This is a traditional preserving method used before refrigeration, which not only helped them keep for longer but like curing or pickling, intensifies the flavour. In Britain, brown shrimps are best found in the tidal sands of Morecombe Bay and north Norfolk. It is traditionally eaten with bread. The dish consists of brown shrimp in nutmeg-flavoured butter, which has set in a small pot, the butter acting as a preservative. Traditionally they are being made with the tiny brown shrimp found around Morecambe Bay, known as Morecambe Bay Shrimp in North West England, though any small shrimp can be used. Brown shrimp is most commonly found in potted form; preserved in butter with lemon juice and spices like mace, nutmeg and cayenne pepper.

Once upon a time, everything from tongue (Elizabeth David's particular favourite) to cheese was preserved in this way, with Meg Dods, author of the 1826 Housewife's Manual, claiming that game \"to be sent to distan… Potted shrimps are a traditional British food and loved here for centuries. https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/potted-shrimp-recipe Small, flavour-packed brown shrimps are the main ingredient of the classic dish of potted shrimps.

Potted shrimps are a traditional British dish made with brown shrimp flavored with nutmeg. Potted food, according to food historian Bee Wilson, is a descendant of the pie in which the heavy, air-excluding crust (\"medieval cling film\" as she wonderfully dubs it) has been replaced by a more elegant spiced butter. Cayenne pepper may also be included.