Boneless Fish
Encyclopedia
The is a fish
-based frozen food
invent
ed by Dairei Corporation (大冷株式会社) of Japan
in 1998. It is essentially a fish that has been scaled
, gutted and deboned
by a skilled worker before being reassembled to look like a dressed fish (gutted and with its head
and fin
s removed). The fish is then flash frozen and packaged. It remains uncooked.
It is possible to use this process to manufacture a boneless fish with its head and fins intact. However, this is not very practical.
Dairei began to market it to families in 2002. Aside from being easy to prepare, cooking boneless fish at home generates very little amount of waste.
-certified factories in Thailand
, China
and Vietnam
. The workers cut open the fish and use a pair of tweezers
to remove the bones. The end product is then examined to make sure that it is free of bones and then "glued" together using a food-grade enzyme
produced by Ajinomoto
.
This binding agent is a transglutaminase
(product name: Activa TG-B) which is separated from a culture of Streptoverticillium mobaraense. It works by binding the collagen
in the fish tissue. At temperatures under 5°C, it may take several hours for the enzyme to do its job properly.
process that uses heat and pressure to tenderize fish bones. It is said the entire fish, including the head and fins, becomes completely edible, much like what happens to canned sardine
s. It is a joint invention
of Maruha Corporation (株式会社マルハ) and Miyajima Soysauce Corporation (宮島醤油株式会社).
Another, chimeral
, product is the "Cold Set Bound Fish Kebab
s" made from alternating layers of salmon
and cod
which are "glued" together by transglutaminase.
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
-based frozen food
Freezing
Freezing or solidification is a phase change in which a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point. The reverse process is melting....
invent
Invention
An invention is a novel composition, device, or process. An invention may be derived from a pre-existing model or idea, or it could be independently conceived, in which case it may be a radical breakthrough. In addition, there is cultural invention, which is an innovative set of useful social...
ed by Dairei Corporation (大冷株式会社) of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1998. It is essentially a fish that has been scaled
Scale (zoology)
In most biological nomenclature, a scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of an animal's skin to provide protection. In lepidopteran species, scales are plates on the surface of the insect wing, and provide coloration...
, gutted and deboned
Bone
Bones are rigid organs that constitute part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bone tissue is a type of dense connective tissue...
by a skilled worker before being reassembled to look like a dressed fish (gutted and with its head
Head
In anatomy, the head of an animal is the rostral part that usually comprises the brain, eyes, ears, nose and mouth . Some very simple animals may not have a head, but many bilaterally symmetric forms do....
and fin
Fin
A fin is a surface used for stability and/or to produce lift and thrust or to steer while traveling in water, air, or other fluid media, . The first use of the word was for the limbs of fish, but has been extended to include other animal limbs and man-made devices...
s removed). The fish is then flash frozen and packaged. It remains uncooked.
It is possible to use this process to manufacture a boneless fish with its head and fins intact. However, this is not very practical.
Purpose
The Boneless Fish was initially intended to feed three groups: the elderly, hospital patients, and schoolchildren. It differs from an ordinary frozen fish fillet, as the Boneless Fish looks just like a dressed fish. It is also cooked in the same manner as an ordinary fish.Dairei began to market it to families in 2002. Aside from being easy to prepare, cooking boneless fish at home generates very little amount of waste.
Production
The production of the Boneless Fish is labor intensive. Dairei set up HACCPHazard Analysis and Critical Control Points
Hazard analysis and critical control points, or HACCP , is a systematic preventive approach to food safety and pharmaceutical safety that addresses physical, chemical, and biological hazards as a means of prevention rather than finished product inspection...
-certified factories in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. The workers cut open the fish and use a pair of tweezers
Tweezers
Tweezers are tools used for picking up and manipulating objects too small to be easily handled with the human hands. They are probably derived from tongs, pincers, or scissors-like pliers used to grab or hold hot objects since the dawn of recorded history...
to remove the bones. The end product is then examined to make sure that it is free of bones and then "glued" together using a food-grade enzyme
Enzyme
Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...
produced by Ajinomoto
Ajinomoto
Ajinomoto Co. Inc. , is a Japanese food and chemical corporation which produces seasonings, cooking oils, TV dinners, sweeteners, amino acids and pharmaceuticals...
.
This binding agent is a transglutaminase
Transglutaminase
Transglutaminases are a family of enzymes that catalyze the formation of a covalent bond between a free amine group and the gamma-carboxamid group of protein- or peptide-bound glutamine. Bonds formed by transglutaminase exhibit high resistance to proteolytic degradation.Transglutaminases were...
(product name: Activa TG-B) which is separated from a culture of Streptoverticillium mobaraense. It works by binding the collagen
Collagen
Collagen is a group of naturally occurring proteins found in animals, especially in the flesh and connective tissues of mammals. It is the main component of connective tissue, and is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up about 25% to 35% of the whole-body protein content...
in the fish tissue. At temperatures under 5°C, it may take several hours for the enzyme to do its job properly.
Similar products
The success of Boneless Fish inspired another technology-intensive product, "Fish with Delicious Bones" (骨までおいしい魚; honemade oishii sakana), on sale since 2004. The fish, in the form of a butterfly fillet, is prepared by a patent pendingPatent pending
The expressions "patent pending" or "patent applied for" refer to a warning that inventors are entitled to use in reference to their product or process once a patent application has been filed, but prior to the patent being issued or the application abandoned...
process that uses heat and pressure to tenderize fish bones. It is said the entire fish, including the head and fins, becomes completely edible, much like what happens to canned sardine
Sardine
Sardines, or pilchards, are several types of small, oily fish related to herrings, family Clupeidae. Sardines are named after the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, around which they were once abundant....
s. It is a joint invention
Invention
An invention is a novel composition, device, or process. An invention may be derived from a pre-existing model or idea, or it could be independently conceived, in which case it may be a radical breakthrough. In addition, there is cultural invention, which is an innovative set of useful social...
of Maruha Corporation (株式会社マルハ) and Miyajima Soysauce Corporation (宮島醤油株式会社).
Another, chimeral
Chimera (genetics)
A chimera or chimaera is a single organism that is composed of two or more different populations of genetically distinct cells that originated from different zygotes involved in sexual reproduction. If the different cells have emerged from the same zygote, the organism is called a mosaic...
, product is the "Cold Set Bound Fish Kebab
Kebab
Kebab is a wide variety of meat dishes originating in Middle East and later on adopted by the Middle East, and Asia Minor, and now found worldwide. In English, kebab with no qualification generally refers more specifically to shish kebab served on the skewer...
s" made from alternating layers of salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
and cod
Cod
Cod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...
which are "glued" together by transglutaminase.
External links
- Boneless Fish Q & A in Japanese
- Fish with Delicious Bones at Maruha Corporation and Miyajima Soysauce Corporation in Japanese
- Boneless Fish: A debate (便利？ それともおせっかい？ 賛否両論の「骨なし魚」; in Japanese)
- Ajinomoto: Enzyme for Binder and Texture improver
- Ajinomoto enzyme catalog in Japanese -- A transglutaminase catalyzing an acyl transfer reaction of a Γ-carboxyamide group of a glutamine residue in a peptide or protein chain in the absence of Cz2+ by Ajinomoto -- Process for producing bound-formed food by Ajinomoto -- Enzyme preparation for use in the binding of food materials and process for producing bound food by Ajinomoto
- Innovation Product Library see page 18, "Cold Set Bound Fish Kebabs"