Langouste and Langoustine, what's the difference?
In France, you often see both "langouste" and "langoustine" used to describe edible orange crustaceans. What is the difference between the two?
Both look the same to me, are they different species? Or perhaps different dialects describing the same thing?
Best Answer
Simply, langoustines are much smaller and a portion is several. A langouste is large; one would be big enough for 1--2 people.
Other names for langoustines include (from wikipedia):
Nephrops norvegicus, Norway lobster, Dublin Bay prawn, or scampi
In French, a longer version of the name is Langoustine commune (again wikipedia):
Contrairement à ce que son nom peut suggérer, la langoustine n’est pas une petite langouste
Despite what its name may suggest, a langoustine is not a small langouste
While they can grow to 25 cm long they're normally served about half to 2/3 that size. As typically presented, they're rather like large straight shell-on prawns, though a special long thin fork may be used to extract the meat.
Langouste (again from wikipedia) is known as:
Palinurus elephas, European spiny lobster, common spiny lobster, or Mediterranean lobster
In the parts of France I've most often visited, this is less common than the other major lobster, which is called homard, homard européen, homard breton* or scientifically Homarus gammarus.
For those who can muddle through a bit of French, here's some further reading (the last paragraph is particularly relevant): Quelle différence entre un homard et une langouste ?.
* Breton as in Brittany, which is where I tend to go.
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Quick Answer about "Langouste and Langoustine, what's the difference?"
Simply, langoustines are much smaller and a portion is several. A langouste is large; one would be big enough for 1--2 people. While they can grow to 25 cm long they're normally served about half to 2/3 that size.Are scampi and langoustine the same?
In most countries, especially Italy, scampi means the peeled tail of pretty much any kind of prawn but in the UK it refers to the meat of just one special prawn: the langoustine. Langoustine is a small lobster found in the colder waters of Scotland, Ireland and Norway.Is langoustine and prawn the same thing?
The difference between scampi (langoustine) and prawns is that the scampi belong to the lobster family and prawns to the shrimp family. The langoustine is caught here in the North Sea and the gambas are not.Are crayfish and langoustine the same?
Langoustines are similar in appearance to crayfish, but differ in that they grow in saltwater seas and oceans, whereas crayfish breed in freshwater rivers and lakes. The Latin name of langoustines is Nephrops norvegicus, and they're actually a relative of the lobster, with which we're all familiar.Is langoustine a prawn or lobster?
Also known as Norway lobsters or Dublin Bay prawns, langoustines are pale orange-pink crustaceans, similar to lobsters but a lot smaller.Technique de cuisine : Préparer une langoustine
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Enoch Patro, Antonius Ferret, JOSE LUIS VAZQUEZ, RODNAE Productions