Molded surimi lobsters from Surimi & Surimi Seafood by J.W. Park (2005).
We've talked about surimi before, but it's worth a reminder on the official definition: "Surimi is stabilized myofibrillar proteins obtained from mechanically deboned fish flesh that is washed with water and blendedwith cyroprotectants." And then surimi is shaped into things people really want to eat, like lobster and shrimps (also in the photo). More than half a million tonnes of pulverized fish are shaped into things humans really want to eat every year...just another shifting baseline.
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More than half a million tonnes of pulverized fish are shaped into things humans really want to eat every year...just another shifting baseline.
This seems like a logical evolution. As the tastiest critters become scarcer and more expensive. I imagine it won't be too long before they are made out of tofu with fish, ( or lobster) flavoring added! LOL! Dave Briggs :~)
Posted by: Dave Briggs | February 1, 2008 10:16 AM
I was unpleasantly surprised by a surimi based substitute for what I thought I was using when I attempted to make seviche. Apparently, the marinade attacks whatever holds the molded surimi together. I was left with a sludgy mass of little fishy fibres.
Posted by: phisrow | February 1, 2008 7:06 PM
Phisrow, this is very interesting indeed. What type of surimi was it? What was it posing as?
Posted by: Jennifer L. Jacquet | February 1, 2008 7:32 PM
I don't know too much about it. I was trying to buy some shrimp at a grocery store in Mexico(without functional Spanish). It was white, molded into a shrimp shape, and touched up with an orange dye to mimic shell pigmentation. The material was quite uniform, with a very slightly fibrous appearance on close inspection. The mold lines around the edges suggested that it had been compression formed into that shape.
Once in the marinade, it swelled slightly and began to disintegrate, leaving a mass of slightly swollen white fibres. I'm not at all sure what sort of fish they were originally derived from.
Posted by: phisrow | February 1, 2008 8:15 PM
Phisrow, This just keeps getting better! Could you please get in touch with me? Email: j.jacquet@fisheries.ubc.ca
Posted by: Jennifer L. Jacquet | February 2, 2008 8:12 AM