Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

cigalita grillo

English translation:

dwarf crayfish/crawfish

Added to glossary by Bubo Coroman (X)
Oct 9, 2013 02:46
11 yrs ago
3 viewers *
Spanish term

cigalita grillo

Spanish to English Other Cooking / Culinary Hotel menu item (Spain)
under "Aperitivos en vivo": Cigalitas grillo a la parrilla.

Many thanks in advance.
Change log

Oct 10, 2013 11:19: Bubo Coroman (X) changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/139265">Bubo Coroman (X)'s</a> old entry - "cigalita grillo"" to ""grilled dwarf crayfish/crawfish""

Discussion

Helena Chavarria Oct 9, 2013:
The easiest thing to do is find out the scientific name and work from there. I find it a useful method when I'm translating the names of fungi, beans, etc.
Tim Friese Oct 9, 2013:
crawfish / crayfish is UK only for this species I did some more reading - wordreference gives 'crawfish' as a UK meaning for cigala. In Missouri in the US we used to fish a variety of crawfish (crawdad to us) from a completely different family:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crayfish
Tim Friese Oct 9, 2013:
@Jane,

Actually, wikipedia says "Nephrops norvegicus, known variously as the Norway lobster, Dublin Bay prawn, langoustine (compare langostino) or scampi"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nephrops_norvegicus

I'm American and always thought 'scampi' meant shrimp, but now I'm realizing that usage is inexact if widespread.
Jane Martin (X) Oct 9, 2013:
If for the UK it can't be scampi. In the UK, scampi is just the tails of the Dublin Bay prawn cooked in breadcrumb. If for the US, scampi just means shrimp.

Proposed translations

4 hrs
Selected

grilled dwarf crayfish/crawfish

The "-ita" part is just reinforcing the fact that they are small compared to the regular crayfish that most Spaniards eat.

This is a variety, take a look at the link:
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "I put this because it's confirmed by the description in Lucy's reference, thank you very much everyone for your time."
+1
13 mins

grilled (mini?) scampi

Not too sure here - hoping others will confirm or offer their suggestions.

Is the combination of grillo and '-ita' to be taken seriously to mean 'baby' or 'mini'?
Peer comment(s):

agree Benjamin A Flores : 'grillo' seems to be a variety http://www.elreygambon.com/epages/ea9872.sf/es_ES/?ObjectPat...
10 mins
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3 hrs

grilled crayfish/crawfish

Cigala f -> crawfish, crayfish.
I think the "-ita" may be more a term of endearment here rather than size.

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Note added at 3 hrs (2013-10-09 06:40:47 GMT)
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Crayfish – also called crawfish, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, or mudbugs – are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related.

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Note added at 3 hrs (2013-10-09 06:43:01 GMT)
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If Helena's reference is correct, "spring lobster" sounds nice for a menu item...
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4 hrs

grilled langoustines

for the UK. Spanish has far more words for different kinds of prawns/lobsters than English. From looking at pictures on both Spanish websites: http://en.sofinas.net/Products/ and English language websites http://www.whatamieating.com/zigala.html it seems to me that the closest to 'cigalita grillo' is Dublin Bay Prawns also known as Norway Lobster (Nephrops Norvegicus Langoustine) or just 'langoustines'. If it is a fine dining menu then it will be important to get the kind of prawn/lobster right. Also you need to consider that if it is for the US, the terminology again will be different and they would probably say 'grilled scampi'. Although the Nephrops Norvegicus (if this is what it is) is a European lobster' .http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Nephrops norvegicus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scampi

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Reference comments

3 hrs
Reference:

Panulirus regius Royal/Green sping lobster

According to my second reference, the scientific name for 'cigalito grillo' is Panulirus regius, not Nephrops norvegicus, which is the scientific name for scampi.

http://www.ictioterm.es/nombre_vernaculo.php?nv=533

Let's get this over with at the start: Spiny lobsters are not the same thing as a New England or European homard lobster. Biologically, they are only distant cousins, and in the kitchen, spiny lobsters are a bit tougher and are not as rich-tasting as a Maine lobster.

http://fishcooking.about.com/od/shrimpcrablobster/p/spiny_lo...

Antennular plate with four large spines arranged in a square, without scattered small spinules. Third maxilliped without exopod. Transverse groove of abdominal somites with straight margins, not crenulated, where interrupted, gradually narrowing towards middle of body, not ending abruptly.
Colour: abdominal somites greenish with a very distinct white transverse band along posterior margin and separated from that margin by a dark band. A distinct eyespot (white or yellowish surrounded by open dark ring) above bases pleura somites 1 to 6; those of the posterior pleura smaller and more elongate than those of the anterior. Tail fan rather uniformly greenish or brownish.

http://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=...

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Note added at 4 hrs (2013-10-09 06:46:22 GMT)
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Sorry, the title should read 'Royal/Green Spiny lobster
Note from asker:
thank you Helena, the references are really useful.
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12 hrs
Reference:

for another reference, here's a link with a picture and a description of them as "cigalitas grillo que son esas cigalas del mediterráneo muy pequeñas y con pronunciado sabor"

http://lacocinadejavieru.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/cigalitas-lo...

and this US menu has an item described as "mediterranean langoustines", maybe this could work?

http://www.east12osteria.com/menu/
Note from asker:
thank you Lucy, the description is really useful, I'd already seen a photo online but impossible to tell the "scale" from the photo to know the size.
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