# Seafood Highlighter/Extender



## mtfisho

Hi Guys,
I love the stuff myself but just wondering if anyone knows what its made of..
Pretty good for 5 bucks a KG at Coles.

Thanks Mitch


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## PalmyMick

think its a animal stomach/intestine lining , could be wrong


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## GoneFishn

Do you really want to know :shock:

It is basically made from all the bits you normally dont eat of a fish. A few flavour additives and colours and hey presto.

But I have also been told its all the stuff they sweep up at the end of market day at the fish shops or its fish offal :lol: 
Take your pick


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## GoneFishn

patwah said:


> Mekong river catfish Ive heard


Yea I have heard that one too :shock: I dont think anyone really knows what its made from :shock:


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## mtfisho

I dont like this stuff anymore    Its horrible :shock: :twisted: :lol:


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## PalmyMick

from wikipedia

Surimi (Japanese: 擂り身, lit. "ground meat", also called kani, Chinese: 魚漿; pinyin: yú jiāng; literally "fish puree or slurry") is a Japanese loan word referring to a fish-based food product intended to mimic the texture and color of the meat of lobster, crab and other shellfish. It is typically made from white-fleshed fish (such as pollock or hake) that has been pulverized to a paste and attains a rubbery texture when cooked. The term is also commonly applied to food products made from lean meat prepared in a similar process.
Surimi is a much-enjoyed food product in many Asian cultures and is available in many shapes, forms, and textures. The most common surimi product in the Western market is imitation or artificial crab legs. Such a product often is sold as sea legs and krab in America, and as seafood sticks, crab sticks, fish sticks or seafood extender in Commonwealth nations.

Lean meat from fish or land animals first is separated or minced. The meat then is rinsed numerous times to eliminate undesirable odors. The result is beaten and pulverized to form a gelatinous paste. Depending on the desired texture and flavour of the surimi product, the gelatinous paste is mixed with differing proportions of additives such as starch, egg white, salt, vegetable oil, humectants, sorbitol, sugar, soy protein, seasonings, and chemical enhancers such as transglutaminases and monosodium glutamate (MSG).
If the surimi is to be packed and frozen, food-grade cryoprotectants are added as preservatives while the meat paste is being mixed.[2][3] Under most circumstances, surimi is processed immediately into a formed and cured product.
[edit] 
The process for making surimi was developed in many areas of East Asia over 900 years ago.[citation needed] In Japan, it is used in the making of kamaboko or cured surimi products. Surimi industrial technology developed by Japan in the early 1960s promoted the growth of the surimi industry. The successful growth of the industry was based on the Alaska pollock (or walleye pollock). Subsequently, production of Alaska pollock surimi declined and was supplemented by surimi production using species other than Alaska pollock.
The industrialized surimi-making process was refined in 1969 by Nishitani Yōsuke of Japan's Hokkaidō Fisheries Experiment Institute to process the increased catch of fish, to revitalize Japan's fish industry, and to make use of what previously was considered "fodder fish."[citation needed]
Currently, 2-3 million metric tonnes of fish from around the world, amounting to 2-3 percent of the world fisheries supply, are used for the production of surimi and surimi-based products. The United States of America and Japan are major producers of surimi and surimi-based products. Thailand has become an important producer. China's role as producer is increasing. Many newcomers to the surimi industry have emerged, including Viet Nam, Chile, the Faeroe Islands, France and Malaysia.[1]


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## bazzoo

Ughhhhh , this has just caused me to visit the freezer and throw out the stuff , wish i hadnt read this, but i have always had a suspicion that it involved tripe , UUGGHHHH, ahhh well back to the carrot and celery sticks as a snack , not that i really need a snack


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## mtfisho

hmmmmmmmmmmm


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## blaggon

whatever it is made of it is delicious when battered and fried


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## bigyakka

Just close youre eyes and enjoy the lovely taste and think about something else ;-)


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## Del

a favourite snack of mine.. dipped in a seafood sauce.. hmmmm


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## Barrabundy

This mob do some amazing work http://www.foodscience.csiro.au/technologies.htm If you are a processor and are dumping a heap of stuff that has some nutritional value but tastes like crap, they are your one stop shop...or companies like them.


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## snapperz

Mingle is right,I worked in abbattoir for 10 yrs.When I started,was taken on a tour of the plant.Guy took me into the gut room and I was greeted by two blokes absolutely covered in s#^t,one of them said "do you eat crab sticks?" yeh ."you wont after you've been in here".He also told me that prawn crackers are made from the cheeks of a cow.And yes I still eat both.SNAPPERZ


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## DGax65

The green surimi in seafood sauce is yummy.


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## HORTO85

hi everyone,
i took the subject Seafood Processing & Industry Operations as part of my degree, seafood extender- seafood/fish/crab sticks are indeed surimi (we actually got to make surimi, which was interesting)

here is a shorten simplified version of some of my notes (if you want more let me know)

Surimi is a highly functional fish protein, water, cryoprotectant and (other additives) combination 
which forms a stable gel when properly combined. surimi is made from washed minced 
fish flesh. the washing of the mince removes most of the water-soluble protein, blood,
Myoglobin, enzymes, bacteria, skin pigments, visceral contamination and decomposition
products. so all you are left with is the colourless and odourless fish myofibrillar protein
(primarily actomyosin).

I would also like to direct you to this page they have analysed it, as you can see its predominately moisture and protein

http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/monitor ... D=05D10227

Also if it does contain offal it has to be declared as stated in clause 4 of standard 2.2.1 requirements for the declaration of the presence of offal .

_"If offal is present in food it must be clearly declared. Where the product is not required to bear a label, e.g. if the product is sold unpackaged, there is a requirement that the presence of offal must be declared to the purchaser. Certain types of offal (brain, heart, kidney, liver, tongue and tripe) can be declared either by the class name, 'offal', or by the specific name, e.g. liver can be referred to as 'offal' or as 'liver'. Other types of offal (such as blood, pancreas, spleen and thymus) are not permitted in meat and meat products unless labelled specifically by name. That is, their presence may not be declared only by the class name 'offal'. "_

I believe that offal being used as a major ingredient in these products is an urban myth but I'm happy to be proven wrong.

Yes it may be made from Mekong river catfish it would make sense cheap and abundant, it can be made from any fish.

cheers horto


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## babylon

I used to love eating seafood highlighter but not so sure anymore


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## mal.com

They used to use Blue Grenadier (NZ translation "Hoki") to make surimi and it is minced and washed out several times, until no fish flavour remains and then the desired flavour added. As Hoki is now becoming an endangered species, it's days in Surimi are probably numbered too.

cheers

Mal de mer


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## Big D

HORTO85 said:


> hi everyone,
> i took the subject Seafood Processing & Industry Operations as part of my degree, seafood extender- seafood/fish/crab sticks are indeed surimi (we actually got to make surimi, which was interesting)
> 
> here is a shorten simplified version of some of my notes (if you want more let me know)
> 
> Surimi is a highly functional fish protein, water, cryoprotectant and (other additives) combination
> which forms a stable gel when properly combined. surimi is made from washed minced
> fish flesh. the washing of the mince removes most of the water-soluble protein, blood,
> Myoglobin, enzymes, bacteria, skin pigments, visceral contamination and decomposition
> products. so all you are left with is the colourless and odourless fish myofibrillar protein
> (primarily actomyosin).
> 
> I would also like to direct you to this page they have analysed it, as you can see its predominately moisture and protein
> 
> http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/monitor ... D=05D10227
> 
> Also if it does contain offal it has to be declared as stated in clause 4 of standard 2.2.1 requirements for the declaration of the presence of offal .
> 
> _"If offal is present in food it must be clearly declared. Where the product is not required to bear a label, e.g. if the product is sold unpackaged, there is a requirement that the presence of offal must be declared to the purchaser. Certain types of offal (brain, heart, kidney, liver, tongue and tripe) can be declared either by the class name, 'offal', or by the specific name, e.g. liver can be referred to as 'offal' or as 'liver'. Other types of offal (such as blood, pancreas, spleen and thymus) are not permitted in meat and meat products unless labelled specifically by name. That is, their presence may not be declared only by the class name 'offal'. "_
> 
> I believe that offal being used as a major ingredient in these products is an urban myth but I'm happy to be proven wrong.
> 
> Yes it may be made from Mekong river catfish it would make sense cheap and abundant, it can be made from any fish.
> 
> cheers horto


Sounds pretty credible, thanks Horto. I'll keep eating it and I'm glad it's not offal because I would still eat it but not enjoy it as much!


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## AJD

I kind of like the term - "lips, tits and jiggly bits" that my butcher brother uses for processed goods.


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## grinner

the grossest thing ive been fed was by a phillipino who think a fertile chicken egg about 2/3 of the way to hatching, fried in a pan is a real delicacy, forget what they call it


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## sbd

grinner said:


> the grossest thing ive been fed was by a phillipino who think a fertile chicken egg about 2/3 of the way to hatching, fried in a pan is a real delicacy, forget what they call it


Mmm, balut. If you're ever in Istanbul, stop by a sheep's head restaurant, if you're still hungry there's always tripe soup or kokorec for afters.

If seafood extender was made of offal I'd be eating it, but as washed, reflavoured fish mince no thanks - if they have to wash the decomposition products out of it it ain't edible.


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## haynsie

You have got to be kidding!!

As fishermen, we've got the freshest seafood in the world at our fingertips and some of you choose to eat this stuff?!!

Cripes..


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## Davey G

Yep - agree on that sentiment.. All I can ask is WHY would you eat it?? It sounds like the human food equivalent of GULP.


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## haynsie

That's about the only use I can think of for it. Has anyone tried it as bait?


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## HORTO85

sbd said:


> If seafood extender was made of offal I'd be eating it, but as washed, reflavoured fish mince no thanks - if they have to wash the decomposition products out of it it ain't edible.


Its very very unlikely that there would be any decomposition products on/in the fillets/mince, however if somehow there was the washing (water leaching) processes would remove them. So its not that have to remove the decomposition products, because there usually not present. however if somehow a bad fish/fillet made it past a HACCP (hazard analysis and critical control point) check, then the decomposition products would be removed in the washing process. its not like there taking half decomposed fish and trying to make surimi out of it.

i personally do not usually eat surimi products because i don't like how sweet they can be.


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## padfoot

It sounds like the devon of the sea.
mmmmmm devon :lol:


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