Color and Origin
Warmwater shrimp: These are the most popular shrimp in the U.S. and characterized
by the color of their shell (not the meat) when raw: white, brown, pink,
and black tiger. Rock shrimp are also a warmwater shrimp.
Freshwater shrimp: As one of the largest shrimp, these can be distinguished by bright blue shells or from Asia as yellow with brown stripes.
Coldwater shrimp: Either raw and cooked, these shrimp carry bright, reddish-pink
shells.
Form
Whole shrimp: Deceptively large. Once the head is removed only about 50%
of the shrimp remains. Used mainly in ethnic Asian and Hispanic dishes.
Headless shrimp: Standard form in the U.S., includes vein, shell and tail.
P.U.D: Peeled and undeveined raw shrimp.
P&D: Peeled and deveined raw shrimp.
IQF: Shrimp that has been individually quick-frozen, a process that occurs shortly after the shrimp is gathered to maintain freshness
Cooked and peeled shrimp: Cooked, frozen and IQF’d shrimp. Smaller
sizes are referred to as salad shrimp. Larger, as cocktail shrimp.
Sizing
Shrimp sizes are referred to in counts per pound or kilogram. For example,
16/20 means 16 to 20 shrimp per pound. Larger shrimp are sized by the term
"under," abbreviated as U or UN. U/10, for example, would mean
under 10 shrimp per pound.
Counts are different for peeled and cooked shrimp. "Finished count" is the actual number of peeled shrimp per pound. "Peeled form" is the amount of shrimp prior to peeling.
Uniformity ratio or UR determines how close the shrimp of the same package are in size. A lower UR means a more uniform count.
