L.A. Times Test Kitchen Tips: Frozen shrimp

When it comes to buying shrimp, "fresh" is not always better. Because they have such a short shelf life, most of the commercial shrimp we buy are caught, cleaned and quickly frozen (labeled IQF, or "individually quick frozen) before shipping to their final destination.

When you buy non-frozen shrimp at the market, you're basically paying for the fish counter or market to thaw the shrimp for you, and you have no idea how long ago it was thawed. Buying the shrimp still frozen is often cheaper and more convenient (you can buy in bulk, thawing as you need them) than buying non-frozen, even safer.

If you have any kitchen tips or questions you'd like me to explore, leave a comment below or shoot me an email at noelle.carter@latimes.com.

-- Noelle Carter
Twitter/noellecarter

Photo: Noelle Carter / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Xylox]

Actually, the same is true for vegetables. If you buy your veggies in a supermarket, then you have no way of knowing how long ago the stuff was picked, how long it spent in cold storage, how long it was on the road and how long it has been on display.
(I know, there are probably plenty of exceptions if you go to a grocery store that has a commitment to organic food or some similar mission statement. But in general, even if the produce is supplied by local farmers, there is still no guarantee that the product was picked only a day or two ago.)
Produce might stay fresh-looking for two to three weeks, depending on the way you store it, but it loses nutritional value much more quickly. Frozen produce is generally picked, washed and quick frozen in a matter of hours.

[Elvenrunelord]

Considering the quality of seafood in my area, I hesitate to even buy flash frozen seafood anymore.

I dun't know what the problem is, but the more the government tries to improve the quality of food, the worse it tastes, looks, smells, and makes you feel. I'm not trying to be anti-government here, but something stinks.....and its probably the seafood.

I was real disappointed when the government allowed people to start selling seafood from the gulf so soon after the BP accident. There are so many people at the scene saying the food can't be safe and yet, due to money pressures, the government allows them to sell it.

I know I won't eat any seafood unless the person I am buying it from can tell me where it came from first. First time I went to a local fishfry and asked that question they looked at me funny and asked me why I wanted to know....After I told them they honestly replied they did not know where it came from. I suggested to them to call me when they found out because eating is just not simple anymore with all that is going on.

Take the GMO issue. surveys show that a majority of people want to know if they are eating food that contains GMO based products. The government refuses to require labeling because they say it would harm GMO producers bottom lines because people would not eat it if it was labeled. This seages into the fact that the majority of people surveyed do not want GMO foods in the food system.

And yet, in the interest of profits, our government sides with the money first, and ignores the people's will almost completely.

Cheers to California for moving to require labeling on GMO food. California has always been the last best hope for progressive civil rights and individuals right to choose.

[Joey]

Good to know!

[Matt "Fishmael"]

Well now, very true, but I still question the safety of shrimp. I am by no means a radical activist, but from what I have heard of the FDA's "smell tests" of shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico and other regions I question the quality of all seafood. Business and economy comes first, people and health concerns trail behind, ask not of what your seafood does for your country but what your country does to your seafood....thank you...