) in the North Western European industry and gastronomy. In most cases, these will be Giant Freshwater Prawns, as already mentioned, but also large Penaeid species ('seawater scampi') are used with this presentation type. The name 'Scampi' in the North Western European industry is, therefore, purely a fancy name and does not really refer to a specific shrimp species.
Count (the number of shrimp per unit weight)
Shrimp is often referred to in relation to its number by specifying how many shrimp units make up a unit weight. There are two systems that are used at the same time: the avoirdupois system (number of English pounds, lbs, 454 grams make up a pound) and the metric system that uses quantity per kilogram.
Unpeeled shrimp is, in many cases, expressed in metric units while peeled shrimp is expressed using the avoirdupois system. No guarantees should be expected, however, regarding this issue. The number indication is always referred to as a range. Size classes that are, for example, used frequently for tropical peeled shrimp are 500-800, 300-500, 200-300, 100-200 unit/lb. The following classification is sometimes used for Giant Tiger Prawns (Black Tiger Prawns, Penaeid monodon) to avoid the theoretical overlap between two categories: 31-50, 51-70, 71-90, etcetera. There is hardly a rational and generally accepted standard in relation to the used ranges and unit weights. The count for individually frozen shrimp (IQF) always refers to frozen glazed shrimp even when significant glazing is involved.
Tail-on
Special presentation of shrimp whereby they are completely peeled. The tail section, however, is still attached to the meat. This has the practical benefit that the shrimp can be held in a ‘suitable manner’ by the consumer using his hand. The often bright orange colouring on the red tail fin is, furthermore, a beautiful contrast with the white meat which means that the product looks very attractive. This presentation form is used the most with Giant Tiger Prawns (Penaeus monodon). Because of hygiene considerations, tail-on shrimp supplied by Heiploeg is first peeled raw and, next, cooked which is expressed on the labelling. (Also see CP and PC.)
