Crab sticks - benefits, harms and selection rules. Crab sticks: composition

Crab sticks appeared in our stores in the mid-90s and immediately fell in love with many for their unusual pleasant taste. At the same time, the price of the product is relatively low, and there are more than a dozen dishes that can be prepared using crab sticks. However, when studying the composition of this product, it turns out that there is no crab meat in it, and the taste of the product, vaguely reminiscent of the taste of a delicacy, was obtained due to the addition of flavors. Therefore, many have doubts about the benefits of crab sticks and the so-called crab meat.

So what are crab sticks made of? Their main component is surimi, as the Japanese call minced meat from oceanic white fish. This product has been known in Japan for almost 10 centuries. The composition of surimi may include such species as pollock, mackerel, herring, Far Eastern sardine (ivasi), hake, whiting, etc. In the manufacture of surimi, fish fillet is not subjected to heat treatment, and washed many times cold water, thoroughly crushed and mixed until uniform consistency and then subjected to centrifugation to remove moisture. The resulting mass has White color, nice fishy smell and weak taste, and its texture is soft and elastic. Due to this consistency and unexpressed taste, surimi is used to imitate various seafood, the most famous and common of which are crab sticks.

In crab sticks, except minced fish contains many different nutritional supplements.

By itself, surimi is a healthy product, it contains few carbohydrates and fats, but quite a lot of easily digestible protein. In addition, it contains many beneficial trace elements(, iron, phosphorus, sodium, etc.), vitamins (A, D, E, group B). Since after the processing of these substances, surimi remains less than in a fish fillet, many do not classify it as a full-fledged seafood. Nevertheless, eating it is very beneficial for health, primarily for the musculoskeletal system. The calorie content of crab sticks is low, about 80 kcal per 100 g, so they can be included in the diet of people on weight loss diets.

If crab sticks were made exclusively from surimi, they could be considered a healthy product, but other substances are also used in their production, many of which are not only not useful, but even harmful to health. In order to reduce the cost of the product, unscrupulous manufacturers add offal to it in the manufacture of surimi, as a result of which the quality of minced meat decreases, it acquires a gray or yellowish tint, more pronounced odor and may have an unpleasant aftertaste.

In addition, in order to save money, part of the fish raw material is replaced by soy protein. Many people know that it is one of the products that undergoes genetic modification, so opponents of this method should pay attention to the composition of crab sticks. If soy products are present in the composition of crab sticks, then you need to choose those of them on the packaging of which there is a label “non-GMO”.

Also, the composition of crab sticks may include many other ingredients: water, egg powder, potato starch, salt, sugar. But besides surimi and these natural ingredients for improvement presentation And palatability various stabilizers, thickeners, dyes, flavors, etc. are added to crab sticks. It is the presence of these chemical substances in the composition of the product determines its harm to health.

Some flavor enhancers and flavors used in the manufacture of crab sticks are prohibited in Europe, the USA and many other countries. Some ingredients with code E can cause allergic reactions, and some of them are even attributed to oncogenic properties.

It is difficult to make an unambiguous conclusion about the benefits and harms of crab sticks, since they contain both useful and harmful components. With moderate use quality product is unlikely to harm health, and the pleasure derived from delicious meals made from crab sticks will definitely benefit. However, do not forget about the possibility of an allergic reaction when eating seafood and egg white. Due to the artificial colors and other chemicals contained in crab sticks, it is not recommended to give them to children.

How to choose good crab sticks?

Good crab sticks are white ( poor quality product has a grayish tint), a homogeneous structure, and after defrosting they retain a soft texture. Sticks should not be watery and rubbery.

When choosing, you need to carefully study the composition of the product indicated on the package. In the first place in the list of ingredients, it should be surimi, in a quality product it should contain at least 40%, although usually percentage Manufacturers do not indicate components on the packaging. If soy protein or starch is listed first, and surimi is the second or even third component, then it is better to refuse to buy such crab sticks. Ideally, if there is no soy protein in them at all, and potato starch will be no more than 8-10%.

Usually crab sticks are painted on one side in a pale pink color, and sometimes you can see sticks that have one side of a bright red color. The brighter this color, the more reason to doubt the naturalness of the dyes. For coloring a quality product are usually used natural substances such as carmine and paprika.

High-quality crab sticks and crab meat cannot be very cheap, they must be packed in their original packaging, and they may contain minimal amount artificial ingredients.

Telecast "Roskontrol" on the topic " What did you not know about crab sticks? What are crab sticks made of?

Calories, kcal:

Proteins, g:

Carbohydrates, g:

Crab sticks are an affordable and common product, in almost every refrigerator there is a package purchased “just in case”. Crab sticks - a completely ready-to-eat product, are long rectangles or cylinders of white color, the upper part is colored orange or red, imitating color. Each stick has an individual transparent packaging made of thin polyethylene. Crab sticks consist of thin layers, tightly folded into a roll, this is clearly visible on the cut. The product has an elastic structure, tastes and smells similar to crustaceans.

Calorie crab sticks

The calorie content of crab sticks is 73 kcal per 100 grams of product.

The “ideal” crab sticks should contain (minced fish), starch (or), and. You will not see such a composition on the packages; manufacturers add dyes, preservatives, and soy protein. talk seriously about useful properties ah, crab sticks make no sense, a product from the category of "pampering" that should not be abused.

Harm of crab sticks

Availability chemical dyes, flavors and preservatives, low protein content (6-10%) in the product will not benefit the body. Poor quality and stale crab sticks can cause severe poisoning with fever, indomitable vomiting and diarrhea.

Surimi - natural fish product produced from fresh fillet ocean fish, which has a white color and a high density of pulp (calorizator). Fish processing plants, as a rule, are located close to the fishing grounds, because only freshly caught fish is used for surimi -,. During the production process, the fillets are crushed and washed with ice water, then formed into briquettes and sent for further use.

Selection and storage of crab sticks

Chilled crab sticks in factory packaging of medium and higher price range - right choice and security guarantee. Frozen crab sticks, especially sold by weight, should be excluded from the shopping list. Swelling of the package indicates a violation of its integrity and the possible ingress of microorganisms to the product.

You need to store crab sticks in the refrigerator, following the recommendations on the product packaging (calorizer). If, upon opening the package, you find bad smell sticks are slippery or have clear mucus on them, you should immediately discard the crab sticks without tasting or rinsing them.

Technology of cooking crab sticks

For more about crab sticks, see the video clip “What did you not know about crab sticks? What are crab sticks made of? TV shows Roskontrol.

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Crab sticks in many countries appeared on sale in the early 90s. The time was quite difficult, so tasty and inexpensive product immediately fell in love with the hostesses. Crab sticks helped to diversify the menu of festive tables, as they began to be added to various salads and snacks.

We owe the appearance of crab sticks to the Japanese, who tried to establish the production of crab meat. However, this turned out to be laborious and economically disadvantageous. It was much easier to make a variety of products from surimi - minced ocean white fish. By adding some flavors and food additives to minced meat, it was possible to achieve a taste similar to the taste of crab meat.

Composition of crab sticks

The main ingredients of crab sticks are: surimi minced fish, starch, egg white, water, vegetable oil, salt and . To improve the taste, various nutritional supplements. However, to further reduce the cost of the product, some manufacturers make crab sticks from soy protein.

When buying crab sticks, you must carefully study the composition of the product. Minced surimi should come first. In this case, you can be sure that the product contains fish.

The chemical composition of crab sticks makes dubious favor this health product. The most commonly used nutritional supplements are:

1. E160 - food coloring. There are two types: synthetic and natural. natural dye does not pose any threat to the body.
2. E171 - dye-bleach. Vapors of this substance are toxic, but as an additive to products, it is not dangerous for the body. Although research on this supplement is still ongoing.
3. E420 - used as a sweetener and water-retaining agent. The supplement is safe in small doses, but when used in large quantities causes stomach upset.
4. E450 - designed to improve the structure and color of the product, increases the shelf life. When consumed in large quantities, it causes indigestion and impairs the absorption of calcium.

Although these additives are approved for use in Food Industry, their use is not beneficial for the body. And the use of a large number of crab sticks with such a composition can cause the development of diseases.

Nutritional value of crab sticks

Since the main component of crab sticks is fish meat, the product is saturated with easily digestible protein. To understand how much protein is in crab sticks, the composition of the product helps. Most often, proteins make up 17.5% of the weight of the product, fats - 2%, carbohydrates in crab sticks are absent. 70% of the product is water.

Crab sticks contain a large number of minerals and vitamins: vitamin PP, zinc, chlorine, sulfur, chromium, fluorine, nickel, molybdenum. Such a small quantity useful substances due to the fact that they are washed out at the stage primary processing raw materials. In the future, the remaining beneficial substances are destroyed during heat treatment, which is designed to rid the product of pathogenic microorganisms.

However, such a composition of proteins, fats, carbohydrates in crab sticks is typical only for a product made from. Therefore, you can find out exactly how many carbohydrates in crab sticks and other components by reading the composition on the package. For this reason, you should not buy crab sticks by weight. A higher-quality product is sold in packages that indicate not only the composition, but also the date of manufacture and expiration date. It is worth paying attention that the product must be hermetically packed in a multilayer film.

Crab sticks are a ready-to-eat product with a specific fishy taste and aroma. The name itself is a successful marketing ploy, because the true composition is different from the expected. The product is made from minced fish, but many manufacturers save money by focusing on egg white, starch and food additives. To purchase high-quality sticks, you should carefully study the composition on the package.

Composition of crab sticks

Crab meat is not used in the production of the product, as evidenced by the postscript on almost all packages - “imitation”. Real sticks are based on surimi, minced fish made from oceanic and tropical varieties of white fish. The raw material is thoroughly washed, squeezed, and due to the characteristics of the meat used, it has neither a pronounced aroma nor taste.

Other ingredients of sticks and their quantity depend on the manufacturer:

• different types of starch (a link for minced meat particles, thanks to which the sticks remain elastic even after exposure to temperature);
• water;
• egg white;
• vegetable oil;
• salt;
• flavor enhancers, sweeteners, dyes, preservatives - the ingredients of this group can be harmful to humans.

In most of the products offered in this category, the mass fraction of fish (in terms of the amount of protein included in the composition) does not exceed 30-35%. GOST for crab sticks does not exist, so the content of components from different manufacturers can vary greatly. There is no particular benefit from the product, since in the process of creating and processing minced fish, all valuable components disappear from it.

Which manufacturer is better in composition?

When buying crab sticks, the main difficulty is choosing a manufacturer, since visually they do not differ from each other. It is important to study the composition and choose a safe product:

1. Santa Bremor. Mass fraction fish does not exceed 30%, and the presence of egg white in the composition suggests that the amount of fish protein is even less. The composition includes wheat, potato and modified starch, salt, glutamic acid, phosphates. Preservatives are not used in production, which makes the product safe, but of little use;
2. Vici. As part of surimi, wheat starch, butter, egg white, sugar, table salt and food additives. dangerous preservatives and there is no monosodium glutamate amplifier among the components;
3. Meridian- sticks with a high protein content and a minimum amount of salt. The negative point is the presence in the composition of polyphosphate - a water-retaining component;
4. Russian sea. The fish share does not exceed 30%, the bulk of the sticks are water and starches (wheat, potato and corn). The composition includes vegetable oil, egg protein, a large amount of salt, glutamic acid;
5. water world . In the composition of these sticks, muscle fibers of fish meat are found, which is a good indicator. In addition to surimim, the ingredients include water, potato starch, egg white, butter, salt, sugar, food coloring, stabilizers and natural flavor snow crab.

All popular trade marks produce products with a similar composition and a minimum harmful additives. An advantage may be more content protein, and the minimum amount of salt, which Meridian and Water World sticks can boast of. In general, the bulk of the product is starch and water, which cannot be harmful, but if additives E160, E420, E450 and E171 are indicated on the package, then it is better not to purchase such a product.

When buying, be sure to pay attention to appearance product - sticks should be neat, juicy and elastic. A dry, frozen product completely loses even the small benefit that it carries, not to mention the taste.

Nutritional value of the product

Calorie sticks- 88 calories per 100 grams of product. The ratio of BJU in the vast majority of products averages 80%, 20% and 0%.

Video: making crab sticks

Crab stick production - multi-stage technological process, implying multiple processing of minced fish. How exactly they make a popular product is shown in detail in this video.

Crab sticks are a product that appeared on the shelves of our stores in the early 90s. Since then, a lot of recipes have been invented using them. On holiday table there is certainly a well-known crab salad, and among admirers of delicious seafood there are both adults and children. Despite the fact that the product does not contain crab meat, it does not lose its popularity. The article discusses the benefits and harms of crab sticks, answers the questions: is it possible for children to use them, how to choose and store them.

What are crab sticks made of?

The main component of seafood is surimi, as they called it in Japan. useful stuffing from ocean fish. Among the components of surimi are mackerel, hake, blue whiting and other fish with white meat. The procedure for its preparation consists in washing the pieces of fish fillet, grinding it and mixing it into a homogeneous mass. After that, the mixture is placed in a centrifuge to remove excess liquid. The result is a soft mass with pleasant taste and the aroma of fish. Due to its unique beneficial properties, surimi is used in the preparation of many dishes imitating seafood, including crab sticks.

Such stuffing is recognized useful ingredient containing many minerals and vitamins and not harmful to health. But after its processing, their number and, as a result, the benefits are significantly reduced. In addition, there are producers who add offal to surimi, which lowers the quality of minced meat and changes its smell, taste, color, and numerous flavor additives cause significant damage to the body.

In order to save money, soy protein is added to the composition of seafood. As you know, soy is the result of genetic modification, its harm and benefits are ambiguous. Therefore, products with the mark “non-GMO” are preferable. In addition, egg powder, vegetable oil, starch, salt and sugar are added. To obtain the necessary aftertaste, they do not spare many chemical additives that do not benefit, but harm a person.

Chemical composition and caloric content of crab sticks

The calorie content of seafood is only 88 kcal per 100 grams. Therefore, they can be used with benefit by people who monitor their weight.

In addition, the semi-finished product contains useful vitamins PP, H, E.

Macronutrients:

• sulfur;
• chlorine.

Trace elements:

• molybdenum;
• nickel;
• fluorine;
• chromium;
• zinc.

Useful properties of crab sticks

It makes sense to talk about the benefits of crab sticks for the body only when they are made from surimi, which has a lot of useful properties. Only in such a situation they will be able to reveal their beneficial properties and transfer valuable components to the body: proteins, minerals and vitamins - and benefit.

Important! To benefit, not harm, you should purchase a product made from surimi.

If the semi-finished product is contained as an ingredient in salads, then it is necessary to analyze the properties of the remaining components.

It is better to give them to a child in a minimum amount and most High Quality. Only in this case, there will be no harm from their use. In addition, they may contain trace elements that have beneficial properties for the normal functioning of the cardiovascular system.

Are crab sticks good for a diet?

The semi-finished product contains relatively few calories and practically no fat, this property makes it convenient to eat as a light snack. However, if we take into account a small amount of useful substances, the content of dyes and preservatives and a fairly large number of artificial additives, we can conclude that the product is more likely to harm than good.

Thus, despite low calorie, you should not abuse them excessively, yet their useful properties are small. You can occasionally include them in your diet as an additive to some dishes.

Can crab sticks be pregnant and lactating

The chemical components of this semi-finished product will be in breast milk which may adversely affect the health of the newborn. Allergic reactions, adverse effects from the digestive organs are possible, or the development of the disease will be provoked altogether.

Because women during the period breastfeeding it is not recommended to eat them in the same amount in which they were consumed before pregnancy. It is allowed only occasionally to add them, for example, to salads, provided there is no allergy.

Important! You can use crab sticks during breastfeeding with the permission of a doctor.

It is important not to forget that at the first use of seafood during lactation, only the minimum amount of this product is allowed. So the mother will be able to assess the reaction of the child's body to a new food. If the child does not have allergic reactions, then the amount of the product can be increased. However, they cannot be abused: the daily presence of a semi-finished product in the diet of a nursing woman is not allowed. Thus, the benefits of crab sticks for women during lactation are absent.

Crab sticks for children

Crab sticks are unnatural product, which contains a large number various additives. The semi-finished product contains a minimum amount of useful properties, but it can be harmful in the form of an allergic reaction or even poisoning. Therefore, it is better not to give this product to children under 3-4 years old. At such a tender age digestive system the child is very sensitive to supplements.

Moderate use of such products will minimize the risk of harm to health. Experts recommend eating no more than 2 pieces at a time. Allowed for use in pure form, and as an ingredient in various salads.

Crab sticks for gastritis and pancreatitis

Experts confidently state that crab sticks should not be present in the diet of patients with gastritis and pancreatitis. This is explained by the fact that in their production great amount various food coloring, flavorings, preservatives. For persons with diseases of the digestive system, this is strictly prohibited.

For example, in people with gastritis and hyperacidity the use of such products can cause severe irritation of the walls of the stomach, which can result in exacerbation and deterioration. Therefore, additives and preservatives make sticks a product that should not be present in the diet of people with digestive problems.

Advice! Better buy lean varieties fish, will be useful and safe.

crab sticks for diabetes

Almost all useful elements, vitamins and minerals are destroyed during the manufacture of the semi-finished product, only vegetable protein remains in the composition, therefore there is no question of benefit for diabetics. This is a non-calorie product, therefore it can be consumed, but only occasionally.
It is important to understand that products are harmful to patients diabetes and is not useful also for the reason high content preservatives, stabilizers and flavor enhancers. Such components tend to provoke allergies, exacerbation of chronic diseases and disorders of the digestive tract.

Important! In diseases of the pancreas, crab sticks are contraindicated and will not bring benefits.

The use of crab sticks in cooking

Imitation crab meat is used in the preparation of many different dishes, they have the property to fit quite harmoniously into culinary masterpieces. Among them are salads, snacks, it happens that they are used even in hot dishes. Most sticks are used in combination with canned corn, this is a classic holiday table.

Harm of crab sticks and contraindications

The composition of the semi-finished product contains additives such as E-450, E-420 and E-160, which tend to provoke allergic reactions. People who are prone to allergies should be careful when using them so as not to harm their health. It is recommended to consume no more than 100 grams at a time.

Since the semi-finished product is not subjected to heat treatment, there is a risk of contamination by microorganisms. It is better to buy the product in vacuum packed, it will protect the product from the penetration of dirt and germs.

The composition may contain soy protein, which can provoke an exacerbation of chronic kidney and liver diseases. It is better for people with similar diseases not to include these products in their diet.

How to choose and store crab sticks

In order to get useful properties from crab sticks, and not harm, it is extremely important to choose the right product.

• Package . It is better to prefer seafood in a vacuum, it tends to protect the contents from the penetration of bacteria and microorganisms.
• Composition and expiration date. useful product must contain at least 40% minced fish. Surimi should be in the first place in the composition.
• Food additives, stabilizers and flavor enhancers. The amount of such ingredients should be kept to a minimum. You should not purchase products containing E-450 pyrophosphates, E-420 sorbitols, E-171 dyes and E-160 carotenes. Such components provoke allergic reactions.

In addition, they must:

• have a neat appearance;
• be evenly colored, without smudges and stains;
• be elastic and not disintegrate when touched.

Conclusion

The conclusion about the benefits and harms of crab sticks should be obvious. Such a product has almost no useful properties, but, on the contrary, can be harmful to health, and it is better to minimize its use. This is especially true for people with gastrointestinal problems and children. The health benefits and harms of crab sticks should be considered when compiling family menu. No matter how attractive this delicacy is, it is better to replace it with natural fish dishes.