Do you have questions about nutrition? Send them to us at comer@lavanguardia.es, our nutritionist Aitor Sánchez will answer all your questions.
Is it a good idea to make a broth with the shrimp heads? Or is it bad for your health because of its concentration of cadmium? (Joaquín Garrido, reader)
Hi Joaquin,
It's okay to suck on shrimp heads very occasionally, but it is not recommended to make it a routine habit if you are a frequent consumer of them.
In the head of shrimp and other similar animals we can find the cephalothorax, a part of the body of these animals where some organs that metabolize toxins are gathered; for practical purposes it is as if it had the heart and the liver in the head. Since 2011, our Spanish Food Safety Agency has recommended that we avoid frequently sucking on the head of these products because they have a considerable cadmium content, in this way we can prevent it from accumulating in our body and causing us problems of toxicity due to heavy metals. We do not have a health alert as such, but we do have these precautionary measures.
Cadmium is also a heavy metal that accumulates through tobacco in smokers, so if we are concerned about this heavy metal that should remain the priority.
In addition to the cadmium content, the heads of the shrimp have also been a source of controversy and conversation on Christmas tables due to the black color that we found in some of them. This blackening is known as melanosis, and it happens in some seafood in which an enzyme causes this color change, which is always interpreted as seafood of poor quality or that has not been well preserved. To avoid this undesirable color change, an additive is used, sulfites, which are probably related to the winemaking processes, since they are the preservative par excellence that is used in different wine processes.
Because these sulfites are compounds that, although safe, are not harmless, it is recommended that we avoid very high intakes of them. There are some people who can be very sensitive to sulfites and who have more aggressive reactions than the general population.
In short, nothing happens if we do it from time to time and you want to take advantage of the waste that you are going to generate at Christmas, but don't have it as a very frequent practice. Prioritize making broths with vegetables or fish directly.
What is the difference between a poularda and a normal chicken? Is the meat of one better than the other? (Josefina Rodríguez, reader)
Hi Josefina,
You are more or less right, generally the meat of the pularda is more appreciated, and this is the result of a breeding process that is often unknown, but which is aimed precisely at this.
The pularda is a young hen from which one ovary is removed to prevent laying eggs. It is also an animal that is slaughtered very young, between 6 and 9 months of breeding, and being younger the flavor is somewhat milder. This is usually a constant, given that animals that are slaughtered in their first months of life have flavors that are considered less accentuated and more "delicate." Normally, we can find it in Christmas recipes in stews, or roasted at low temperatures so as not to cook too aggressively.
Another similar case is that of the capon, which is a chicken that is castrated shortly after birth so that hormonal maturation does not interfere with its flavor.
These are the reasons why they are sometimes sold as more expensive, or with a differentiated quality. One more product that is adapted to be more convenient for the people who consume it.
