If you've submitted your answer to my poll, thank you so much - I can't wait to see where 'shrimp', 'shrimps' and 'prawns' score in relation to each other!
Mitchell, thank you so much for this lovely comment! I have another list up my sleeve for a future post, actually, although I'll tell you now that it has little hope of elevation to the highest form of memoir! 🤣
I love that shrimps were 'strimps'! We have 'pop', too - but normally over here what you call 'soda' is 'fizzy drinks' - or we call it by name (Coke, lemonade, etc). 'White wine and soda' is half white wine, half soda water (which is simply sparkling water) - but we don't ever call it just 'soda' apart from in that context; it's always 'soda water'.
I find these differences - and indeed similarities - fascinating!
Definite “shrimp” for this American, generally 6 oz of shrimp per person when I’m cooking them. And thanks once again for proving that in the hands of a good writer, anything can be interesting.
And thank you for those lovely words, which have reminded me of something Jim said to me last week when I picked up another piece of ephemera to write about.
'This is SO interesting!' I told him. His response, after a long-ish pause, was this:
'It is what you make of it'.
I wasn't altogether sure that he'd meant it as a compliment! 🤣
Did we talk yet about you Brits and your odd refusal to share dishes when dining out? I’ve got a story for you, but a little voice in my head says I may have already shared it ...
Maybe I should see if I can live up to my compliment to Rebecca ... that a good writer can make anything seem interesting. I’m just too damned busy right now.
Oh, Rebecca! Have your cheeks ever hurt so much because you've been laughing and smiling at the same time for minutes on end? That's where I am. I LOVED this post. I'm going to send it to all iof those in my family who've been in Central Market and oooh-ed and wow-ed their way through. You must visit with your husband, well, your whole family, and enjoy the live music to the food samples to just wandering about. (Thanks for the link to Thrivin', as well. ) (Heart emoji that my Mac refuses to create.)
Mary, I'm so very pleased that you enjoyed it - what a lovely comment, thank you! 😊
And thank you SO much for sending me the fabulous list in the first place - you can see that it got me exploring all kinds of fun and crazy avenues! How lovely that you're going to be sharing it with the other Central Market fans in your family - I'm so glad that you've got such a fabulous place to shop. I mean, culinary school? Live music? And I even gather they make their own sushi...!!!
Tip for emoji-wrestling with a Mac: hit control command space, and the menu will pop up. There'll be no stopping you! Here's a heart from me: ♥️
The thing is, I would eat all of them and never really worry about appellation as long as they're plentiful... ! All fish, seafood and cheeses most welcomed on my table; sorry I can't help much with the particulars.
Always a pleasure, Rebecca, have never been so engrossed in a shopping list analysis😊
Thoroughly enjoyed this post Rebecca, and found myself studying the handwriting on Austin Sam's note the way I used to dissect the Commercial Leader's scribbled notes when I was a PA 😊
Here's another curveball for you. Being British, I would use the term prawn as you so rightly suggested. So, why then can I order a shrimp chow mein from my local takeaway and find that it's identical to a prawn chow mein? Or have I simply not inspected the ingredients closely enough?
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Denise - thank you! I found the handwriting interesting, too - I've just had another look at the list after reading your comment, and I love Austin Sam's pretty s, g and z.
I've just spotted something I'd missed entirely - that the lines are running from top to bottom, not left to right... Bother!
Re the shrimp chow mein - oooooh, now that's fascinating! Are both shrimp AND prawn chow main available as separate dishes on the menu? Or do they *only* do shrimp chow mein? If there are two differently-named versions, maybe shrimp chow mein has little shrimps, and prawn chow mein has king prawns?
Right, Denise: next time I'm heading to south-west Scotland let's get together at your local takeaway for a 'compare and contrast'! 🦐 We'll settle the matter once and for all!
Prawns are larger beasties. Shrimp are smaller. And are different species. Prawns are a marine creature that resembles shrimp, and some prawns are edible.
I'm astonished at the diversity in what are described as 'prawns' - those tiny little pink crescents in a prawn mayonnaise deli sandwich (I think I saw a product on the Walmart website called 'salad shrimp' - they were about that size) are nothing like the large-scale king prawns or tiger prawns I've been known to order in restaurants. 🦐
Exactly so in California, Julie. We never say shrimps. Shrimp is plural. (But prawn is singular, always prawns for the plural.) We avoid buying frozen, as both fresh shrimp and the larger prawns abound along the coast here. We boil them and peel off the shells and wee legs. A little more prep work, but so much tastier. I love this conversation.
When I was a child we were friends with the local fish man and his wife, and they'd sometimes bring us fresh cooked prawns in the shell. The prawns always smelled very fishy - to my mind at the time unreasonably so - and I hated how some of them were covered in tiny eggs which would cover my hands and feel all yucky. I remember the prawns being difficult and messy to peel, and at the time I didn't rate them highly at all.
Now I'm a grown-up, of course, I feel very different! I didn't begin to enjoy seafood until I was in my twenties - I like to think I've made up for lost time since then!
My first intuitive thought about BoBo was that it was a dog also. We had a cat once upon a time named MoMo. So it would stand to reason that AS (Austin Sam) seems to eat rather healthy, she would also be one to cook for her companion canine. I have friends who do this exclusively. I fostered a dog once that loved raw green beans!
And it sounds to me like with the bagels and smoked Salmon, AS could be of Jewish descent. However I’m married to a Jewish man, and the fact pork chops was on the menu list, kinda leaves that out, although some Jewish people will eat pork. Also, Hubby doesn’t eat shellfish--aka Shrimp or prawns, because they are “bottom feeders”, even though he’s not a “practicing Jew”, he is steeped in a lot of the ancestral traditions of which he grew up with. OK, moving on.
As for shrimp v prawns... I always thought they were two different shellfish. When I lived in Florida I would take my kids surfcasting at the beach. But first we’d stop at the local bait and tackle shop and pick up a couple dozen “shrimp” to use for bait. They were .99 cents a dozen back then. If we didn’t catch any fish after using up maybe the first 5 or 6 shrimp(s), we’d call it a day and take the rest home and boil them up for lunch.
It's so interesting that you'd assumed that BoBo was a pet, too, Gail! And gosh - yes, Austin Sam might well be cooking for her pet from scratch - I hadn't considered that possibility!
I had written a little bit around the pork chop in an earlier draft, but had deleted that part because the post was growing ever longer! My point was going to be that there was a very wide selection of protein items on Sam's list, but perhaps she was getting small portions of lots of different things because one of the (I'd assumed two) members of her household enjoys eating meat and the other prefers to get their protein from fish, eggs and cheese - hence the single pork chop.
Mind you, Austin Sam enjoys buying ONE example of several things. Pork chop. Jalapeño. Shrimp... 😉
I love that you never wasted that unused fishing bait! An excellent plan to eat up those shrimp! 🦐
As you know I grew up in Bahrain which has a thriving prawn industry. On one of many very smelly school trips we were told it was size that was the different . Weight per kilo number of prawns etc. anything small was called shrimp and either thrown back to grow or dried to be added to various local dishes.
None of this really helps but you know me I like to add my pennies worth in. When I first came back to the uk the size of prawns were such a disappointment. Xx
Now, the size of prawns - and again I'm returning to those minuscule commas in an M&S prawn mayonnaise sandwich - is a disgrace, I tell you! Well, apart from those deep-fried tiger prawns in filo pastry dunked in sweet chilli sauce that Jim used to order at the pub - those of course were rather bigger! 👀
I didn't know about Bahrain's prawn industry - that's really interesting - although like you I'm sure I wouldn't have relished a school trip to the prawn processing plant! 🫣
I think the shrimp thing is a North American/European differentiation. I would say shrimp, though to be clear I don’t eat seafood (much to the confusion of my parents, who remain baffled by my staunch refusal to consume the food of our people). A shrimp ring is often a popular party treat!
Had I not been consumed with hurricane prep yesterday, I would have looked for a list for you, but I was bound and determined to beat the line-ups for food. But most lists would have contained chips - crisps for you! - as it’s a storm-honoured snack.
Oooooh, a shrimp ring! I remember a friend of mine being given a £20 voucher for a high-end supermarket for Christmas one year - and he came home with TWO prawn rings. I don't remember whether he ate them both himself! 🤣 I mean, one of those things can serve a crowd! 😲
Gosh, I'm sorry you've got a hurricane heading your way. I remember your reference to 'storm chips' in a post of yours last year - I hope you've got plenty to hand! Stay safe, Alison.
Three types this go around! 😃 my apartment is on the same grid as a nursing home, though I don’t expect to lose power today. Power is out in lots of other places. A long day here!
I am thoroughly engrossed in this discussion! I have no idea why, but I love your trying to form a life image from a shopping list. I love the way your mind works and the fact that your attempt is so damned entertaining! As far as those BoBo meatball thingies? NO!! Austin Sam would never buy that processed stuff! I am not entirely sure that scribble says BoBo. I haven't worked it out, but the game is afoot! I will let you know if I am suddenly enlightened. And, Rebecca... all you need is one jalapeño. Trust me.
I'm so glad you're enjoying it, Sharron! I had a blast writing this post, and it means a lot to me to have so much interaction about it right here in the comments. Thank you.
About the meatballs - you're so right - they're incongruous to the rest of Sam's list, aren't they? I have to say that I don't mind that I've never met a BoBo meatball, but if I should ever come across one I shall certainly write about it! 🤣
Oooooh, that's interesting about the jalapeño - thank you! I guess that even for chillies they must be on the HOT side, right?! 🔥🌶️🥵
I have polled six friends. They all looked at the list and they all agree that BoBo is a cat or dog and that Sam buys special cuts of beef for her pet.
Jen, I really appreciate this comment - thank you so much! I enjoyed myself immensely with the shrimp - it's the first time I've ever tackle seafood in mixed media, and I'm really pleased with how it went, despite parts of my desk being temporarily rendered orange when my brush rolled away. I'm just glad it didn't hit the carpet! 🤣
Jim very kindly set up the grids of nine for me - I love the one under the poll, which I'm calling 'party prawns'! 🦐
Where do I start Rebecca? It's great that you received the lost shopping list.
You found a lot of things to talk about with this list. So much detail.
I voted for Shrimp. I didn't know there was a debate about it. When I've gone to the supermarket to buy shrimp, it is always fresh. On occasion I do get shrimp in a can. They are very tiny shrimp. And I have bought shrimp for fishing. It is usually frozen. When people talk about it around here, it's always shrimp, plural.
I had fun with this one. Thanks for bringing it to us!
I've never heard of shrimp in a can before - that's really interesting - I'd no idea that such a thing existed. I'm learning so much right here in the comments!
Fresh shrimp in Florida - of course! I guess it's further inland that people prefer to buy it frozen. 😊
So interesting! HA! I love these polls. I've been meaning to give them a go...maybe this week. I'm so happy you joined us. It's my pleasure and you are always welcome.
If you've submitted your answer to my poll, thank you so much - I can't wait to see where 'shrimp', 'shrimps' and 'prawns' score in relation to each other!
Results next Saturday!
🦐
Louisa, that's a lovely thing to say - thank you! Hope all's well with you! 😘
I just had to look up what a hoagie was! One world, many ‘English’ speakers, but so many different ‘dialects’. 😃 (I’m Australian)
I had to look it up too! 🤣 We never had 'subs' over here, either, until branches of Subway started appearing over here! 🤣
Mitchell, thank you so much for this lovely comment! I have another list up my sleeve for a future post, actually, although I'll tell you now that it has little hope of elevation to the highest form of memoir! 🤣
I love that shrimps were 'strimps'! We have 'pop', too - but normally over here what you call 'soda' is 'fizzy drinks' - or we call it by name (Coke, lemonade, etc). 'White wine and soda' is half white wine, half soda water (which is simply sparkling water) - but we don't ever call it just 'soda' apart from in that context; it's always 'soda water'.
I find these differences - and indeed similarities - fascinating!
It's ridiculous. Our national meal translates as fish and crisps.
Both crisp, though. Unless the chips are soggy.... 🙄
Definite “shrimp” for this American, generally 6 oz of shrimp per person when I’m cooking them. And thanks once again for proving that in the hands of a good writer, anything can be interesting.
One point for 'shrimp' - thanks, Tom! 🦐
And thank you for those lovely words, which have reminded me of something Jim said to me last week when I picked up another piece of ephemera to write about.
'This is SO interesting!' I told him. His response, after a long-ish pause, was this:
'It is what you make of it'.
I wasn't altogether sure that he'd meant it as a compliment! 🤣
Did we talk yet about you Brits and your odd refusal to share dishes when dining out? I’ve got a story for you, but a little voice in my head says I may have already shared it ...
I haven't heard the story yet, and now I'm waiting to hear it!
Maybe I should see if I can live up to my compliment to Rebecca ... that a good writer can make anything seem interesting. I’m just too damned busy right now.
No pressure, Tom! Your words are always worth the wait. 😊
Me too, Mark! 😁
Well, this Brit has no odd refusal about nicking chips from anyone's plate, Tom, but I'd love to hear the story about those compatriots of mine....!
I think Austin Sam would buy her own horseradish and ketchup (or catsup?) for cocktail sauce for the SHRIMP!
Thank you, Rebecca!
Post script: have you thought about working with the police??
Abigail, I think you're absolutely right - there's no way that Austin Sam wouldn't be making her own sauce for those shrimp/s 😉 of hers!
PS LOL! Last time I wrote a post like this I was asked whether I'm a spy! 🤣🕵️♀️
Oh, Rebecca! Have your cheeks ever hurt so much because you've been laughing and smiling at the same time for minutes on end? That's where I am. I LOVED this post. I'm going to send it to all iof those in my family who've been in Central Market and oooh-ed and wow-ed their way through. You must visit with your husband, well, your whole family, and enjoy the live music to the food samples to just wandering about. (Thanks for the link to Thrivin', as well. ) (Heart emoji that my Mac refuses to create.)
Mary, I'm so very pleased that you enjoyed it - what a lovely comment, thank you! 😊
And thank you SO much for sending me the fabulous list in the first place - you can see that it got me exploring all kinds of fun and crazy avenues! How lovely that you're going to be sharing it with the other Central Market fans in your family - I'm so glad that you've got such a fabulous place to shop. I mean, culinary school? Live music? And I even gather they make their own sushi...!!!
Tip for emoji-wrestling with a Mac: hit control command space, and the menu will pop up. There'll be no stopping you! Here's a heart from me: ♥️
control command space! Wow! thanks. I never discovered that.
Such a pleasure, Sharron! Have fun! 😊
I had no clue! Thanks for the Mac-moji tip!
😄 My first Mac-moji! It worked!!!🙃
YAY, Mary! There you go! 🥳🙌😍
do not encourage Rebecca: she goes nuts and populates whole comments and emails with almost nothing except emojis 🤣😱👍🎶🎷🎼😁
'Do not encourage Rebecca' - 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
See? I rest my case.
💗💟 You press Command+Control+Space and an emoji keyboard pops up
So hungry now...!
LOL, Mya - tell me, are you hungry for shrimp, or shrimpS? Or prawns?! 🤣
Thank you so much for reading!
The thing is, I would eat all of them and never really worry about appellation as long as they're plentiful... ! All fish, seafood and cheeses most welcomed on my table; sorry I can't help much with the particulars.
Always a pleasure, Rebecca, have never been so engrossed in a shopping list analysis😊
😊
Thoroughly enjoyed this post Rebecca, and found myself studying the handwriting on Austin Sam's note the way I used to dissect the Commercial Leader's scribbled notes when I was a PA 😊
Here's another curveball for you. Being British, I would use the term prawn as you so rightly suggested. So, why then can I order a shrimp chow mein from my local takeaway and find that it's identical to a prawn chow mein? Or have I simply not inspected the ingredients closely enough?
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Denise - thank you! I found the handwriting interesting, too - I've just had another look at the list after reading your comment, and I love Austin Sam's pretty s, g and z.
I've just spotted something I'd missed entirely - that the lines are running from top to bottom, not left to right... Bother!
Re the shrimp chow mein - oooooh, now that's fascinating! Are both shrimp AND prawn chow main available as separate dishes on the menu? Or do they *only* do shrimp chow mein? If there are two differently-named versions, maybe shrimp chow mein has little shrimps, and prawn chow mein has king prawns?
Right, Denise: next time I'm heading to south-west Scotland let's get together at your local takeaway for a 'compare and contrast'! 🦐 We'll settle the matter once and for all!
Hahaha I like the sound of that! It's a date 😊
Great - can't wait! 😊🦐
Prawns are larger beasties. Shrimp are smaller. And are different species. Prawns are a marine creature that resembles shrimp, and some prawns are edible.
Ooooh, thanks, Julie! 🙌
I'm astonished at the diversity in what are described as 'prawns' - those tiny little pink crescents in a prawn mayonnaise deli sandwich (I think I saw a product on the Walmart website called 'salad shrimp' - they were about that size) are nothing like the large-scale king prawns or tiger prawns I've been known to order in restaurants. 🦐
Exactly so in California, Julie. We never say shrimps. Shrimp is plural. (But prawn is singular, always prawns for the plural.) We avoid buying frozen, as both fresh shrimp and the larger prawns abound along the coast here. We boil them and peel off the shells and wee legs. A little more prep work, but so much tastier. I love this conversation.
When I was a child we were friends with the local fish man and his wife, and they'd sometimes bring us fresh cooked prawns in the shell. The prawns always smelled very fishy - to my mind at the time unreasonably so - and I hated how some of them were covered in tiny eggs which would cover my hands and feel all yucky. I remember the prawns being difficult and messy to peel, and at the time I didn't rate them highly at all.
Now I'm a grown-up, of course, I feel very different! I didn't begin to enjoy seafood until I was in my twenties - I like to think I've made up for lost time since then!
My first intuitive thought about BoBo was that it was a dog also. We had a cat once upon a time named MoMo. So it would stand to reason that AS (Austin Sam) seems to eat rather healthy, she would also be one to cook for her companion canine. I have friends who do this exclusively. I fostered a dog once that loved raw green beans!
And it sounds to me like with the bagels and smoked Salmon, AS could be of Jewish descent. However I’m married to a Jewish man, and the fact pork chops was on the menu list, kinda leaves that out, although some Jewish people will eat pork. Also, Hubby doesn’t eat shellfish--aka Shrimp or prawns, because they are “bottom feeders”, even though he’s not a “practicing Jew”, he is steeped in a lot of the ancestral traditions of which he grew up with. OK, moving on.
As for shrimp v prawns... I always thought they were two different shellfish. When I lived in Florida I would take my kids surfcasting at the beach. But first we’d stop at the local bait and tackle shop and pick up a couple dozen “shrimp” to use for bait. They were .99 cents a dozen back then. If we didn’t catch any fish after using up maybe the first 5 or 6 shrimp(s), we’d call it a day and take the rest home and boil them up for lunch.
Fun article! Really enjoyed it!!
It's so interesting that you'd assumed that BoBo was a pet, too, Gail! And gosh - yes, Austin Sam might well be cooking for her pet from scratch - I hadn't considered that possibility!
I had written a little bit around the pork chop in an earlier draft, but had deleted that part because the post was growing ever longer! My point was going to be that there was a very wide selection of protein items on Sam's list, but perhaps she was getting small portions of lots of different things because one of the (I'd assumed two) members of her household enjoys eating meat and the other prefers to get their protein from fish, eggs and cheese - hence the single pork chop.
Mind you, Austin Sam enjoys buying ONE example of several things. Pork chop. Jalapeño. Shrimp... 😉
I love that you never wasted that unused fishing bait! An excellent plan to eat up those shrimp! 🦐
Well Mrs H,
As you know I grew up in Bahrain which has a thriving prawn industry. On one of many very smelly school trips we were told it was size that was the different . Weight per kilo number of prawns etc. anything small was called shrimp and either thrown back to grow or dried to be added to various local dishes.
None of this really helps but you know me I like to add my pennies worth in. When I first came back to the uk the size of prawns were such a disappointment. Xx
Awww Elly, thank you for reading! 😘
Now, the size of prawns - and again I'm returning to those minuscule commas in an M&S prawn mayonnaise sandwich - is a disgrace, I tell you! Well, apart from those deep-fried tiger prawns in filo pastry dunked in sweet chilli sauce that Jim used to order at the pub - those of course were rather bigger! 👀
I didn't know about Bahrain's prawn industry - that's really interesting - although like you I'm sure I wouldn't have relished a school trip to the prawn processing plant! 🫣
🦐
I think the shrimp thing is a North American/European differentiation. I would say shrimp, though to be clear I don’t eat seafood (much to the confusion of my parents, who remain baffled by my staunch refusal to consume the food of our people). A shrimp ring is often a popular party treat!
Had I not been consumed with hurricane prep yesterday, I would have looked for a list for you, but I was bound and determined to beat the line-ups for food. But most lists would have contained chips - crisps for you! - as it’s a storm-honoured snack.
Oooooh, a shrimp ring! I remember a friend of mine being given a £20 voucher for a high-end supermarket for Christmas one year - and he came home with TWO prawn rings. I don't remember whether he ate them both himself! 🤣 I mean, one of those things can serve a crowd! 😲
Gosh, I'm sorry you've got a hurricane heading your way. I remember your reference to 'storm chips' in a post of yours last year - I hope you've got plenty to hand! Stay safe, Alison.
Three types this go around! 😃 my apartment is on the same grid as a nursing home, though I don’t expect to lose power today. Power is out in lots of other places. A long day here!
Oh my goodness. Fingers crossed - and yes, I'm sure the day's feeling like two already. Hope it passes soon!
I am thoroughly engrossed in this discussion! I have no idea why, but I love your trying to form a life image from a shopping list. I love the way your mind works and the fact that your attempt is so damned entertaining! As far as those BoBo meatball thingies? NO!! Austin Sam would never buy that processed stuff! I am not entirely sure that scribble says BoBo. I haven't worked it out, but the game is afoot! I will let you know if I am suddenly enlightened. And, Rebecca... all you need is one jalapeño. Trust me.
I'm so glad you're enjoying it, Sharron! I had a blast writing this post, and it means a lot to me to have so much interaction about it right here in the comments. Thank you.
About the meatballs - you're so right - they're incongruous to the rest of Sam's list, aren't they? I have to say that I don't mind that I've never met a BoBo meatball, but if I should ever come across one I shall certainly write about it! 🤣
Oooooh, that's interesting about the jalapeño - thank you! I guess that even for chillies they must be on the HOT side, right?! 🔥🌶️🥵
Hot as the hinges of hell. Just a couple of errant seeds send me running for the milk!
ACCCKKKK!
🤣
🤣
I have polled six friends. They all looked at the list and they all agree that BoBo is a cat or dog and that Sam buys special cuts of beef for her pet.
Oooooh, brilliant - thank you so much for your research, Sharron! Austin Sam sure knows how to pamper that pooch! 😊
Man's best friend, after all! Go for it, I say!
I’m delighted that you created shrimp visuals for this post!
Jen, I really appreciate this comment - thank you so much! I enjoyed myself immensely with the shrimp - it's the first time I've ever tackle seafood in mixed media, and I'm really pleased with how it went, despite parts of my desk being temporarily rendered orange when my brush rolled away. I'm just glad it didn't hit the carpet! 🤣
Jim very kindly set up the grids of nine for me - I love the one under the poll, which I'm calling 'party prawns'! 🦐
Where do I start Rebecca? It's great that you received the lost shopping list.
You found a lot of things to talk about with this list. So much detail.
I voted for Shrimp. I didn't know there was a debate about it. When I've gone to the supermarket to buy shrimp, it is always fresh. On occasion I do get shrimp in a can. They are very tiny shrimp. And I have bought shrimp for fishing. It is usually frozen. When people talk about it around here, it's always shrimp, plural.
I had fun with this one. Thanks for bringing it to us!
Thanks so much, Matt!
I've never heard of shrimp in a can before - that's really interesting - I'd no idea that such a thing existed. I'm learning so much right here in the comments!
Fresh shrimp in Florida - of course! I guess it's further inland that people prefer to buy it frozen. 😊
Here is a link to the canned shrimp. I think if you click the third photo, you can see how small they are.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bumble-Bee-Tiny-Canned-Shrimp-4-oz-Can/10309557?fulfillmentIntent=In-store&athbdg=L1200&from=/search
They're tiny little things, aren't they?! Thanks for showing me!
What a fun post today Rebecca. I hadn't thought about the shrimp, shrimps, or prawns....I say shrimp. HA! Have a glorious weekend.
Thanks, Julie - shrimp is winning by a LONG way in the poll! 🙌
Have a great weekend, too! 😘 Such a great Write Along yesterday - thank you for having me!
So interesting! HA! I love these polls. I've been meaning to give them a go...maybe this week. I'm so happy you joined us. It's my pleasure and you are always welcome.