Crab sticks "Snow Crab": composition, benefits, customer reviews

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Crab sticks are hearty, tasty and affordable "imitation crab meat" for most of the population. A culinary invention has long won its rightful place on the everyday or festive table, bright appetizers and salads with seafood are highly valued. Crab sticks "Snow Crab" enjoy considerable popularity among consumers. The article will tell you in detail about the composition, calorie content, the benefits of the product and much more.

A trip to the past

Residents of Russia and a number of other countries (including European ones) got acquainted with the taste of crab sticks thanks to the enterprising Japanese. In the last century, the Land of the Rising Sun faced a shortage of crab meat from which many dishes were prepared, it was boiled and fried, added to soups and salads, sushi was stuffed with a favorite delicacy. It was then that the idea arose to replace the product with minced fish, pre-mixed with starch, paprika and egg powder.

The fish fillet was turned into a porridge-like mass, small sticks were formed into sticks and frozen in the freezer. Over time, with a purposereducing the cost and improving the visual qualities of crab sticks, they began to be processed with food coloring and partially changed the composition. To date, the mass fraction of fish in the product does not exceed 45%.

What's inside the package

Crab sticks "Snow Crab" are a ready-to-eat product that does not require additional heat treatment. The similarity with the original taste of the meat of the inhabitants of the sea depths is achieved due to the presence of the Crab flavoring agent and natural dye (paprika) in the minced fish. Surimi has a low energy value, sometimes the product is included in the diet menu. So, 100 g of crab sticks "Meridian "Snow Crab" contains 140 kcal, in a similar seafood brand Vici - less than 74 calories.

List of main ingredients:

• Surimi. Concentrated fish protein is prepared from white fish fillets (pollock, hake, navaga, blue whiting and others). As a result of multi-stage processing, a light, homogeneous mass is obtained, minced meat has a high jelly-forming ability and elasticity.
• Starch. Added as a moisture-retaining and binding agent. Starch increases the volume and elasticity of the sticks.
• Egg powder. Increases the proportion of protein in seafood "Snow Crab".
• Purified drinking water.

In addition, the composition of crab sticks "Snow Crab" includes several flavors, s alt and sweetener. Toto give the product a familiar color, use harmless forms of dyes: carmine and paprika oil resins (E160c). In "Snow Crab" Vici and "Meridian" crab sticks, polyphosphate plays the role of a water-retaining component.

Useful properties and harm

Unfortunately, after processing, the amount of vitamins, macronutrients and fish oil in surimi is reduced to a minimum. However, sticks are rich in easily digestible protein, the deficiency of which leads to problems with the thyroid gland, a decrease in muscle mass and a weakening of the heart muscle. In addition, minced fish contains methionine, an essential acid known for its hepatoprotective and metabolic effects.

Flavorings and dyes that impregnate crab sticks "Snow Crab" are approved for use in the food industry. They are considered safe, but absolutely do not increase the biological value of the protein. It is desirable to exclude an artificially created product from the children's diet. Parents should take into account the increased susceptibility of the baby's body to "chemistry", it is preferable to cook dishes from fresh fish.

Choose a quality product

At the sight of a wide range of crab sticks, even the most determined buyer can be confused. The following guidelines will help you choose the best quality product.

Experts advise to pay attention to the presentation of crab sticks "Snow Crab" in the store. The product is characterized by an elastic, dense texture. Don't ignoreinformation about the expiration date and requirements for storage conditions. If the sticks are crookedly packaged, differ in size, look frozen, dry or stuck together, pass by. Carefully study the composition of the "Snow Crab". Surimi should come first. This means that the product is made according to all standards, consists of about a third of fish. Please note that if the production went too far with flour or used low-value fish species, then the crab sticks will be almost gray.

Customer Reviews

The lion's share of reviews of crab sticks "Snow Crab" is extremely positive. And it is not surprising, because the product belongs to the budget price category, people are satisfied with its taste, safe composition and juicy color. Buyers note that the "Snow Crab" is convenient to cut and rub on salads, the sticks unfold like a ribbon, and do not turn into a sticky mass at the slightest touch. It is important that among the components there is no flavor enhancer - monosodium glutamate.

The protein diet based on crab sticks has proven itself well, it is easily tolerated, and hunger, fatigue and other side effects are absent. This method of losing weight has contraindications, including: diseases of the kidneys, liver, atopic dermatitis, an allergic reaction to marine fish species. As for the negative feedback about the product, they come from adherents of a he althy diet. No one argues that it makes no sense to attribute the useful properties of crabs to sticks, but also to refuse to use a popular food product.there is no need either.

People joke: "Crab sticks are the most humane product: not a single crab was harmed in their manufacture", but still the demand for a successful "imitation" of noble white meat is growing. When choosing "Snow Crab", we recommend giving preference to such well-known brands as Vici and Meridian. Avoid unscrupulous manufacturers and enjoy your meal!