The sensory stimulation of shopping at the wet market might not be your thing, but every home cook should try it at least once. The market is busy with sellers, shoppers, and porters. You can smell the salty smell of freshly caught seafood and see colors on fish scales and shellfish exoskeletons that you don’t see on land very often. Shrimp, which are sometimes called the “cockroaches of the sea,” come in many colors, from bright red to the pink and brown stripes on Asian tiger shrimp.
White, brown, and pink shrimp are the types youll find in most markets. People raise these types of penaeid shrimp all over the world, from South and Southeast Asia to South America. It is important to know the differences between these three types of shellfish because the color of their shells shows where they like to live. Since salt levels in different bodies of water affect the taste of shrimp, where it was caught or raised can help you figure out how good it is. Other things that affect how a shrimp tastes are the plants it eats in its natural environment.
Familiarizing yourself with each shrimp types characteristics could prove helpful in the kitchen. It will be easier to plan meals where this seafood is the main attraction because you’ll know which cooking methods bring out their flavor the most. When you go shopping for shrimp next time, look at them not only for their size and how fresh they are, but also for their colors.
What Color is a Shrimp? A Deep Dive into the Rainbow Hues of This Seafood Staple
Shrimp are a popular seafood that come in a variety of colors, which can be confusing for home cooks. In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into the reasons behind shrimp’s chameleon-like nature and provide a guide to the most common colors you’ll encounter.
Shrimp Color in Raw Form
Shrimp live in a diverse range of aquatic habitats from clear tropical seas to brackish mangrove swamps. Their surroundings and diet directly impact the color of their flesh and shells. In their natural raw state straight from the sea, shrimp can display an array of hues, including
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Translucent gray white or pale pink – This is the natural color of many wild shrimp species like white shrimp. The almost see-through appearance comes from their muscular flesh lacking pigments.
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Red/crimson – Some shrimp turn a deep rich red when alive like the tiger prawns farmed in Southeast Asia. The red comes from astaxanthin, an antioxidant compound in their diet that provides the hue.
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Dark blue to black – Shrimp living in dark ocean depths can take on an extremely dark black-blue tone as camouflage, like the deep sea royal red shrimp.
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Brown or green – Shrimp living in mangroves and estuaries often have brown, olive green or dark green shells and flesh to blend into their muddy environments, like brown shrimp.
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Banded – Vivid bands of color along the body are seen in some shrimp species, like the peppermint shrimp’s red-and-white stripes.
So in their raw natural form, shrimp come in a vivid spectrum from clear to crimson, black to brown, and much more depending on species and habitat.
Why Do Shrimp Change Color When Cooked?
The shrimp you buy at the supermarket or fish market have usually already been cooked. The heat from cooking (or freezing) shrimp creates an instant visual transformation, causing the flesh to take on the familiar pink to orangey-red hue.
This color change happens because of chemical reactions that occur when heat is applied:
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Protein chains covering pigments break down, allowing natural pigments like astaxanthin to show through vividly.
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Denaturing of proteins causes formation of new pigments like oxymyoglobins that impart a red/pink color.
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Maillard browning reactions create reddish and brown melanoidin compounds.
The specific proteins and pigments present in a shrimp determine the final cooked color, which can range from light pink to deep orangey-red. But you’ll rarely see the exotic raw-shrimp hues after cooking.
Common Shrimp Species & Their Cooked Colors
Now let’s explore the three most common shrimp varieties found in supermarkets and restaurants:
White Shrimp
In the wild: Translucent gray to pale pink
Cooked: Opaque white to light pink
White shrimp, also called Pacific white shrimp, are the most widely farmed shrimp in the world. Their natural raw appearance is almost clear. When cooked, they turn white or take on a very subtle pink blush. Their mild sweet flavor complements a variety of dishes.
Brown Shrimp
In the wild: Olive green to brown
Cooked: Reddish-orange to deep orange
Brown shrimp harvested from the Atlantic and Gulf Coast have brownish green shells and flesh in their natural state. Cooking turns them a rich orange. They have a robust, briny flavor from their diet of mollusks and worms. The cooked color and taste makes them ideal for spicy seafood stews.
Pink Shrimp
In the wild: Grayish with spots
Cooked: Bright pinkish-orange
Also called spotted shrimp, they have a pale grayish appearance with some spotting when raw. Their high astaxanthin content derived from eating microalgae makes their cooked flesh turn a signature hot pink. Their sweet mild taste is perfect for shrimp cocktails and salads.
So color gives you valuable clues into the source and flavor of the different shrimp varieties. Keep these color cues in mind when purchasing and cooking with shrimp to help you pick the best species for your desired dishes.
Other Factors Affecting Shrimp Color
It’s not just cooking that can modify shrimp’s color. Additional factors like storage conditions and prep methods can also impact their final appearance:
Storage Temperature
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Frozen storage – Flash freezing right on the boat preserves color. Slower freezing causes damage creating opaque, mushy texture.
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Thawing – Letting shrimp thaw gradually in the fridge preserves color. Quick thawing promotes protein denaturing, causing color loss.
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Display conditions – If fresh shrimp are displayed on ice, direct contact can cause them to take on a blue-gray opaque cast.
Preparation Methods
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Chemical dips – Some processors use sodium tripolyphosphate baths to help retain moisture and color.
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Peeling – Removing shells right after cooking helps preserve the intensity of pink/red tones.
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Overcooking – Excess heat exposure causes proteins to denature further, fading pink hues into a grayish white.
Getting the Most Vibrant Shrimp Color
Follow these tips for shrimp with the most eye-catching, appetizing colors:
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Choose fresh raw shrimp with translucent, glossy flesh without black/blue spotting. Avoid any with yellowing or mushy opaque texture.
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Handle raw shrimp gently without bruising and store below 40°F.
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Cook using dry heat like grilling, sautéing or baking. Avoid boiling/poaching which leaches color.
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Don’t overcook. Shrimp flesh should turn opaque and firm with curled tails.
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If boiling, add shrimp when water is just simmering, not rapidly boiling to prevent overcooking.
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Chill cooked shrimp quickly in ice bath to stop cooking process and lock in color.
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Serve shrimp the same day for best texture and appearance.
Shrimp Light Up the Plate
The broad color spectrum of shrimp makes them one of the most eye-catching seafood ingredients. Their chameleon-like nature lets them take on the perfect shade to suit their habitat and culinary use. With proper handling and cooking, you can enjoy shrimp on your plate that dazzle with their intense red and orange hues. Tracking color changes can prevent overcooking so you get the most flavor and visual appeal from these colorful crustaceans.
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White shrimp absorbs the flavors of other ingredients well
There is something delicately sweet about white shrimp, and their texture is more tender than other types. The best way to let their flavor come through is by sauteing, boiling, grilling, frying, or steaming them. That’s because they can take on other flavors well while still adding their own unique seafood flavor, making them useful in stir-fries, soups, and pasta dishes.
To enhance their firm texture, you can wash white shrimp with sugar and baking soda. This cooking prep can give your next batch of shrimp siu mai that Chinese restaurant-worthy crunch. Marinate them, too, in garlic, paprika, and black pepper to create the base for a garlic shrimp dish. You can then skewer and grill them like kebabs or simmer them in coconut milk. No matter what you do, don’t cook white shrimp for too long, because that will make their flesh tough.
What are pink shrimp?
Pink shrimp is also referred to as spotted shrimp. Its soft color comes from astaxanthin, a carotene that is found in the phytoplankton and microalgae that they eat. The heat from cooking pink shrimp frees the carotenoids from the protein chains that cover them. This makes the flesh of the shrimp look darker. Also, pink shrimp aren’t very big. They rarely get longer than five inches, but they can get longer than eight inches depending on the water temperature and salinity where they live.
Around 75% of the pink shrimp that are harvested and available in the U.S. come from the Florida west coast (per NOAA Fisheries). In their juvenile stage, these shrimp live in nursery areas with marsh grasses that provide them with food and shelter. They also prefer areas with sand, sand-shell, or coral-mud bottoms where they can burrow to protect themselves from the cold. As they mature, however, they move toward the deeper, saltier parts of the sea.
Breeding Shrimp Experiment: 4 Colors Mixed!
What does a white shrimp look like?
Despite having “white” in their name, the raw flesh of this shrimp type can range in color from translucent white to reddish-brown. Once it gets cooked, however, it turns white with a pink tinge. The color a white shrimp develops depends on its food and the water turbidity in its habitat, which are usually estuaries and coastal areas.
How do you know if a shrimp is cooked?
The flesh of cooked shrimps should be opaque, solid, and white. The cooking time and temperature will determine how much protein has been denatured. Also, the natural color of some species of shrimp is darker than that of other species, which can affect how much the color changes after they are cooked.
What color does shrimp turn when cooked?
Thanks to the Maillard reaction and caramelization, most foods cook to an enticing brown hue. However, the color shift in crustaceans like shrimp is a quite different phenomenon. S hrimps are translucent and light blue when they are fresh. Their color changes to a tasty brilliant orange when they are cooked.
What does uncooked shrimp look like?
Uncooked shrimp can come in a variety of colors depending on the species, but they are typically transparent with a grayish-green or bluish hue. Shrimp flesh can have a light gray or pinkish-gray appearance. But as the shrimps cook, they turn pink or orange, thanks to a natural pigment called astaxanthin. Let’s look more closely.