Crab sticks on the Russian table appeared relatively recently, while in Japan their production was established back in the 70s of the last century. Well, the first mentions of the prototype of such a product in this country are generally attributed to 1100. There is practically nothing of the seafood of the same name in crab sticks, but fish protein and many other ingredients are present.
Instructions
Step 1
The main ingredient in crab sticks is surimi. This is the name of the concentrated fish protein, which is obtained from thoroughly cleaned, washed and dehydrated fish fillets. Surimi is characterized by a jelly-like consistency, elasticity, white color, low fat content and lack of pronounced smell and taste.
Step 2
That is why only certain types of fish are used for its production, for example, pustass, pollock or hake. Sardines and Pacific horse mackerel are also considered suitable for the main component of crab sticks, but surimi from them turns out to be darker or less jelly-like.
Step 3
Surimi production technology is as follows. Fish caught in open waters are processed on board a specialized vessel or a plant located near the coast. Moreover, it is important to do this in the first 6-10 hours, otherwise the fish will not be suitable for the production of such a product.
Step 4
Fillets are separated from the bones and washed repeatedly under cold water, so that only pure protein remains, which is dehydrated a little later in a special centrifuge. The finished mass is formed into blocks of 10 kg and subjected to shock freezing. The final product is transported to the crab stick factories in containers, where the temperature is constantly maintained at -20 ° C. Thus, due to the fact that fish protein is not subjected to heat treatment, all useful substances are retained in surimi.
Step 5
In factories, surimi is already mixed with various additional ingredients: drinking purified water, vegetable and egg whites, vegetable deodorized oil, starch, soy sauce, sea salt, sugar, refined fish oil, as well as natural and identical food additives. The latter can be supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids, potassium chloride, carmine, sodium pyrophosphate. Some sticks also add about 2% crab meat, oyster extract, crab, scallop. Then the resulting mass is given a characteristic shape and the cooked crab sticks are hermetically sealed.
Step 6
Crab sticks are considered a low-calorie food, as they are practically free of fat and cholesterol. In terms of protein content, they, for example, are much inferior to cheese, shrimp and fish. But protein is still present in them, because they still contain fish and eggs. It is also rich in sodium.
