Imitation Crab Meat
 

I love imitation crab meat. I don't know why. I know other people (my wife for example) are repulsed by it.

What about you?

-Mikey

well, if it tastes anything like normal crab meat then I'm there! :)

Imitation crab meat is the best! It's like crab, but without the hassle of the shell! It taste great (not exaclty crab, but still good...like Applejacks...). I buy it by the pound at the grocery store and cover it in tartar sauce...yum!

bleh, I'll eat it it if I'm served it, but I won't order it or buy it. It sure doesn't compare to real crab, not even close...IMHO

I dont like imitation crab meat.

never heard of it, but i'm not into sea food

I had imitation crab meat when I was on a flight once and it was alright. I prefer real crab over the fake though.

it's called krab .. hehe
I dont mind it

try it out with Miracle Whip, salt, ground pepper & some paprika.
makes a great seafood salad.

i'm skeptical about any imitation meat, i mean, whats it really made of? fake crabs?

im pretty sure it is made from some other sea creature; i am a real big sea food eater and i like the real thing much much better

It's ok I guess. Not really all that much like crab though. It's very easy to tell the difference, and not just by taste. Real crab isn't formed from rolled fish...

What I object to is the practice by almost everyone of selling it as real crab. Had this come up a while ago at a rest. that was selling a seafood burrito with crab and shrimp. Turned out to be fake crab, and I got my meal free. Chinese places do this routinely as well with their crab rangoon. To me this is fraudulent, but everyone seems to do it.

I believe it's made from cheap fish like pollock. Some I like, others have a really strong unpleasant flavor.

I've noticed this as well. It's highly annoying for those who prefer 'the real thing'. Better to just not order it, imo.

eh... it's okay... i'll eat it if it's there but I won't go out of my way to eat it.

the kind my mom and sister eat is like made of fish, they like it, its weird so i dont eat it. it's fish with like crab seasonings

um.......... imitation crab meat?

personally i've never had it, but i cant say i agree with imitation anything, espeeecially when it comes to meat

Yeah, Wal-Mart sells it as Imitation Krab Meat, $1.98/lb.

-Mikey

crab salad is awesome, and the imitation crab makes it cheaper... so its all good.

How imitation crab meat is made

Interesting reading.

-Mikey

It is only OK if it is a minor ingredient in a recipe. A seafood salad that is basically that roll of imitation crab and mayo is not worth the calories.

It's too sweet. Meat isn't supposed to be sweet. That is all.

http://www.carbery.com/images/datash...rimi-front.jpg

how surimi is made.....
http://www.gale-edit.com/products/volumes/crab_meat.htm

Agreed. The cafeteria in my office building also sells a rollup made with "crab". Fake of course, but when you point this out, they just shrug. Weird how many places do this, considering that it's not what they advertise.

I'm allergic to crab, shrimp and lobster. Problem is...I love all of the above. I love all seafood for that matter. This may be a reasonable substitute. What exactly <b>is</b> it made of? I might try it.

gross, i hate it

Here's what I found:
"Imitation crab meat is a seafood product made by blending processed fish (pollock), known as surimi, with various texturizing ingredients, flavorants, and colorants. First invented in the mid-1970s, imitation crab meat has become a popular food in the United States, with annual sales of over $250 million. Surimi is the primary ingredient used to create imitation crab meat. It is mostly composed of fish myofibrillar proteins. These proteins are responsible for the quintessential characteristic of surimi that makes imitation crab meat manufacture possible, namely the ability to form a sturdy gel. The gel can be shaped and cut into thin strips which, when rolled together, mimic the texture of real crab meat."
Here's the link:
http://www.gale-edit.com/products/volumes/crab_meat.htm
sounds yummy

O...Yum...My mouth is watering already. :rolleyes: O.K., be carefull what you ask for...you might just get it. Anyone know if this <i>stuff</i> at least <b>tastes</b> like crab meat. (or real food, at least)

It's not quite as light and tender and flaky as real crab, but I think it can be just as good in it's own way.

The description of what it is and how it's made is pretty scary. I think it's funny that the same link has been posted three times now :)

-Mikey

Yep, I guess it pays to read the posts a bit more carefully. oh well, let's see if it happens a fourth time:)

I would have to buy imitation crab. I just walk to the dock and throw my trap in the water.

Thanks dimbulb i always wondered what was in it. But i´ll have the fresh and real live-cooked crab over the surimi any day....!

A lot of food uses imitation crab meat. One example is california rolls.

I like actual big prawns and shrimps better and oh! oh! the crab festivals are coming in next month, but imitation crab is good when fried on the pan or used in sushi (wrap it in makis). Real california rolls don't have crab or imitation in them, tho, but you can make a great maki with them, sure.

I used to like it, but now it just tastes too salty. The artificial color is a big turn off for me too.

OK, there is an issue of prioritization here.

Imitation crab meat is a good subsititute when you are looking to cut costs or when crab is out of season. It doesn't compare to fresh crab, especially fresh local dungeness crab.

Still if you treat it as a different variety of crab or a different seafood item entirely, it works well.

I like it. I just don't expect it to be real crab.

imitation crab is too sweet compared to real crab meat...

Most made from Pollock, a soft white fish abundant in the Pasific and other "stuff"...Does not come close to real crab meat, I have somtimes used it as a filler in a cold seafood salad with other real seafood.

man... if you grew up in maryland, eating real crabmeat for 20 something years of your life, and someone gave you imitation crabmeat... PURE CRAP!!! :)

--
Rich

it's fine, but best to think of it as a standalone food, not an imitation... which i believe the japanese do. nothing compares to real crab, but there are some things you can only do with surimi.

now, on a related topic, what about that processed squid thing they do?

mmMMm!

Not nearly as good as real crab, but sooooooo good in its own rights!

I guess it's easier to make fake than improve the real thing.
Frank Purdue made a chicken with all tits and no ass.
Why can't they fool with mother nature some
more and make a crab that stays soft and is 5lbs
of lump meat? No one really knows what we eat any more
do we?

mmmmmmmmmm, california rolls...

other than that, I am not so impressed

It doesn't really taste like real crab, but it's delicious. Once I start eating some the whole package is as good as gone.

Nah just give me the real stuff!

would like another option in the Poll, will eat it, but prefer the real thing. Krab is convenient, and cheap, however Canned Crab (by the Tuna) is much better, and neither compare to fresh. Depending on what you want to do with it it is ok to use, but it is much sweeter than meat should be.

I'm not sure why they even have the word CRAB in it's name...tastes nothing like it, looks nothing like it and not made from it...hmmm

Imitation crab meat has it's purposes. For me though it is in a whole other category than regular crab meat. If a particular dish calls for crab meat than I will go get the real thing. However for stuff like a regular california roll, then yeah surimi is the way to go.

I love imitation crab meat...mmmmm

All I can say is DAMN STRAIGHT!

i don't think it compares to the real stuff. it's not horrible, but it sure as hell ain't crab meat! kinda like black bean burgers - i like 'em, but they don't even approach a replacement for a whopper.

I used to like it until I overdosed on it one day when I was wasted. now I get sick thiniking about it.

LUV IT!!!

I hate this stuff with a passion! It tastes nothing like crab, the texture is the main problem for me, I can't even describe it.

That stuff is Awsome! I used to eat it like peanuts when I was a kid. Its perfect to make sushi with cause its already in the perfect sizes you want and you can strip them easily like stringy cheese.

i'll have to admit - used right in salads and whatnot it can be quite good.

Well.....Surimi HAS been around for over 800 years....so you have to admit: That's one HECK of a shelf life!! (Kind of like Twinkies...)!

I love krab.

This stuff doesn't compare to the real thing. I don't like it because I eat it all the time. Real crab on the other hand, is not so common.

I guess it doesn't help that I know a person who works for a company that makes this stuff. Yecchh.

this stuff isn't too bad, especially for the price...no comparison to the real thing, of course, but not bad nonetheless

It's cheaper, and it tastes ok. Like crab but with too much sugar. It's also a little watery. Real crab is best - by far. It has its uses.

Funny note, here in Portugal we call it delícias do mar which literally means delicious things from the sea. lol

It's not bad ... it's not great.. but it tastes nothing like crab... doesn't have the texture of crab... and when used in recipes that would call for crab (like a crab and artichoke dip I have) it'd not even close to what it tastes like with real crab...

the only time i ever had the fake crab meat was in a safeway sushi roll.
and i felt sick for hours after eating it. Imitation crab is the only "meat" in any of their sushi and i doubt the rice or veggies made me sick.
thumbs down

bleh. I hate that stuff

I actually read all the replies so I think I can post this on here, all too many people are saying it tastes nothing like real crab, while this may or may not be true, it is not the topic at hand. The original question was do you like it? I myself prefer real crab over the imitation, but in answer to the question I do love imitation crab meat.

The link posted above is a nice read about the product in question. If used in a seafood salad or with other ingredients added to it, many people cannot honestly tell the difference except maybe for you folks from Maine like above, who has lived and grown up on the real thing only. You folks who do not like it, try some recipes and the such and I bet you might be suprised it is not all that bad.....

Damn you guys I just called the gf and now we are going out to Red Lobster for dinner :)

So I have this question about imitation crab meat...I have always been deathly allergic to shellfish..so crab easily fall under this category.. Anyway, do crab and imitiation crab meat share the same chemical properties that in turn, upon ingestion would cause a severe (think nearly death reaction within a very, very short period of time) reaction?? I've been afraid to try so maybe someone might have some insight...

And IS it the chemical property in shellfish or is my body just not producing an enzyme to break it down...help.

Immitation crab meat is made from Pollak, a fish. So it probably doesn't react the same as shellfish (but ask a doctor to make sure).

How bad can it be? The Nipponese have been making and eating the stuff since the 1500s.

Thanks Charlatan! I just might do that.

In a salad it is ok. Real crab is better though.

I usually steam it and slather it in melted butter. Yum! No, it's nothing like real crab meat, but it's cheap and fairly tasty. Usually it's made, I think, of whitefish. *shrug*

In response to rlynnm, watch out because there is some real crabmeat involved in the making of imitation crab meat. I don't think it's a great idea to experiment, sorry. Read the link on what goes into the imitation stuff and it's there.

" 6. Forming the crab meat
The frozen surimi is converted to imitation crab meat through various steps. First, it is warmed to about 25°F (-4°C), then sliced into coarse flakes. In a process known as comminution, the surimi flakes are then mixed together in a stone bowl grinder with other ingredients in the crab meat recipe. These ingredients include starch, salt, natural crab meat, egg white, and flavors. This mixture results in a thick surimi paste, which is then transferred to a holding tank."

Thanks for the info tippler..I kinda thought that but I wasn't sure. Sometimes I get the gusto to try it, 'just to see' but I dont know, I get flashbacks of that time in the hospital where my tongue had swollen (girth-wise) so much you couldn't see the bar on my t-ring. I was prescribed medication by syringe just in case I got another reaction but I, luckily, haven't had the chance to use 'em....

[B][I]Imitation crab meat is aight...i can't eat it in large quantities. I usually only eat in my salads...toss it in with the ham and turkey meat, drown it in some ranch dressing...that's the only way to go as far as i'm concerned.

The one place I went to served imitation crab meat as an alternative to serving shellfish. They actually used tuna, ( if you held it in your mouth like gum instead of chewing, then you could get a faint taste of it ), confirmed by the cook. But essentially it was a great taste, not "exactly" crab, but a crab like tasting tuna with alot of spices. Was good by itself and in the California Rolls.

yum yum gimme some

We get all sorts of real crab here. Chili and pepper crab are very popular.

I don't think the locals would really go for pollack dressed as crab when the real thing is so plentiful.

Good for California rolls...

Sushi on teh cheap!

There is good and bad. I kind of like the bad... but there is a brand called "smart crab" (also make fake lobster) which has no artificial flavors or colors, and far better than the other stuff.

I eat imitation crab all the time, sure its not the same as real crab, but theres just something about it I like. I usually just put some in a cup toss some butter on top and nuke it for 20 seconds in the micro. Simple and tastes great.

actual crab meat is better. I'll eat imitation, but given a choice it'll be crab.

I didn't have real crab until a few weeks ago. I always thought I hated crab....it turns out I hated imitation crab. I love real crab! I went to the local market and spent over $100 for Cioppino fixins. My dad's birthday dinner was really good (not to toot my own horn, the recipe was from foodtv.com). I already love calamari, clams, muscles, prawns, shrimp, and scallops and figured I'd just pick through the crab. I tried some and had thirds.

Go crab!

We went to Joe's Crab Shack for the first time the other night. They have a 5 leg King Crab dinner for $20. Includes potato & corn. All things considered, thats a great deal. Mrs. Coaster got that, and I had the Mahi Mahi sandwich, but ended up eating almost 2 whole crab legs worth of hers. Not bad!

Being a fan of real crab meat, it's hard for me to completely say I love Imitation. I will eat it if it's there, but if i had to choose, I'd go for the real thing.