Carpacho vs. concha (camarón)

Question

Another one of my strange questions:

Should I use "carapacho" or "concha" for the shell of a shrimp in a culinary context?

Our dictionary implies "carapacho" for "tortuga" and "crustáceo" and "concha" for "tortuga" and "mollusca".

Web search: many more hits for "camarones sin conchas" vs. "camarones sin carpachos" but recipes with both usages exist, and I do not know if mixed shellfish recipes are increasing the numbers containing "conchas".

In English we would only use carapace in a scientific setting, but Spanish seems to use those type of cognates more frequently in general usage due to its direct Latin derivation.

So what would a waiter expect to hear?

(Since "District 9" shrimp have been very "iffy" in my house, and I do not want my wife to completely ban them- in Mexico they like to decorate with the shells).

Answer 1

Hm, those google searches didn't come out too well then, because "concha" shouldn't (and isn't) used at all to refer to shrimp shells. The word we use in Spain is "caparazón", and it's also used for lobsters, turtles and other animals that I don't care enough to know their names ;p. 'Concha' is used for other crustaceans such as mussels, oysters, clams, etc.. . Oh and I'd never heard the word "carapacho", I guess it's the equivalent of "caparazón" in other Spanish speaking countries.

edit: I forgot to mention that those words are used as the 'common' words to refer to the shells of those animals, and not just in a scientific context. Although in truth we rarely use 'caparazón' at all when we talk about shrimps to be honest. In a recipe you will almost always read things like "100g de gambas peladas", or "100g peeled shrimps".

edit2: Oh, I totally forgot, we also use a generic word to refer to empty shells in a more informal way: "cáscaras"

Thanks, that is a word I had not run in to yet so couldn't search it- the animals you listed after crustaceans are all molluscs, not crustaceans. - Stadt, Nov 6, 2010

Carapace is not a commonly used English word, I wonder if "carapacho" is equally uncommon in Spanish. - Stadt, Nov 6, 2010

True that.. I was never too good in biology, to me they are just 'edible' :) As for 'carapacho', like I said, I've simply never heard it before. 'Caparazón' is not a rarely used word, although in practice we just say "gamba pelada" or "gamba sin pelar". - bill1111, Nov 6, 2010

I think caparazón will be helpful, as they tend to peel the shrimp, then use the empty shells (heads, etc.) to decorate. My wife does not like her meal to look back at her - Stadt, Nov 6, 2010

Yuck! I've never seen anyone decorate peeled shrimps with their empty shells. I guess different places, different customs. - bill1111, Nov 6, 2010

Yes, they do the plate artfully with carved fruits and vegetables, etc., so it really is better than it sounds. - Stadt, Nov 6, 2010

Answer 2

This is an example of a shrimp head being used as a decoration:

Answer 3

The Spanish Wikipedia says that a concha is a hard shell made out of calcium carbonate, like a clam or oyster shell.

Thanks, that is what I though- that it should be used only for molluscs, not crustaceans, so I was trying to find what I should use for a crustacean. My search makes me think some Spanish speakers don't use the words right either. - Stadt, Nov 6, 2010