The fact that shark meat is not popular now seems to be somewhat inappropriate. Humanity's obsession with the meat of various animals has long broken the rule of rarely eating shark meat. However, even so, the price of shark fins remains high, and is far incomparable to meat from the same shark body. What causes such a big gap between the two types of meat? Let’s briefly discuss this issue.

Sharks and Shark Fins

Sharks have appeared on the earth long before the dinosaurs. They have lived for more than 500 million years and are known as the most ferocious fish in the ocean. species, and therefore occupy the top of the marine food chain. The great white shark we are most familiar with, according to computer simulations by an Australian team in 2008, has a bite force of 4,000 PSI (pounds per square foot) and can easily tear apart any prey.

Shark fins can simply be understood as the fins of sharks. Relying on these fins, sharks can accurately control direction and depth in the water, and can also swim through the water to catch prey. Generally speaking, sharks have 6-8 fins of varying sizes, including pectoral fins, pelvic fins, dorsal fins and tail fins. However, because the upper part of the tail is relatively thick, it often does not serve as what we call "shark fins".

Why are shark fins so expensive?

Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica" once recorded that "there are fins under the abdomen, and the taste is plump, and the southerners cherish it". It is talking about shark fins made from shark fins. It can be seen that southerners already valued shark fins at that time. . By the end of the Qing Dynasty, shark's fin had become a must-have dish for luxurious banquets, and there was a saying that "no feast is complete without fins".

Not only our country, but also different countries in the world have records of eating shark fins. However, ancient fishing technology was relatively backward, and normal large-scale fishing would be affected to varying degrees. If you want to catch large and ferocious fish like sharks, you will face more difficulties. Therefore, the production of shark fins is very rare, and it has always been a food for the privileged class who are either rich or noble. ?Things are rare and expensive? It is reasonable that the price of shark fins is high.

Modern fishing technology is advanced, but why is the price of shark fin still high? This has to talk about the nutrition of shark fins. For a long time, shark fins, bear paws, bird's nests, etc. have been regarded as precious supplements and eaten by people. Therefore, some businesses have also begun to make a fuss about this and maliciously speculate.

But research shows that the main component of shark fin is collagen. Even if such protein has miraculous effects, it will be digested into amino acids when entering the human intestines and stomach.