# shrimp tails in food **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 10, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474 "2007-06-10T16:23:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474/61 "2007-06-12T13:29:00Z")
[QUOTE=TimeWinder] …or you put them in a cheesecloth sack during cooking, and remove before serving (I know of several dishes that call for some variation on this technique for something “inedible or unappetizing, but necessary for flavor” like fish heads or shrimp shells.) [/QUOTE] This is what I do at home. If the recipe doesn’t call for the tails, I will boil them in water anyway and freeze the resulting broth for another time. I fear if I ask for shrimp sans tails at a restaurant, they will just cut the tail off instead of peeling it and I would lose a third of my shrimp. Miss Manners says that it is perfectly acceptable to ask for no tails and takes the restaurants to task for leaving them on. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474/62 "2007-06-12T13:31:10Z")
[QUOTE=Princhester] Frozen shrimp is always shelled. I suspect that leaving the shell on is a way of proving it was fresh. [/QUOTE] No, it is not. I routinely get raw frozen shrimp with shell on. It is also available with just the tail on cooked or uncooked. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474/63 "2007-06-12T13:33:17Z")
[QUOTE=Brain Wreck] When I lived in Japan, everybody there always ate their sushi with chopsticks, without exception. In Japan it’s considered very rude to embarrass people, so I couldn’t tell them they were doing it wrong. [/QUOTE] I see. > [@](#): > > From [Sushi Otaku](http://www.sushifaq.com/sushiotaku/2007/03/12/is-sushi-finger-food/) > with your fingers? And how many times have you been told that it isn’t? As a matter of etiquette, many cultures eschew eating with one’s fingers, which seems to be ingrained particularly deeply in western behavior. But be at ease, sushi fans, because sushi has a long history of being finger food, at least some sushi that is. > > Nigiri (finger) sushi was the first ‘fast food.’ Originally sold from carts in the street, it acquired its shape so as to be easy to eat on the go. It wasn’t until centuries after its introduction that the sushi restaurant came to be. And with the restaurant, came new ways of eating sushi. In bowls and boxes, platters and leaves, sushi in its myriad forms was served to a growing pool of restaurant goers. While still finger food, some styles were introduced that could not be easily eaten with the fingers (and shouldn’t be), such as sashimi. But while many choose to eat nigiri sushi with chopsticks, this only seems to be a question in the western world. > > So…. Can I eat sushi with my fingers, you ask? Of course, nigiri sushi is the ultimate finger food. > [@](#): > > [Sushi-master.com](http://sushi-master.com/usa/whatis/eating.html) > > 1. Hold the sushi with your thumb, index finger, and middle finger. > 2. Dip just the tip of the neta in some soy sauce. > 3. Turn the sushi back and bring it to your mouth. > [@](#): > > [GoJapan: How to Eat Sushi](http://gojapan.about.com/cs/foodinformation/ht/ht_sushi.htm) article by Shizuko Mishima > Clean your hands by using an oshibori (hot towel). > Put soy sauce for dipping in the small dish. > Mix a bit of wasabi (Japanese horse radish) with the soy sauce if you want. Since wasabi is already placed in each sushi piece, you don’t need to do this. > When you eat nigiri-zushi (hand-pressed sushi), pick up one sushi piece between your thumb and middle finger, putting the index finger on top. > [@](#): > > From [Sushilinks.com](http://www.sushilinks.com/tips.html): Tips > The Tools > At some of the higher end restaurants the waiter/waitress will provide you with a hot towel at the beginning of the meal. It usually comes in a little basket. Use it to wipe your hands clean before the meal, remember sushi is finger food. When finished place it back in it’s basket and someone will take it out of your way. Don’t worry, you’ll also get a napkin for your lap. I am quite embarassed, both for myself and all of the others out there that struggle with the misconception that sushi was designed as a finger food. I think I shall start a campaign to let them know the folly of their ways. They’ll probably have to commit _seppuku_ a set of wooden _hashi_ over this egregious error. Of course there is always the possibility that all those people in the restaurant saw you eating with chopsticks, so used theirs to save you the embarassment of your faux pas. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474/64 "2007-06-12T13:50:45Z")
[QUOTE=lee] This is what I do at home. If the recipe doesn’t call for the tails, I will boil them in water anyway and freeze the resulting broth for another time. I fear if I ask for shrimp sans tails at a restaurant, they will just cut the tail off instead of peeling it and I would lose a third of my shrimp. Miss Manners says that it is perfectly acceptable to ask for no tails and takes the restaurants to task for leaving them on. [/QUOTE] I don’t recall any snipped tails. I have a mental picture of shrimps without tails, but with the little nubby that remains when tails are properly pulled. That does it, time for some research. I’m going to go to Juan’s Place tonight for some shrimp (tails intact) cocktail, and maybe a couple fish tacos. Life is hard. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474/65 "2007-06-12T14:20:54Z")
[QUOTE=ShibbOleth] Of course there is always the possibility that all those people in the restaurant saw you eating with chopsticks, so used theirs to save you the embarassment of your faux pas. [/QUOTE] You can take your cues secondhand from web sites if you like; I’ll stick to direct observation of many Japanese people over a long period of time. I seriously doubt the whole of Tokyo conspired to eat their sushi with chopsticks just to help a random gaijin save face. Perhaps people do eat sushi with their fingers in Japan; I just never saw any. Maybe it is a behavior that increases in informal or intimate situations. Japanese etiquette is very much dependent on situation and company, and some Japanese people may have individual or regional habits that they consider universal customs. So hard-and-fast rules are inherently unreliable. Of course that doesn’t stop Westerners from relying on them (just as Japanese make equally foolish generalizations about Westerners). ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474/66 "2007-06-12T14:23:12Z")
As for the shells and tails, save the cloth for a bouquet garni (something like that) for when you make a proper shellfish stock. It’s a little trouble, and takes a couple hours, but more than worth the effort. There are plenty of [recipes](http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001794how_to_make_shellfish_stock.php) out there. This stuff in a nice cioppino will get you laid. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474/67 "2007-06-12T15:02:13Z")
[QUOTE=lee] Miss Manners says that it is perfectly acceptable to ask for no tails and takes the restaurants to task for leaving them on. [/QUOTE] Is that a belief she has always held, or did she pick it up in the slammer? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474/68 "2007-06-12T15:07:20Z")
[QUOTE=lee] Miss Manners says that it is perfectly acceptable to ask for no tails and takes the restaurants to task for leaving them on. [/QUOTE] She takes them to task for ignoring a request to remove the tails or for choosing to make tails-on their standard practice? If the latter, well, who made her boss of everyone? ---
**Author:** ![AHoosierMama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@AHoosierMama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHoosierMama)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474/69 "2007-06-12T18:43:14Z")
I never order paella because the clams or mussells come in the shell. If I’m not meant to eat it, why on earth is it on my plate? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474/70 "2007-06-12T18:50:10Z")
[QUOTE=acsenray] She takes them to task for ignoring a request to remove the tails or for choosing to make tails-on their standard practice? If the latter, well, who made her boss of everyone? [/QUOTE] She’s _not_ the boss. We, the patrons, are. Ultimately, anyway. She was in jail? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474/71 "2007-06-12T18:52:57Z")
[QUOTE=AHoosierMama] I never order paella because the clams or mussells come in the shell. If I’m not meant to eat it, why on earth is it on my plate? [/QUOTE] Never eat chicken wings in Hoosierland? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474/72 "2007-06-12T18:54:34Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] She’s _not_ the boss. [/quote] Then what gives her the authority to “take restaurants to task” for any individual restaurant making shells-on the default? > [@](#): > > We, the patrons, are. Ultimately, anyway. Did you read my whole comment? I don’t understand what you’re suggesting, a nationwide referendum to decide whether to mandate shells-off as the default for _all_ restaurants? > [@](#): > > She was in jail? I think someone has her mixed up with Martha Stewart. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474/73 "2007-06-12T18:57:20Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] Never eat chicken wings in Hoosierland? [/QUOTE] Aha! but the chicken skeleton’s on the _inside_, where it belongs. Right, **AHoosierMama**? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![MTRG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@MTRG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTRG)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474/74 "2007-06-12T19:06:34Z")
If the shimp has tails and they piss you off, does your tip reflect this? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474/75 "2007-06-12T19:46:58Z")
[QUOTE=MTRG] If the shimp has tails and they piss you off, does your tip reflect this? [/QUOTE] Me? I don’t know for sure. It’s never happened. The cook doesn’t get the tip anyway. It would likely affect my future visits, and I would tell the server. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474/76 "2007-06-12T19:57:30Z")
[QUOTE=acsenray] Then what gives her the authority to “take restaurants to task” for any individual restaurant making shells-on the default? Did you read my whole comment? I don’t understand what you’re suggesting, a nationwide referendum to decide whether to mandate shells-off as the default for _all_ restaurants? I think someone has her mixed up with Martha Stewart. [/QUOTE] A - I think she was saying that if you asked for the tails to be removed and they were left on. B- I re-read my comment, and didn’t see that at all. I’m not big on universal mandates. I just don’t want tails in my linguini with shrimp alfredo sauce. I also prefer that my salmon be well de-boned, though I can do it myself. Are we argueing here? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474/77 "2007-06-12T20:14:28Z")
[QUOTE=acsenray] Then what gives her the authority to “take restaurants to task” for any individual restaurant making shells-on the default? [/QUOTE] She’s a writer. It’s what they do. She doesn’t need authority, she’s stating an opinion; Miss Manners’s enforcement police force is very low budget. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474/78 "2007-06-12T21:42:32Z")
I think if we did a little more Miss Manners and a little less “Survivor”, things might be a little more pleasant. Peace 🙂 mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474/79 "2007-06-13T01:37:00Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] I think if we did a little more Miss Manners and a little less “Survivor”, things might be a little more pleasant. Peace 🙂 mangeorge [/QUOTE] Survivor had that hit song “Eye of the Tiger”. What has Miss Manners ever done for us? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474/80 "2007-06-13T02:50:24Z")
[QUOTE=AHoosierMama] I never order paella because the clams or mussells come in the shell. If I’m not meant to eat it, why on earth is it on my plate? [/QUOTE] “We’ve examined your X-rays, ma’am, and I think we’ve determined the source of your abdominal pain. It appears that the entire length of your digestive tract is clogged with cocktail umbrellas.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-tails-in-food/407474.md?page=5)