And yeah, that tightly packed red-and-white stuff you'll find displayed in the seafood section of the grocery store may resemble crab, but it's obviously not really made of crab at all.

然後是的，你在食品雜貨店的海鮮區會看到展示出這種紅白相間、長相似蟹肉的東西。但它顯然完全不是由螃蟹製成的。

These are crabs!

看看這些大螃蟹！

Fresh, local Delaware run-off crabs.

新鮮肥美的德拉瓦大螃蟹。

Those don't look anything like crabs!

牠們看起來一點都不像螃蟹！

They look like sea scorpions.

牠們看起來像住在海裡的毒蠍子。

Here's the question, though.

不過問題來了。

What is imitation crab meat made of?

究竟蟹肉棒的肉是由什麼東西製成的呢？

And more importantly, is it worth your money?

更重要的是，它們值得你花錢購買嗎？

Weirdly enough, while you won't find any crab meat in imitation crab, you will find seafood.

非常奇怪的是，雖然蟹肉棒中並不含有蟹肉，但它是由其他海鮮食材所製造而成。

Because imitation crab is made up of a paste called surimi, which is basically processed, mashed-up fish.

因為蟹肉棒是用一種稱為魚漿的糊做的，它基本上就是處理過的搗碎魚肉。

Usually, it's actually a combination of fish, such as Alaskan pollock or Pacific whiting fish that have been put through a complicated manufacturing process and turned into a gel-like substance.

魚漿其實通常是把阿拉斯加鱈魚和太平洋白魚粉碎研磨後，再經過一連串複雜的加工所製成的膠狀物體。

Obviously, seafood paste doesn't exactly sound all that delicious, so in order to create the right taste and texture, manufacturers add in starches, sugars, artificial flavorings, and sometimes MSG.

海鮮糊顯然聽起來並不那麼好吃，所以為了創造合適的味道和口感，製造商添加了澱粉、糖、人造調味劑，有時還加入了味精。

However, all these additives significantly decrease the nutritional value of imitation crab, and they can even include gluten, so it's best to stay away if you're sensitive to that.

然而，這些額外的添加物使得蟹肉棒失去營養價值，裡頭甚至含有麩質，患有乳糜瀉的人最好少吃為妙。

It's probably no surprise that restaurants love this stuff, because imitation crab serves as a low-cost alternative to the real thing.

許多餐廳都因為蟹肉棒成本低廉而喜歡用它來取代真正的螃蟹，這應該是毫不令人驚訝的。

And that's where it first came from, too. Surimi was actually first created by Japanese chefs who were looking for a way to use their leftover fish.

而那也正是它發源的原因：其實蟹肉棒的發明者是一位日本廚師，某天他在想辦法要處理料理剩下的魚肉時將其發明出來的。

That creation eventually became the foundation of imitation crab and since then, its popularity has only grown.

而魚漿最終成為蟹肉棒的主要成分，它隨後也越來越受大眾的喜愛。

But despite being good for restaurants on a budget, imitation crab meat comes with some fairly hefty drawbacks.

對餐廳業者來說，用蟹肉棒來取代真正的蟹肉可以大幅降低成本，但蟹肉棒其實有非常多缺點。

For starters, real crab meat is just downright healthier than imitation crab, as it has more Omega-3 fats, less sugar, and more protein, and vitamins such as B12 and zinc.

首先，天然蟹肉的營養價值遠遠超過蟹肉棒，天然蟹肉除了少糖外，還富含 ω−3 脂肪酸、蛋白質、維生素 B12 和鋅。

When you dine on imitation crab meat, however, you will at least ingest less sodium than if you had a plate of the real thing in front of you, so that's a small bonus.

跟天然蟹肉相比，吃蟹肉棒的唯一好處就是它含有較少的鈉，所以那算是一個小優點。

Lower nutrients and higher sugar content aside, it's easy to see why imitation crab has become so popular.

先撇開不論低營養和高糖份的缺點，蟹肉棒廣受大眾喜歡的原因其實相當簡單。

Nobody's going to argue that crab cakes aren't usually a little pricey in restaurants.

沒有人會去抱怨餐廳的蟹肉餅賣得太便宜。

And the imitation stuff works as a decent, quick option when you add it to a salad or serve it with dip.

再者，這種仿海鮮的食品非常適合加入沙拉中或直接沾醬食用，極具便利性。

However, some ocean environmentalists say that this bargain seafood product has actually become a little too popular.

不過，有些海洋環保專家表示這種廉價的仿海鮮食品變得有些太受歡迎了。

In order to keep up with the demand and make enough imitation crab to go around, large amounts of pollock must be harvested, and this has some concerned about the potential for overfishing.

為了滿足大眾對於蟹肉棒的需求，必須大量捕撈鱈魚，這就造成過度捕撈的潛在問題。

Making sure the fish used for imitation crab has that appealing crabby appearance also involves a lot of water to improve its color and the texture of the meat.

為了讓用來製作蟹肉棒的魚肉看起來像真正的螃蟹和增加它的色澤和口感，也會需要用到大量的水。

This can lead to wastewater pollution if improperly discharged into the ocean.

而如果工廠廢水未經適當處理就排放至海洋中，將會造成嚴重廢水汙染。

Of course, nobody's going to tell you not to enjoy a little imitation crab in your sushi or seafood salad.

當然，沒有人叫你要抵制那些參雜在壽司和海鮮沙拉裡頭的蟹肉棒。

As long as you're okay with the fact that you're probably not consuming any crab at all, go for it.

只要你可以接受蟹肉棒裡其實沒有蟹肉，你就儘管吃吧！

Especially if you don't mind that it's not all that healthy either.

尤其是如果你一點也不在意它不太健康這件事。

If you do opt for imitation crab meat over the real stuff, however, just make sure you're storing it properly.

但如果你最終仍選擇吃蟹肉棒代替新鮮蟹肉，那麼你該確保有把它妥善保存。

Because while it does contain preservatives that help extend its shelf life, it still needs to be treated much the same way as normal fish.

雖然蟹肉棒裡頭有防腐劑來延長保存期限，但你還是必須用保存新鮮魚類的方式來保存它。

Most importantly, once it's been opened or thawed out, you'll have only around three to five days before it spoils completely.

更重要的是，一旦你打開了包裝或是解凍，放置超過三到五天它就會變質壞掉。

And don't worry, you'll know when that has happened.

別擔心，它壞掉的時候你自然而然會知道。

It's the smell.

是臭味。

If there is such a thing...

如果真的有這種東西的話...

I feel saturated by it.

我整個身體彷彿被這股臭味給充滿了。

In the end, if you're looking for crab that's real and authentic, you ought to know that the only crab you should be ordering is the one that comes straight from the sea, not spit out of a grinder at a manufacturing plant.

最後，如果想吃真正的蟹肉，你應該要購買直接從海裡補來的螃蟹，而不是從製造工廠的研磨機中吐出來的東西。

Check out one of our newest videos right here.

按這裡，觀看我們最新的新片。

Plus, even more Mashed videos about your favorite stuff are coming soon.

此外，更多有關你最喜歡之物的搗碎影片即將推出。

Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.

訂閱我們的 YouTube 頻道並按下鈴鐺，你才不會錯過任何最新消息。