What is contained in immitation crab meat?

Question

My husband and I are wondering what meat is called immitation crab meat. Anyone know?

Answer 1

The flaky, red-edged faux crab in your seafood salad or California roll is most likely made of Alaska Pollock. Also called Walleye Pollock, Snow Cod, or Whiting, this fish is abundant in the Bering Sea near Alaska and can also be found along the central California coast and in the Sea of Japan. Pollock has a very mild flavor, making it ideal for the processing and artificial flavoring of imitation crab. While Pollock is the most common fish used to make fake crab, New Zealand Hoki is also used, and some Asian manufacturers use Southeast Asian fish like Golden Treadfin Bream and White Croaker.
The processing of imitation crabmeat begins with the skinning and boning of the fish. Then the meat is minced and rinsed, and the water is leached out. This creates a thick paste called surimi. The word means "minced fish" in Japanese, and the essential techniques for making it were developed in Japan over 800 years ago. Surimi is commonly used in Japan to make a type of fish ball or cake called kamaboko. In 1975, a method for processing imitation crabmeat from surimi was invented in Japan, and in 1983, American companies started production.

Many ingredients are added to the surimi to give it a stable form, appealing texture, and crab-like flavor. Sugar, sorbitol, wheat or tapioca starch, egg whites, and vegetable or soybean oil can all help improve the form of the surimi. Natural and artificial crab flavorings are added, and some of these flavorings are made from real crab or from boiled shells. Carmine, caramel, paprika, and annatto extract are often used to make the crab's red, orange, or pink coloring. Imitation crab is cooked, which helps set the surimi and give it the final texture and appearance. Nutritionally speaking, surimi is not that different from real crab, although it is lower in cholesterol.

Answer 2

Imitation crab meat is a seafood product made by blending processed fish, known as surimi, with various texturizing ingredients, flavorants, and colorants. First invented in the mid-1970s, imitation crab meat has become a popular food in the United States, with annual sales of over $250 million. Surimi is the primary ingredient used to create imitation crab meat. It is mostly composed of fish myofibrillar proteins. These proteins are responsible for the quintessential characteristic of surimi that makes imitation crab meat manufacture possible, namely the ability to form a sturdy gel. The gel can be shaped and cut into thin strips which, when rolled together, mimic the texture of real crab meat.

Answer 3

Surimi. Its a small fish from which the meat can be formed and dyed to look like crab meat. It is also used for imitation lobster.

Answer 4

Oh, it's wonderful stuff. Let me answer without actually answering, (yeah I'm a stinker!)

Ok...step one...clear mind of all thought.
ok...step two...think of hotdogs.
ok...step three...think of all possible byproducts that cannot be sold to the general public and processed into another form that the general public will find acceptable. That's how they make hotdogs.

ok...step four...the same is applicable to fake crap meat.

Answer 5

Flavored whitefish

Answer 6

It's called "surimi" and is made from fish products

Answer 7

It's fish of some sort, it's there in the ingredient label.

Answer 8

its a dried fish paste, but I love it.

Answer 9

i'm not sure, but i do know what's not in it. crab. ;o)