Well, it really should be of no surprise that crab sticks are not made of crab!
I quite like them, well I did till I took at glance at the contents of one of these little things.
Amongst other things the main ingredients is Surimi. So what is Surimi, well click on the word to find out! It's Chinese translation is Fish Puree or Slurry!
I then wanted to know how they make the tops of the stick the bright colour that they are?
It says no artificial colours so I was a little intrigued.
So good old wiki helped me out as the ingredients states that Carmine is used.
Carmine, is produced by boiling certain types of insects in ammonia! Yes I did just say insects. In fact it is a cochineal scale.
Not only that but I went on to read that this process and colourant is also used in yogurt and certain fruit juices!
Not too sure that I will be eating many more of these from now on, hope I haven't put anyone off!
Till later................
When I looked up the imitation crab in the grocery store it listed the main ingredient as pollock (a type of fish) so maybe that's the same thing. But yeah, it sure ain't crab in there.
ReplyDeleteThey have been called seafood sticks for years now.
ReplyDeleteOnly tried crab sticks once, never again, they tasted vile!
ReplyDeleteAnd cochineal is also used to make icing on cakes pink - or red, depending on how much is used. My mum was a baker and confectioner by trade and often used it when she was decorating cakes.
just finished up a package of this stuff - I wonder why I never wondered exactly WHY it's called "imitation" crab. I think I need to do some package reading!
ReplyDeleteeeewwww!! gross....glad I never ate them now!!
ReplyDeleteYUCK! I'm stopping by for the A-Z Roadtrip but I didn't realize I was going to get such a nasty education :0 I used to eat these
ReplyDeleteI love them. They taste so fishy. It reminds me of sitting on Great Yarmouth beach eating a sea food selection from Rod's Tackle Fish Stall.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair cochineal has been around since the 1500s. Least it's natural and not an artificial colourant...
ReplyDeleteThe comments posted here about cochineal are bizarre. This is a completely natural food colourant. The concern seems to be based on the fact that it derives from a beetle. Why so? The test for what you eat should be about what impact it may have on your health rather than prudish squeamishness. Aren't our food habits strange?
ReplyDelete