The 'fish' prawns in Valladolid that have conquered chefs such as Martín Berasategui or Roberto Ruiz

The most sustainable prawns (and recently the most awarded) in Spain are raised about 135 km from the sea, specifically in Medina del Campo, at the facilities of the Noray firm,

(Certification of Sanitary Conformity).

There, in the heart of the Valladolid plateau, about 50 tons of this crustacean are produced per year, and they hope to multiply that figure by five in the next three.

The quality specimens, free of sulphites and of high gastronomic value, have already conquered important chefs in our country.

With them they prepare dishes from the

in his new Gastrobodega de Rueda and

even Marc Segarra from Abadía Retuerta LeDomaine and David de Jorge, better known as Robin Food.

These days, the activity in the company, in which some 30 employees work, is frantic.

There are many orders for Christmas that they have to prepare.

"The consumption of prawns in Spain is very seasonal; now we are at the peak, because the sale doubles compared to a normal month, but we have availability all year round, it is one of the things that aquaculture guarantees. We operate on demand and we fish them according to the needs of our customers, to guarantee maximum freshness", says Yolanda Patiño, director of Marketing and Branding at Noray.

The company has three business lines that it produces on demand: frozen, 50% of which it exports to countries such as Norway, Austria, France, Singapore, Saudi Arabia... and sells in Spain to supermarket chains such as

the cooked and the fresh, whose sales go to other establishments, such as

, restaurants and directly to the general public through

.

"Our star product in Spain is raw shrimp that is sold in trays of 40/60 pieces per kilo (27.99 euros). We centralize all online sales because, in the end, it is a farm and for hygiene reasons we do not want lots of people around," says Yolanda.

The farm was born in 2008 thanks to the businessman of Norwegian origin Bjorn Asphein (current CEO of the firm), but it was not until 2012 that the first production of prawns (of the white or vannamei species, the most common found in all fishmongers, especially cooked, which comes from the Pacific) with a unique and completely innovative farming system: its commitment to a sustainable aquaculture model means that water recycling mechanisms with low energy consumption and zero waste are used.

Ten years later and

, Noray has managed to become a benchmark for sustainable aquaculture in Europe due to 100% vertical integration of all its production processes, and has been recognized with the Food Award. of Spain, within the category of Fisheries and Aquaculture Production by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and its product has obtained the highest score (three gold stars) in the category of fresh crude from the Superior Taste Awards from the International Taste Institute of Belgium.

crunchier

What characteristics does this shrimp have that differentiate it from the fish in the sea?

According to Noray's directive, "because they do not have sulphites (something that is usually added to make them last fresh longer), our specimens are very pure.

.

The freshness they offer is also different.

"I would say that right now it is difficult to get a shrimp as fresh as ours, which would reach any type of customer within 24 hours of being caught."

Another thing that sets Noray apart from other projects is that the company has its own hatcheries.

In their facilities of 7,000 square meters and 24 pools, they control the entire reproduction process and the production cycle.

"The

(as we call them) reproduce there, then we raise the larvae and fatten them with a special feed that meets very demanding requirements from a sustainable and quality point of view. When the shrimp reaches the optimum size for consumption , we fish it and, until it is packaged, only an hour passes. The freshness is maximum", says Yolanda.

In a natural habitat recreated to the millimeter with water to which a specific salt is added to achieve the proper salinity, the specimens move to different areas of the farm according to their growth, from

to fattening pools.

From the time they are born until they are caught, they spend between three and four months depending on the size of the specimen.

At Noray they work with two sizes: 60/80 pieces per kg, with an average of 14 grams per shrimp, and 40/60, with an average weight of 20 grams.

"We already have the third generation of 100% bred shrimp in our tanks."

Expansion

Noray facilities in Medina del Campo.

The increase in demand for Noray's sustainable prawns has been such that last February the company received financing of 16 million euros to expand its facilities and thus increase production capacity.

"The goal is to multiply production by five in the next three years," says Yolanda.

For this, three new ships are already being built.

Why in Medina del Campo?

"It was a strategic decision by the founder, who wanted to test the feasibility of the project far from the sea. In addition, Medina is an hour and a half from Madrid, a very important place in terms of distribution, and at a point quite equidistant from the Spanish coasts", says Noray's spokeswoman.

David de Jorge (Robin Food) is a brand ambassador.

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