Shrimp cocktails are iconic hors d'oeuvres offered at holiday celebrations. However, an expert recently revealed how you might be buying seafood the wrong way.
TikTok user Christina (@conscious_christina), who was born into a seafood family business, recently shared in a viral clip that she only purchases frozen shrimp at the grocery store and never the "fresh" prawns offered there.
In the social media post with 1.7 million views, Christina says that unless it's right off a fisherman's boat, shrimp at stores was likely "previously frozen."
So, when on the hunt to pick up some prawns, she said you should immediately head to the frozen section.
"That's because the 'defrosted shrimp' in the case is not fresh," she says. "Which means (the employee) went to the frozen section, got a bag of their frozen shrimp, defrosted it, and are selling it to you for a higher price at less peak freshness for probably a day or more."
The advice has people commenting they learned an important tip they want everyone to know about.
"You're the hero I didn’t know I needed," a user wrote in the comment section of the viral video.
The comment section on Christina's TikTok clip.conscious_christina | TikTok
Once in the frozen department, Christina suggests checking the bag for a few things like the listed ingredients and country of origin to make your choice.
The ingredients should only include water, salt, and shrimp, excluding any types of phosphates. She also suggests buying based on the country of origin, like domestic USA and Southern America.