Sail2? Posted August 7, 2012 #1 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Currently on the riviera beautiful ship. Have ordered shrimp several times from diff venues but have all tasted a little bit on the chemical / bleachy side. Coming from Seattle I know what good seafood is suppose to taste like. Once in awhile I get shrimp that taste like that in Seattle as well, I wonder if it is how it is processed. The cooking and spices don't even mask the odd smell and taste. Has anyone else experienced this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEESRE Posted August 7, 2012 #2 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Please also tell us the good points, good to read about Riviera first hand. We sail on her in 2 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiidan Posted August 7, 2012 #3 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Truly good shrimp come from the gulf of Mexico. They taste sort of like seawater, which can be described as a but of chlorine ( sea water is rich in chloride s and other chemicals like Iodoine and Magnesium in the critters diet. Thats where the bluish color or tint comes from I am informed. Many chefs will take shrimp from other locales / or frozen and do what is called "Brine the shrimp" in a soultion of salt and sugar to rehydrate This will restore a lot of the ocean flavor of truly fresh fish that grew in the warm waters of the gulf. Shrimp from So Cal. Puget Sound etc will taste totaly different from Gulf shrimp.. which has no equal . Thats my thought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wristband Posted August 8, 2012 #4 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Could also be the iodine that is commonly added. Disgusting taste if so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiidan Posted August 8, 2012 #5 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Sorry to interject but Iodine is not added to shrimp. It is derived from the alge and kelps that make the shrimps diet. Iodine is a common element in seawater as it disolves easily. Iodine too concentrates in ocean plants which are the food for these critter . The higher the saline content of the ocean the higher the iodine concentration, whereas the lower the saline the lower the Iodine. It is that simple. Too the normal sea water is about 55% chloride and 4% Mg. this creates the chlorine perception. However Iodine is the maintay Gulf shrimp, which tate iodine free, live in a lower salinity due to the massive discharge of fresh water from river like the Mississippi, The shrimp live in the delta region of lower salinity and also eat a lot of bio material washed down and this reduces the iodine intake. So lower salinity and a wider variety of stuff to eat is the reason. Shrimp who live in the deep sea and other areas where there is no freshwater infusion dine totaly in a iodine rich environment on iodine rich foods. They like humans store this halogen chemical. So taste will tell you where the shrimp was from Farm raised shrimp in ponds that become too rich in salt will thus produce iodine rich critter. You might want to do a search... and discover some intereting thing in the process,. and that nobody adds iodine to seafood.. it the critter who do.:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threeedogmedia Posted August 11, 2012 #6 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Sail2? I believe that some shrimp are processed with Sodium Tripolyphosphate or some form of Sulfite. I can't remember which one it might be..... I remember an article in the Costco monthly magazine describing how the preservative works. I don't believe that Costco sells shrimp that have these chemicals. If I remember correctly, this makes the shrimp more transparent rather than solid white/pink when cooked. I prefer the texture of shrimp without any additive. I'm originally from Seattle and now live on Hood Canal. We get crab weekly and shrimp in the spring when the season is open and oysters and clams plus geoduck from our beach. We get terribly spoiled because we are used to everything being so fresh. We now avoid any crab from the grocery store or restaurants. It just doesn't taste right. Our poor butler on the last Marina cruise tried to convince us to order crab claws for our nightly appetizer. He just couldn't believe that we didn't like them. We'll be on the Marina again in a little over a month from now. I'm so looking forward to eating at Red Ginger again! What a treat. Where in Seattle do you live? Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaPeaInn Posted August 12, 2012 #7 Share Posted August 12, 2012 To get the fishy smell out of shrimp that are past their prime they can be washed in a bleach solution. I don't believe for a minute that O would do that but maybe a supplier did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sail2? Posted August 15, 2012 Author #8 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Please also tell us the good points, good to read about Riviera first hand. We sail on her in 2 weeks. Beautiful ship, very nicely decorated. Our first choice was Red Ginger, then Toscana, Polo and Jaques about tied. Great response when we wrote on mid cruise review, cruise director David and executive lounge concierge called and left messages in room. The magic show was amazing, saw him in Martinis twice then in main lounge. The Jean Ayn Ryan shows were pretty good some better than others. Most of the staff were very friendly and we had a wonderful room Steward on deck 9 named Ebner. My parents were in the OC suite and I think our room steward was better than theirs. Their room was absolutely amazing though butler was ok nothing spectacular... In fact they ordered from Jacques one night and everything was brought at once not course by course. Waves grill was great also breakfast buffet in Terrace was excellent. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sail2? Posted August 15, 2012 Author #9 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Where in Seattle do you live? Karen Live right across the street from Pikes Place Market, my sister who was on the cruise who made the comments about the shrimp lives on Mercer Island. Growing up my aunt had a place on hood canal, can't agree more freshest seafood, dug our own clams to make chowder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotterdam Posted August 15, 2012 #10 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Some of teh best seafood & certainly shellfish comes from cold waters...the difference between Gulf of Mexico shrimp & North Atlantic shrimp is great...just what someone is brought up on. I imagine the cruise lines simply goes for the best deal / contract price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sail2? Posted August 15, 2012 Author #11 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Some of teh best seafood & certainly shellfish comes from cold waters...the difference between Gulf of Mexico shrimp & North Atlantic shrimp is great...just what someone is brought up on. I imagine the cruise lines simply goes for the best deal / contract price. I asked a few restaurant staff and they did not know where the shrimp is from only that they know that it is frozen. I do have to say after I made the comment on the mid cruise comment card the shrimp tasted better.... Did not get a call from the head of restaurant regarding this but ordered shrimp quite a few more times and noticed it tasted better... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digtexas Posted August 16, 2012 #12 Share Posted August 16, 2012 We have ugly brown water in our part of the gulf, thanks to the mighty Mississippi, especially when compared to the beautiful blue waters of the Pacific, but that silty water produces the most wonderful crab, shrimp, redfish and red snapper. Unfortunately, gulf seafood, which was a staple when I was growing up, has become somewhat of a delicacy today, as so much of the snapper and red fish,and even the trout, have been over fished, and are no longer on the market. I believe that most of the shrimp in the stores today comes from farms in Thailand or somewhere else in Asia. When menus claim Red Snapper, I always ask where it comes from, and even here in Texas, it is just as likely to come from somewhere besides the gulf these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiidan Posted August 16, 2012 #13 Share Posted August 16, 2012 most of the Mahi Mahi in Hawaii comes from Thailand too...suprise suprise:p so too much of the fish here comes from other places and is flown in. Seafood i Hawaii is brutal $$$$$ same stuff in San Diego. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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