Fans of crab sticks have sworn off them after seeing how they are made.
In general, I count myself as a curious person, someone who wants to find out more about the world. To be fair, I probably wouldn't be in the line of work I'm in if I didn't want to find out how things work.
Sometimes however, one does wonder if there are some things which are best left unknown - and best left buried deep where no one will ever discover them.
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The technique for making crab sticks is one such thing. Unfortunately, one video on YouTube has opened up that particular Pandora's Box, spilling out the slushy grey contents.
And don't be fooled, no matter how deep you root round in the formless mush, there is no hope to be found at the bottom of that container.
Well, I'm sure you're now itching to know exactly what happens. But be warned, it's not pretty. Read on, if you dare.
Firstly, we have the meat. This is slabs of frozen fish meat, most commonly a species called Alaska Pollack, is fed into a machine to be broken up.
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Other ingredients, including wheat and egg white are then added to the mixture, which is then churned up using a large rotating blue disc.
This produces a thick goo-like substance reminiscent of wallpaper paste or clay, in both its consistency and its colour. This is fed into a machine to produce a long single strip. These strips are then spun together as though making rope, which is then shred up to initiate the texture of crab or lobster meat.
Some of this can be sold as surimi, or substitute crab meat. The rest is encased in the distinctive orange-coloured casing, which mimics the skin you might find on lobster or crab meat.
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The pieces are cut to the right length, and there you go. Delicious!
Some viewers were not particularly impressed by the manufacturing process for crab sticks.
One person wrote: "I will never purchase this ever again! Thank you for opening my eyes!"
Another said: "I always thought this stuff was disgusting, now I KNOW it is."
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However, others were somewhat surprisingly not put off after seeing the process for making the product.
"To be perfectly honest, I like the product. It's very affordable and makes a very good cold crab salad", commented one.
Another wrote: "I love adding lots of mock crabmeat to my delicious pasta salad recipe. See, now y'all went and made me hungry!!!"
There you go, it seems you can't argue with convenience.
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Food KingdomTopics: News, UK News, US News, World News, Food And Drink