1People have been noshing on shrimp since the beginning of time,
2but it hasn't always been an easy catch.
3Wild stocks declined in the 20th century.
4Shrimp farms emerged to supply what nature couldn't.
5Factories processed the harvest, ensuring an abundance of ready to eat shrimp for the freezer.
6Jumbo shrimp have long been big on the cocktail circuit.
7Today it comes prepped and frozen, complete with cocktail sauce.
8Just unwrap and thaw.
9Shrimp cocktail is one of many ready to eat dishes prepared at this factory in Thailand.
10Fresh from the farm, the shrimp undergoes a quick cold water rinse.
11It then rides a perforated conveyor.
12Rinse water drains through the holes in the conveyor to keep the shrimp from becoming soggy.
13Still cool from the icy bath, the curly crustaceans spill off the conveyor into plastic baskets.
14They weigh each basket and then transfer the shrimp to a larger tub.
15To keep the chill on they add crushed ice between loads.
16A temperature of ten degrees Celsius or less must be maintained throughout processing or quality will suffer.
17It's now time for the inevitable, the deheading.
18Using a metal tool that's like an open thimble,
19workers pull the heads off the shrimp with a few quick tugs.
20The heading line is a long and busy one.
21The headless shrimp now travel to sizing rollers.
22The space between the rollers is narrow at first and wider further down.
23As the rollers spin, smaller shrimp fall through first and the larger ones continue on to fall through further down.
24They accumulate in different piles on conveyors below.
25This separates the shrimp into five size categories.
26Out of the sorter, an employee samples the shrimp's temperature to confirm that it remains adequately chilled.
27Deheaded and sorted by size, these shrimp are now ready to come out of their shells.
28On the shelling line, some workers cut the tails off and others leave them on
29because there's a market for both.
30After they peel away the shell, they cut out the digestive tract that runs along the back.
31It's often referred to as the vein because it looks like one.
32Workers on this line peel and devein 800 shrimp an hour.
33The shrimp then goes to different prep zones.
34At this one, an employee dips tail on shrimp into an egg mixture and then dredges them in rice flour.
35He sends them down the line to the next worker.
36He rolls the floured shrimp in net rice paper.
37As you can see, there's a bit of a trick to this.
38He moistens the edges of the rice paper to seal the wrap.
39The result is a spring roll appetizer that can be frozen until it's ready to be cooked and served.
40In another area, a worker prepares a breaded recipe, again using shrimp with the tails still on.
41This is finger food and with the tails on, the shrimp will be easier to grip.
42He soaks it in seasonings and coats it in breadcrumbs.
43Then he dips it in egg batter and breads it again.
44The second coating of crumbs will give the shrimp extra crunch when fried.
45The tray is now full and so it's over to the fry belt.
46After a quick trip through hot oil, the breaded shrimp is perfectly fried.
47All the shrimp, including this raw product, take a blustery ride through a freezer.
48Spread evenly across the conveyor, they freeze individually rather than in big, icy clumps.
49So you don't have to thaw a whole bunch to get a few shrimp.
50The frozen shrimp falls into waste stations.
51At the correct amount, the bottom opens to release them.
52An ice glaze will protect them from freezer burn.
53These frozen shrimp products are ready to leave the factory.
54From the freezer to the oven to your taste buds.
55With all the prep work done at the factory, these frozen shrimp products are quite a treat.