What Is Imitation Crab and Should You Eat It?

Written by Resurchify | Updated on: July 13, 2022

There are diverse types of seafood available in the market, with more than a thousand species of fish, oysters, shrimps, salmons, lobsters, and even crabs. They are loaded with nutrients like omega-3s, iron, protein, and vitamins B and D. According to the FDA, seafood has all these nutrients more than any other meat! and has a distinct flavor compared to freshwater fishes ones.

But have you ever heard of the imitation crabs? It has the name in itself- imitation, which makes you think about what it actually means. Well, the fact is that imitation doesn't really have any crab flesh in it; astonishing, right?

In this article, we will see what these red and white-colored stuff displayed in your seafood section in air-tight packaging. They may look like crabs by the way they look but are really crabs or nothing close to them, which makes them a great and cheaper alternative for the restaurant owners. We will also find out some interesting ways to prepare at home.

What Is Imitation Crab Made From?

Imitation crab was first formed and created in Japan in the 1970s as a comparatively low-cost, processed substitute for the costly crab meat. Thereafter, it got popular and traveled all the way to the United States, where it was fully consumed and followed as soon as it reached. By the late 1980s, consumption of imitation crab in the United States had accelerated to approximately 135 million pounds per year.

Discarding the believed myth, imitation crab is actually processed from real fish meat and not generally the meat of the crab. It is generally obtained from surimi, or white fish flesh that has been crammed and ground into a paste, which is then intermingled with other edible components constituting both natural and artificial components, starch, sugar, and sodium.

Often the choice of white fish for surimi is Alaskan Pollock, which is also widely used in frozen and refrigerated fish sticks or fast-food fish products materials which are breaded.

History of Imitation Crab

Imitation crabs have a very interesting history. Sugino Co., Ltd. (スギヨ, Sugiyo) of Japan first invented and formed imitation crab meat in 1974 and referred to it as Kanikama. This was a kind of sliver. In 1975, Osaki Suisan Co., Ltd., Japan, first invented and manifested sticks of imitation crab.

In 1977, The Berelson Company of San Francisco, California, US, working in accordance with Sugiyo, inaugurated and brought them into the market on an international platform. Kanikama is still the widely referred name in Japan, but on an international platform, they are sold under names constituting Krab Sticks, Ocean Sticks, Sea Legs, and Imitation Crab Sticks. The legal restrictions often debate them from being marketed as "Crab Sticks" in wide areas, as they generally do not constitute crab meat.

A lot of crab sticks these days are constituted from Alaska pollock (Gaduschalcogrammus), which is there in the North Pacific Ocean. The main edible component is generally intermingled with liners and cartridges such as wheat and egg white, referred to as albumen, or other binding components that are the enzyme transglutaminase. Seasoning of crab is included (natural or, more widely, artificial), and a coating of red food pigment is put into the outer surface.

After the coating is made, it is then transferred into rectangular molds and coated with a pigment of orange food colorant to copy the crab's natural color.

Irrevocable agents, which constitute egg white, starch, vegetable oil, or sugar, are mixed with the surimi paste to keep the meat stick intact. Rarely monosodium glutamate (MSG) is constituted with the surimi. Orange or red pigment is the main component applied to make the mixture bear a resemblance to shellfish meat. For the safeguarding of the product, the seal is vacuumed by the makers, and imitation crab meat is pasteurized. When one gets the product, one consumes it from the package.

How Are Imitation Crabs Different From Real Crab Meat?

Most people have consumed imitation crab meat without acknowledging it. Since it was way too widely known and famous, it has made its path to our platter through menus at the restaurants, refreshments at functions and parties, and items at the grocery store. Imitation crab processed food items may be referred to as "crab seafood" or "surimi seafood," so one gets an idea of what they are purchasing. On some restaurant menus, a food item may be written as "krab" to tell one that it's not constituted with real crab meat.‌

Nutritional value – Real crab has actually larger nutrient portions than imitation crab. For instance, imitation crab obtains a lot and a larger compound of its calories from added carbs. The calories present in an Alaskan king crab are constituted and derived from proteins, and carbs are not constituted. If someone is on a keto diet or low-carb diet and wishes to cut one's carb ingestion, a better situation is to opt for an imitation crab.
Vitamins and minerals- Large quantities of vitamins and minerals are contained within the real crab. Vitamin B12, selenium, and zinc are constituted within them. When preparing surimi, these components are drifted during cleansing and processing when the fish meat is kept under heat. Real crab also constitutes larger portions of omega-3 fatty acids than its mock component. Some packages of imitation crab may have built-in omega-3, but this does not always happen.

Imitation crab constitutes a lot of packaged ingredients, and the largest component of the imitation crab product is surimi. It adds up to 35% to 50% of the mass of the product. The other 50% to 65% that constitutes imitation crab includes:

Wheat, potato, or tapioca starch of some starches make the surimi rigid and in a way that it can be frozen or kept in the refrigerator.
Sodium chloride and salty taste help to alter the minced meat into a stocky gel. Potassium chloride is used some of the time.
Vegetable oil regulates texture, the life of the shell, and the coloring of the white part. Sugar and sorbitol make up some sweet taste and assist imitation crab in refrigerating, defrosting, and melting easily. Soy and egg whites are often intermingled to accelerate protein production, increase their nutrient component, and improve their color, texture, and glossy abilities.
Water covers up the highest part of all the additional ingredients. It helps to form the appropriate texture.

Which Should You Choose?

When choosing between real crab and imitation crab, one should remember these many things:

The cost- Imitation crab is quite cheap and affordable, and pocket friendly, whereas fresh crab can be a lot more expensive.‌
Nutritional value- Both are quite the same in the count of calories, but real crab meat has way more protein, vitamins, and minerals and is quite little processed.
Ease of use- One can make use of imitation crab right away from the sealed package. The product is quite approachable to acquire lots of shapes that constitute sticks, chunks, shreds, or flakes. ‌

Imitation crab, regarding its name, is a copy cheat category of crabmeat. It is an exceedingly processed food that constitutes ground fillet, egg whites, salt, sugar, and other supplements to make it visualize like a slice of original crab meat. It is cheaper and pocket friendly but contains fewer nutrients than fresh crab meat. The resolve is ours to make as to which one will get for dinner.

It includes shades, preservatives, and other additional items.

Several additives — constituting someone might wish to neglect — are usually applied to imitation crab to obtain the wished color and flavor. General additives in imitation crab constitute:
Gums: Gums help the food components to remain intact and support the product. Samples include carrageenan and xanthan gum.
Red colorants: Carmine is obtained from tiny bugs referred to as cochineals and is popularly used to apply hue to imitation crab, red. Paprika, beet juice extract, and lycopene obtained from tomatoes can also be made use of.
Glutamates: Monosodium glutamate (MSG) and an indistinguishable constituent, disodium inosinate, may be used for uplifting the flavors.
Other flavorings: These might constitute real crab extract, flavorings of crab extract, and mirin which is rice in fermented form.
Preservatives: Sodium benzoate and a lot of phosphate additives which are phosphate, are mostly used to elevate shelf life.

Often generally recognized as edible and safe to use by the FDA; usually some of these additional preservatives are linked with health problems and might require further research. For instance, MSG might lead to aches in the head in a few people, while carrageenan is associated with damage to the intestines and reddening in animal and test-tube studies.

Also, many types of research depict that additional phosphate items may direct damage to kidneys and elevated heart disease possibility — partly and the reason is high phosphate consumption from additives can create difficulties to blood vessels. People with kidney disease are at a larger difficulty.

Also further, some people might find it inedible that the carmine is usually used for adding hue to the imitation crab.

Potential Upsides

There are a lot of reasons imitation crab is widely used and is famous.

One of the reasons is its pocket-friendly and low price, which is nearly one-third of the price of the crab, which is real.
Imitation crab is also affordable and easy to be consumed, as it can be added to dishes without much cooking. Also, some imitation crab sticks are packed in portions that are the size of a snack contained with dipping sauce.
If one is bothered about all of the additional items in imitation crab, some versions are a lot more good for health — just as there are versions of hot dogs which do not affect the health. For instance, some products constitute more ingredients that are natural such as pea starch, cane sugar, sea salt, oat fiber, and natural flavors.
Additionally, some constituents are free from gluten and formed without the modification of genes and hybridized ingredients. Also, some substitute crabs may be validated to portray that the seafood was sourced in a sustainable manner. However, these products, which are naturally priced, are around an extra 30 percent and are not available much.

Potential Downsides

Apart from the thing that imitation crab is highly pocket friendly and mostly has fewer nutrients than that crabs, which are real, it also carries some wrong labels and has concerns regarding the environment.

Environmental Impact

Sometimes the pollock that makes the surimi is fished to a huge extent, threatening the survival of animals such as Steller sea lions that consume pollock or are grabbed in manners that threaten the habitats and environments of other sea life.

There is often the fact that the creators of surimi are largely making use of different types of white-fleshed seafood, some of which are cod, Pacific whiting, and squid.

Another instance is that problem that occurs due to the environment is that the minced fish meat from which surimi is made is washed many times to elevate the color, texture, and smell. Much water is utilized and produces wastewater, which must be purified so that it does not create pollution in oceans and threatens the life of fish. Mismanagement of labels, the safety of foods, and allergies caused due to foods-

Some of the products of imitation crab don't lay down seafood ingredients in a proper manner which elevates food safety and risks of allergy. It is next to impossible to get acknowledged the actual ingredients without further testing.

Sixteen surimi-based products were brought to Spain and Italy, and they were under observation; 25% laid down a fish species that is known by examination of DNA.

A lot of labels that were mismanaged came from Asian countries. Some labels were incapable of even laying down that the surimi was created from fish — an allergen that was a top food product. Food allergy labeling is demanded in EU countries and the US, which also consists of cities and countries from where the foods are imported.

The products are not adequate and accurate, and their labels elevate the risk of a reaction that is allergic to an ingredient that is not carefully disclosed.

Mistakes in labeling also cause trouble as if it sometimes constitutes fish that are potential. Furthermore, two of the Asian surimi products, which were not labeled properly, constituted a species of fish associated with the poisoning of ciguatera, the most regularly reported toxin-based illness that was caused due to seafood.

Suppose one has allergies that are caused due to food. In that case, it is in their best purpose to neglect the imitation crab, which is not labeled properly or is unlabelled —which constitutes party appetizers — as it may nurture some allergens which are very common, constituting fish, crab extract, eggs, and wheat.

Easy to Use

One can get imitation crab in the refrigerated or frozen store parts. They give in many types constituting flake-style, chunks, sticks, and shreds.

This type of imitation crab is often cooked beforehand as one can be able to use it in a straightforward manner from the package for cold dishes, for example, dips and salad, or the heated dishes can be added.

What goodies can you make from imitation crab meat?

Imitation crabs are not everyone's cup of tea. Let us see how you can make interesting dishes out of these and enjoy them.

Crab Cakes

This one is easy and can be prepared quickly without a lot of mess. Cut the crab sticks into any size you like. Beat 4 to 5 eggs or according to your number of serves. Add a tablespoon of hung curd or Greek yogurt and mustard paste and any type of seasoning you like. Now add hot sauce, two teaspoons of soy sauce, and a teaspoon of cooking oil to combine everything well. Mix everything well till you find so egg white lumps. Now add some chopped green onion, bell peppers, and chopped crabs. Add some bread crumbs to hold the mixture well, and mix them well. Now make small patties and keep them aside. Heat the pan and add some oil and cook the patties over low, medium heat till both the sides are golden brown the cooked properly. Enjoy them hot with any dip!

Crab Sticks

This one is a fun one! Cut the imitation crab meat like sticks and season them with some pepper. Now take some all-purpose flour, add a teaspoon of paprika, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and mix all the dry ingredients together. Now comes the coating part. Beat an egg and add some salt and pepper. Coat the crab sticks with the flour mix, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Now deep fry them till cooked and enjoy with mayonnaise.

Crab Salad

You can add your favorite salad veggies here. Cut the crab meat into cubes, add it to a bowl, and add celery, finely chopped onions, paprika, pepper, lemon juice, salt, mayonnaise, and dill. Mix them all well and enjoy them with any meal.

Crab Chips

With Oil and Pan

All you have to do next is peel the crab stick apart and lay them on a tray, and bake for some time to remove some of the moisture. Now add some corn starch to coat them and deep fry them. Add any preferable seasoning and enjoy.

With Air Fryer

Take the peeled crab meat and put them into the air fryer, and season them with some salt, pepper, and a drizzle of oil. Put them into the air fryer and cook for 10 minutes, and there you go. Enjoy with some chili powder or pepper powder.

Conclusion

So what have you decided? Do you want to give it a try? Well, if you are fond of sea =food, you should think about it. We read above that this fake crab meat is actually made up of processed mashed fish called surimi. Mashed seafood does not really sound delicious, so in order to make it taste right with the crab-like texture, manufacturing companies add starches, sugar, artificial flavoring, and sometimes MSG as well. But all these additives significantly decrease the nutritional value of the imitation crabs. Some may also contain gluten, which people with gluten intolerants should strictly avoid. So, as long as you are all right with the fact that you are almost certainly not consuming any crab at all, go for it. Especially if you do not mind that, it is not all that healthy either. If you are having a thought of imitation crab meat over the real one, however, just make sure to store them properly, as while it does contain preservatives that help extend its self-life needs to be treated much the same way normal fish. Remember one thing once it has been opened or thawed out, you will have only around three to five days before it spoils completely.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can imitation crabs be frozen and stored?

Freezing surimi products are not recommended. They should be refrigerated at a temperature between 32°F and 38°F. If you leave them outside accidentally for more than 2-3 hours, do not consume them anymore, as there are risks of bacterial contamination.

Do I have to cook the imitation crabs before making my crab salad?

Imitation crabs are made up of surimi which is fully cooked and ready-to-eat fish paste. You just have to heat it up before eating for it to taste better. Reheating in the microwave is not recommended as it may significantly change the texture.

What is imitation lobster?

Otherwise called the poor man's lobster, these are similar to imitation crabs, which are made up of surimi with some chunks of real lobster. Not only lobster, but surimi is also sold in meat that resembles many other kinds of seafood like scallops, crab, and shrimp.

Are imitation crabs healthy and safe to eat during pregnancy?

The amount of preservatives used in imitation crabs depends from company to company. Some are high in sodium, while some are low, some have gluten traces in them, and some have soy. Look for the ingredients behind the pack and go for low sodium products, and have all the other necessary nutrients like protein and omega-3. This meat is safe to eat during pregnancy, but it is always recommended to consult the doctor before starting them to avoid any risk factors.

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