# What is imitation crabmeat and why is it in my grocery store?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-imitation-crabmeat-and-why-is-it-in-my-grocery-store/357709>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 22, 2006, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-imitation-crabmeat-and-why-is-it-in-my-grocery-store/357709 "2006-05-22T04:08:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-imitation-crabmeat-and-why-is-it-in-my-grocery-store/357709/21 "2006-05-23T01:57:36Z")

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> [@John Mace](#):
>
> I don’t think crab is especially healthy

It’s fine as long as you don’t let the bastards get a claw on your scrote.

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**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-imitation-crabmeat-and-why-is-it-in-my-grocery-store/357709/22 "2006-05-23T02:00:28Z")

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> [@John Mace](#):
>
> Does anyone know if the fake stuff is more healthy than the real thing? I’m not sure, but I don’t think crab is especially healthy, and fish generally is.

Well, it’s certainly not very high calorie. I just ate a pack of fake “legs” (they were sticks, really) and the package said 3 legs were 70 calories. (I would give you more info, but I just threw the package away)

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**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-imitation-crabmeat-and-why-is-it-in-my-grocery-store/357709/23 "2006-05-23T05:06:39Z")

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> [@John Mace](#):
>
> Holy price differential, Batman! Not that I have kids, but if I did they’d get the fake stuff in their crab tacos for the after-game baseball team party. I’ll save the good stuff for appetizers for adults!
> 
> I haven’t bought crab in a long, long time, so I was amazed at how expensive it is. Especially since I grew up thinking it was basically free-- my mom would give us chicken necks that we’d tie to strings and fish out crabs from the local dock. Dozens of crabs for the price of a few chicken necks. Yum!! (Plus you could brag about how much skill you had netting the suckers-- t’ain’t easy.)

John,

Watch the ads and buy live ones. They’re not cheap, but they’re cheaper, and the meat tastes better when you pick it yourself. Sometimes we pick them while eating them, and sometimes we pick them first and make crab cakes. California crabs are a lot easier to pick than blues.

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**Author:** ![gabriela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@gabriela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gabriela)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-imitation-crabmeat-and-why-is-it-in-my-grocery-store/357709/24 "2006-05-23T10:25:56Z")

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Now if you really want to spend a lot of money, buy yourself an airplane ticket to Maryland or Virginia, go to a nice restaurant anywhere near the water, and ask for a bowl of she-crab soup.

Be prepared to see the locals argue over it.

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