Shrimp is a food that everyone likes to eat. The meat is fresh and tender, has an excellent taste, and is rich in nutrients. In coastal areas, salt-frozen shrimp and frozen shrimp are very common. The appearance of these two shrimps is relatively similar. The only difference is that they contain different ingredients. One type contains more salt, while the other type contains less salt. The storage time It's also shorter. Let me give you a detailed introduction to the difference between salt-frozen shrimp and frozen shrimp.

The rise of salt-frozen shrimp in the Chinese market started in the north. The outdoor temperature in northern China is low in winter. When white shrimps are sold in wet markets, supermarkets and other channels, the water-frozen shrimps cannot be defrosted when left outdoors. The shrimps stick together, and consumers cannot get what they need according to their needs. The salt-frozen shrimp can be easily spread out, making it convenient for consumers to purchase. Driven by market demand, the salt-frozen shrimp market has developed rapidly.

The first thing that needs to be made clear is: whether it is salt freezing or water freezing, it is a freezing technology, and its ultimate purpose is to preserve the taste, texture and nutrition of shrimp and facilitate international trade. transportation. It is precisely because of the difference in freezing technology that the appearance, market price and taste of salt-frozen shrimp and water-frozen shrimp are significantly different.

We know that salt-frozen shrimps are individually frozen shrimps, and the shrimps are scattered among themselves; while water-frozen shrimps rely on the action of water to freeze into ice to freeze the shrimps together. Therefore, in the market, some dealers also call water-frozen shrimp as block-frozen shrimp or plate-frozen shrimp.

In the final analysis, the most essential difference between salt-frozen white shrimp and water-frozen white shrimp lies in the freezing process.

The technological process of water-frozen white shrimps is: collecting shrimps in shrimp ponds, transporting them back to the factory, manual sorting, machine sorting, boxing, freezing (taking 7-8 hours), packaging, and factory sales . A traditional cabinet freezer is used to freeze the shrimp and stick them together by relying on the water on their surface. Workers in some factories will add a small amount of fresh water to the shrimp boxes when packing them to make products with a net weight of 1.4kg/box and a gross weight of 2kg/box.

The processing process of salt-frozen shrimp requires more low-temperature brine shower than water-frozen white shrimp.

The process of salt-frozen white shrimps is: collecting shrimps in shrimp ponds, transporting them back to the factory, manual sorting, machine sorting, basketing, freezing with super-low-temperature brine (which takes about 10 minutes), Packaging, factory sales. A low-temperature brine freezing machine is used to reduce the core temperature of the shrimp to about minus 17 to 18 degrees Celsius in a short period of time, so that the shrimp is quickly frozen and has salt particles and white frost on the surface. The brine is high-concentration salt water. Each factory will adjust the composition of the brine and the shower time according to its own actual conditions. These are the core secrets of the factory. After the salt freezing is completed, in order to meet the gross weight requirements of Chinese customers, some factories will put some crushed ice at the bottom of the shrimp box, so that the gross weight of the whole box is 2kg/box and the net weight is 1.8kg/box.

The surface of salt-frozen shrimp is white with salt particles, and there is white frost on the surface of the shrimp. After thawing, the shrimp meat is relatively fresh, has good elasticity, does not shrink when cooked, and has perfect shape. The whiskers and shrimp legs are intact, but the salt content is high. The surface of the frozen shrimp is the original color of the shrimp, and the color is normal. What you eat is the original flavor of the shrimp, and it will shrink a little when cooked.

Salt-frozen shrimp allows salt to enter the shrimp body during the freezing process. The protein of the shrimp meat changes when it encounters salt, and the texture of the shrimp meat becomes tighter. The frozen shrimp is the original taste of shrimp, authentic.

There is indeed a difference in taste between salt-frozen shrimp and water-frozen shrimp, but whether salt-frozen shrimp is more delicious or water-frozen shrimp is more delicious is a matter of opinion and wisdom. I believe that different consumers will give different answers.

There are also differences between the two in terms of net weight gain rate. The gross weight of salt-frozen shrimp is very close to the net weight. Only the weight of the shrimp box and a small amount of ice need to be deducted. As for water-frozen shrimp, water is added during freezing, so there is still the weight of water between the gross weight and the net weight. This is one of the reasons why many dealers like to buy and sell salt-frozen shrimp. Everyone is worried that during the production process of frozen shrimp, the factory will steal weight through water, causing the net weight of the shrimp to be insufficient.

There are also some Ecuadorian factories that do not specifically add water to the packaging boxes during the production of frozen shrimp, but rely entirely on the freezing and condensation of water on the surface of the shrimp. In this way, the difference between the net weight and gross weight of the product will not be too large, and the stability of product quality will be higher.

In the past, some end consumers have reported that although salt-frozen shrimp is easy to defrost, it is too salty and inconvenient to cook. Water-frozen shrimp has just the right texture, is not salty, and is easy to cook and delicious.

At the same time, many consumers are worried that long-term consumption of high-salt food will bring too much burden to the body.

Because there are a lot of salt particles on the surface of salt-frozen shrimp, consumers need to pass the shrimp through water or soak it in pure water before eating, rinse the salt particles on the surface of the shrimp, and then use it according to their different requirements. Cooking methods to cook. If salt-frozen shrimp are cooked directly after thawing, it may be too salty. At the same time, some consumers also add salt during the cooking process, which makes the dishes very salty.

The saltiness of salt-frozen shrimp also has a certain relationship with the brine and freezing technology used in factory processing. Although they are all salt-frozen, the taste of shrimps produced in different factories is also very different.

This will not happen with water-frozen shrimp. As long as it is defrosted normally and seasonings are added during the cooking process, it is simple, convenient and delicious.

In summary, salt-frozen shrimp and water-frozen shrimp each have their own advantages and disadvantages. The most important thing is that dealers and consumers should choose according to their own needs and use reasonable cooking methods.