in Japanese, the word Surimi means ground meat. It is made primarily from fish with little meat and many bones.
The Japanese invented the highly efficient use of such fish and named the product surimi. The method for obtaining the raw material was created in Japan nearly 1000 years ago. Surimi is prepared from white fish with a lower fat content which, for the most part, have not been frozen beforehand. This means that the process of producing surimi already begins aboard ship, immediately after the fish has been caught, in order to ensure maximum freshness. The fish meat is separated, washed, dehydrated, mixed, washed and the process is repeated several times, until all of the unnecessary proteins, fats, and carbohydrates that provide the fish with its unique smell and taste have been removed. Various additives are added and it is frozen.
White meat saltwater fish are best suited for producing surimi. There are many types of fish in the sea whose meat is tasty, but whose dense skeletons make them unfit to eat. At present, 90% of surimi is prepared from Alaskan Pollock, caught from the Pacific Ocean, but is also made from blue whiting and hake.
Pure surimi is valuable due to its high protein and low cholesterol content, which is not used when prepared in this way. This is why the surimi is mixed with other ingredients, such as flour, eggs, oil and seasonings, including natural extracts, to obtain a suitable flavour and consistency that closely resembles the taste and smell of the original. The mix is moulded into the shape of various marine products, such as crab or lobster legs, pieces and noodles, as well as shrimps or scallops. For us, the most common surimi products are crab sticks.
“CRAB STICKS” are a crab flavoured surimi product, which is white in colour, juicy, and with a pleasant crab smell. The product is covered on the outside by red food colouring, is tubular, spiral and has a diameter of 2-2.5 cm, with a slightly crisp texture, and the best conveyor of the taste is its juiciness. The product is extremely well-suited for use in divided trays, in the preparation of sandwich cakes, pizza toppings and cold sauces.