In the cold winter months, hot pot should be a favorite delicacy. Three or five friends sit around the pot, guarding the “grunt” tumbling pot of food, warm and happy~
And all kinds of hot pot balls, such as tribute balls, beef balls, fish balls, fish tofu, etc., because of the tender Q bomb and affordable price, have also become the “darling” of foodies~ Not only hot pot, but also spicy hot, oden, etc. can often see them.
However, while eating in large mouths, the safety of these quick-frozen foods has also become a topic of concern for everyone, rumors say that “there is no meat in the balls, they are all starch”, “a hot pot ball has more than 20 kinds of additives, can not be eaten!” ”…… So what are the facts?
First, the “true face” of hot pot meatballs
In fact, this kind of meatballs, which contain very little meat, but taste similar to meat, have a proper term in food technology called “
Biomimetic food
Biomimetic food is the use of food technology to simulate the nutrition, flavor or shape of natural foods with ordinary foods.
1、
Meat content standards for bionic foods
In accordance with the standard “Quick-frozen Prepared Food” issued by the Ministry of Commerce:
minced meat products or seasoned aquatic products containing chicken, pork, fish, shrimp,
Pork, chicken, fish, shrimp content ≥ 10%
；
minced meat products or seasoned aquatic products containing crab meat, beef, mutton,
Crab, beef, lamb content≥ 8%
It can be seen that the meat content in the meatballs is indeed very small, but in order to improve the taste, other ingredients need to be added to make the meatballs more tender and strong.
2、
Additives that may be present in the balls
(1) Glue
, like carrageenan, xanthan gum, konjac gum, etc., these can improve the gel effect of muscle protein,
Make the meatballs taste more elastic
(2) Phosphates
, like sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium pyrophosphate, etc., these are for
Absorb moisture
, to avoid water loss caused by prolonged freezing, improve the taste, taste more tender.
(3) Flavor, preservative
, such as 5′-flavored nucleotide disodium and so on, used to improve the taste of balls,
Make it fresher and more fragrant
, the taste is more acceptable to the public.
(4) Sodium bicarbonate
Leavening agent
, increase the volume of the balls and improve the overall structure of the balls.
(5) Sodium nitrite
preservative
, can not only inhibit bacterial growth, extend shelf life, but also increase flavor and brighten color.
Overall, meatballs on the market do contain a variety of additives, but
As long as the amount of use meets the national standard, it can be eaten with confidence
。 And whether there are these ingredients or whether there are other ingredients, how much meat content, etc., can be seen
Product ingredient list
Two
Hotpot meatballs
These two things really need to be noted
Hotpot meatballs, relatively speaking, the nutritional value is not high, but the following two points should be really noted:
Sodium content
Salt and phosphate water retention agents are added during the processing of the balls, so the sodium content is not low. The sodium content of a brand of fish roe package on the market is as high as 1010mg/100g, and a fish roe package is about 20g, that is, 202mg of sodium, and about 0.5 grams of salt.
Eat more than a dozen at a time, but also dip some sauce, and then take a mouthful of soup, this hot pot daily salt intake is easy to exceed the standard.
Long-term intake of too much salt will increase the risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease and liver and kidney disease, and it is not conducive to the control of the disease for people with chronic diseases.
Fat content
After biting open many balls, you will find that its cross-section is nourishing oil, which is the hidden “heat bomb”.
Look carefully at the ingredient list of some meatball products, there are in the front position
Lard fat, cow fat, chicken skin, shortening
and other ingredients that increase fat content; In the nutrition facts table, the fat content per 100g of balls may be more than 20g; In addition, these fats are many
Saturated fat
Long-term excessive consumption is a greater threat to cardiovascular disease!
So, when buying your own balls, try to choose
Lower in fat and lower in sodium
Target; When eating, you should also control the amount, eat 2-3 at a time.
Three
Can choose, cook, eat meatballs healthily
Tips for choosing hot pot meatballs
①
at
Formal market, pick a brand with a good reputation
, more secure;
(2) Look at the ingredient list
, not only
Easy ingredient selection
； And the first place is pork, beef, chicken and other meat, and
Not minced meat
, because the higher the ranking in the ingredient list, the higher the content in the ingredient.
(3) Look at the meat content
。 Meatballs are divided into three types according to the different meat content – ordinary grade needs
Meat content≥ 45%; Superior grade needs to contain ≥ 55% meat; Extra Grade requires 65% meat content ≥
High-quality meatballs use more meat, and manufacturers will confidently mark out how much meat is used, and some will be highlighted in large characters.
(4) Look at the production date
, the closer the balls are to the production date, the fresher the balls are, the higher the nutritional value.
(5) Do not buy too much frost
, This kind of balls are likely to be melted and refrozen many times, not only the taste is discounted, but also prone to the problem of excessive colonies.
(6) Do not purchase bulk
, these meatballs do not have a clear manufacturer and ingredient list, there may be more dietary safety issues; Moreover, according to the “quick-frozen prepared food” industry standard implemented in 2005, it is clearly stipulated that quick-frozen prepared food without packaging shall not be sold, and it is strictly forbidden to unpack and retail.
How long do you cook meatballs before you eat? Float up +5 minutes
Many people believe that when the pot floats, the meatballs will be cooked. In fact, the meatballs floating up does not mean cooked, and if you want to cook thoroughly, you need to cook for another 5 minutes.
The Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention once did an experiment in which experts put meatballs into a boiling soup pot, and after two minutes, the meatballs floated, at which point the meatballs were fished out and the internal temperature was tested.
The results showed that the core temperature of the meatballs was only 45.4 °C; the meatballs were reheated in a rolling pan for 5 minutes, and the core temperature reached 72.3 °C, at which time the meatballs were cooked.
Therefore, it is recommended that when eating hot pot,
It is best to pan the meatballs under cold water and cook for another 5 minutes after boiling and floating
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