We all love a good shrimp scampi, Shrimp Fra Diavolo, or simply shrimps and grits. But what is the deal with all these restaurants serving shrimps with their tails on? We understand peel-and-eat shrimps; the name suggests that the shrimps are served with their tails. Fried shrimp? Again, it is okay as the tail acts as a tiny handle that makes it easy to hold and eat. But why do restaurants serve every shrimp dish with their tails on? What is the real need?
Restaurants do not remove tails from shrimps to make the food look more appealing and the shrimps larger in size. It also makes the dish tastier with the extra crunchiness of the shrimp tail. However, it also depends on the cost of shrimp dishes available at a particular restaurant.
Are Shrimp Tails Edible?
When the shrimp shell is removed, it is totally up to you to either remove the tail or leave it on the shrimp when cooking. Leaving its tail on can make the shrimp look more attractive and appealing at a dinner party, but if their tails are removed, it makes them pretty convenient to eat. Even though, shrimp tails are usually edible, they are not meant to be eaten. It is similar to a chicken bone’s cartilage, which some people love to eat, while others just set it aside without even touching it.
What Is That Black String Often Seen In Shrimps?
Sometimes, when buying a raw shrimp, you would have noticed a black string-like, down at the shrimp’s back. Some people confuse it with the shrimp’s vein, but actually, it is the shrimp’s digestive tract, and its dark color comes from the grit filled inside, and it is meant for deveining, although it is not a vein.
Do Restaurants Devein Their Shrimps Before Cooking?
When ordering shrimp dishes at a restaurant, you may not find any black strings in your ordered shrimp menu. This is because restaurants always devein their shrimps before cooking. After all, it does not look presentable and is not a beautiful sight to see a non-deveined shrimp on your plate, especially when the shrimps are slightly larger in size.
In fact, many people send their dishes back if they notice anything black string-like in their ordered shrimp dishes.
Have a look at this video to learn how to peel and devein a shrimp at home:
What Happens When You Eat A Non-Deveined Shrimp?
When you accidentally eat a non-deveined shrimp, it doesn’t have any adverse effects on your health. The only possible consequence is that you might not like the taste of seafood if you try it for the first time. Eating shrimps along with their digestive tract does not cause any harm. The shrimps have two veins, the white one, a blood vessel, and the black one, which is not an actual vein but a digestive tract.
Are Shrimp Tails Digestive?
Shrimp tails are made of polymers like chitin. In earlier times, people used to think that humans could not digest shrimp tails, but research has shown that the human digestive tract consists of a gastric juice known as chitinase that can break the chitin. Therefore, it is safe to eat shrimp tails as it has no adverse effects on humans.
Now, you will be well-informed of the shrimp you have at restaurants, and can eat it without any worries!
