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This flavorful pasta dinner is ‘shrimp-ly’ delicious!

America's Test Kitchen on

Shrimp is the most popular seafood in the United States. These slightly sweet, mild-flavored crustaceans are full of interesting science. Take a deep dive into these shrimp-ly fascinating facts.

Shrimp change color when they cook

Most raw shrimp are a gray-black color. But when you cook them, they turn pink! Why the color change? Shrimp contain a pigment called astaxanthin (“ah-stuh-ZAN-thin”) that is released when the shrimp reach about 120 degrees. Bonus fishy fact: Salmon have pink flesh because they eat shrimp and krill, a shrimp relative that contains the same pigment.

Shrimp come in lots of sizes

There are about 2,000 species of shrimp around the world, and humans eat around 300 of them — from common whiteleg shrimp to beautiful royal red shrimp. Some species are harvested when they’re super tiny, dried and used in all sorts of dishes, including soups, salads, and stir-fries. On the other hand, black tiger shrimp can grow as long as 13 inches!

The shell is full of flavor

 

Shrimp shells contain proteins, sugars, and compounds called glutamates (“GLUE-tah-mates”) and nucleotides (“NEW-clee-oh-tides”), which have a savory umami taste. If you cook shrimp shells, their proteins and sugars undergo a special chemical reaction that gives them even more flavor. But peeling shrimp is A LOT of work! In this recipe, we use peeled shrimp and add another ocean ingredient — clam juice — to boost this dish’s salty seafood flavor.

One-Pot Garlicky Shrimp Pasta

Serves 4

1 pound frozen peeled and deveined extra-large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound), thawed and tails removed

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