Whether or not you realize it, you've probably eaten imitation crab before. It's quite common in sushi (like in the California roll you picked up at the grocery store), frozen breaded fish, and pre-packaged seafood salads. It's everywhere, yet most of us know so little about it.
Imitation crab was first produced in Japan in the 1970s as a cheaper, processed alternative to pricey crab meat. Soon after, it made its way to the United States, where it has been fully embraced ever since. By the late 1980s, U.S. consumption of imitation crab had risen to an estimated 135 million pounds per year.
But what is imitation crab, anyways? And what is it made of? If not crab, then what? Here's everything you need to know about imitation crab, and how it holds up to the real thing.
Contrary to popular belief, imitation crab is actually made with real fish meat — generally not crab meat though. It's usually made from surimi, or white fish flesh that has been deboned and minced into a paste, which is then mixed with other ingredients including both natural and artificial flavors, starch, sugar, and sodium.
Most often the preferred white fish for surimi is Alaskan Pollock, which is also commonly used in frozen fish sticks or fast-food breaded fish products.
After the paste is made, it's then piped into rectangular molds and painted with a thin coat of orange food dye to mimic crab's natural hue.
Imitation crab was created as a low-cost alternative to high-priced crab meat. Even processed crab meat can come with a steep price. So it's by design that the biggest difference between imitation crab is the price tag.
Nutrition
Another major difference between the two comes down to nutrition. Both real crab meat and imitation crab are similar in calorie count, but that's about where their nutritional similarities end.
Real crab meat has nearly three times the amount of protein as imitation crab, which gets most of its calories from carbs. Plus, real crab is much higher in vitamins and minerals than imitation crab. This is because some of the nutrients of the fish are washed away during the surimi processing.
Taste
The good news is, imitation crab cooks and tastes nearly identical to the real thing, helping to save you money without sacrificing flavor.
How to Tell if Your Crab Is Real or Not
So if imitation crab looks and tastes like the real thing, how can you tell if the crab you're eating is real or not? The best way to be sure is to look at the label.
Most imitation crab products will be labeled as "imitation." However you may see it go by many names, both in grocery stores and in restaurants, including "crab sticks," "crab-flavored seafood," "surimi seafood," "krab," and in Japan it is known as "kamaboko."
If the front of the label isn't forthcoming about the type of meat, look at the ingredient list on the nutrition label located on the back of the package. If you see a long list of ingredients, you've likely got imitation crab. Processed crab will usually only have two ingredients: crab and water (and maybe one or two other ingredients to prevent discoloration).
How to Use Imitation Crab
Imitation crab can be found in the refrigerated or frozen section of the grocery store. Enjoy it anyway you would real crab. Since it's pre-cooked, you can enjoy it in cold dishes like crab salad or crab dip. You can also use it in heated dishes such as crab cakes, gumbo, crab rangoons, and so much more.
Imitation crab is made with surimi, a paste made out of finely shredded or pulverized fish.After the fish is minced, it is heated and pressed into shapes that resemble meat from a crab leg. The resulting imitation crab looks similar to the original crab in its coloring and texture.
Imitation crab is made from surimi, which is fish flesh that has been deboned, washed to remove fat and unwanted bits, then minced into a paste. This paste is blended with other ingredients before being heated and pressed into shapes that mimic crab meat ( 1 ).
Being a highly-processed, additive-rich, and less nutritious alternative to real crab, imitation crab has some of these drawbacks: Health concerns. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has assigned a "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) status to many of the additives that are used in imitation crabs.
Can you eat imitation crab raw? Yes.It is pre-cooked, so you are able to eat it straight from the package. Many people use it as part of a larger recipe though, adding it to cream of crab soup, crab Rangoon or crab salad.
Imitation crab meat checks both boxes, so it's safe to eat during pregnancy. Pollock, which is the fish of choice for makers of imitation crab meat, is a low mercury fish and pregnancy-safe in reasonable amounts (two or three servings per week).
Surimi is a white fish paste that is typically made from demersal fish (fish that live near the seafloor) like wild Alaska pollock, Atlantic cod, haddock, hake, and others. The fish is first deboned and washed, then minced into a paste.
Why Was Imitation Crab Created? Even processed crab—packaged and sold in refrigerated containers or cans—can wield a heavy price tag. Imitation crab meat, on the other hand, is not only more affordable, but a serviceable substitute in sushi rolls, salads, and dips.
The most obvious sign that imitation crab has gone bad is a fishy smell, so toss it out if the odor is strong. Whenever leftovers look slimy or taste sour you can bet the imitation crab is past its prime and needs to go in the garbage, even if you haven't reached the sell-by date that's on the package.
Vacuum-sealed products that are pasteurized have a refrigerator shelf life of two months but, once opened, should be treated like fresh fish and used within three days. Imitation crab sold in loose form in trays in fish cases will keep in the refrigerator three to five days.
It's firm enough that you can shred it with a cheese grater (or run it through the food processor with the shredding disc) for a texture that is reminiscent of shredded imitation crab, which is commonly used in California rolls or spicy crab rolls.
Choose fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury such as salmon, trout, tilapia, cod, sole, sardines, shrimp, oysters, and other shellfish. For the most health benefits, choose fatty fish such as salmon, trout, herring, chub mackerel, and sardines. o These fish have healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
Imitation crab is also loaded with harmful food additives that potentially can trigger conditions like leaky gut and inflammation. It can also be a hidden source of potential allergens like gluten.
Fish that contain high levels of mercury include shark, ray, swordfish, barramundi, gemfish, orange roughy, ling and southern bluefin tuna. Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is found in air, water and food.
Can someone eat imitation crab if allergic to shellfish? Likely not. This is because imitation crab typically contains 2% or less of king crab meat (shellfish) and also contains natural and artificial extracts of crab and lobster.
A crab extract used as a tasty flavouring or health-care food is prepared from whole crab through boiling, baking and pulverizing. It contains crab meat powder, crab roe powder, crab shell powder, the educed substance generated in distilling and the concentrated extract.
Introduction: My name is Dean Jakubowski Ret, I am a enthusiastic, friendly, homely, handsome, zealous, brainy, elegant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Imitation-Crab-by-MarkGillowGetty-Images-2000-cb5603dcf478498385cc75d6c12a4c96.jpg "What Is Imitation Crab and How Is It Made? (1)")
