Difference between wild tuna and canned tuna?

[PassTheChocolate]

Since I've gone healthy, I've wondered about canned tuna as well. I found canned wild skipjack tuna at Whole Foods. I forget the brand. It's not bad at all.

Cooked tuna, to me, is as dry as canned tuna. I've only had it cooked fresh twice, but I really don't see much of a difference. I prefer it seared rare or raw in sushi. Otherwise, canned works for me.

[fibonacci]

Buy up the cans while you can, tuna is going to go extinct in our lifetimes.

[OpenD]

All canned tuna is wild tuna. Farmed tuna is sold fresh, at high prices, and almost all goes to Japan. The real distinction for you to make is between canned and fresh.

Canned tuna has been sold since 1903. It made tuna available at a reasonable price to people who did not live near the ocean, as fresh tuna spoils quickly and did not travel well, and was generally only available in coastal markets. It also brought convenience to the housewives, who could have the main ingredient for a tasty casserole on the pantry shelf, not requiring refrigeration. Even with modern refrigeration fresh tuna needs to be consumed within a few days.

To can tuna, the whole fish are gutted, then cooked in steam ovens. Then workers hand cut and pack the fish into cans or jars, add water or oil to fill the container, then the lid is sealed, and they go through a pressure canning process that kills all bacteria to permit long term spoilage. If you read the label, typical canned tuna contents read something like: Tuna, Olive oil, salt. Or Tuna, Soybean oil, Vegetable broth, salt. Typically no chemicals are used.

All the various grades of canned tuna come from the same fish.

The grade depends on the size of the chunk. "Solid" or "fancy" is the largest chunk and considered the best. "

Chunk" tuna is slightly smaller pieces, and "flaked" or "grated" is the smallest size chunks. Which grade you buy depends on how you plan to use the tuna. There would be little need to spend the extra money on "solid" or "fancy" tuna just to make tuna salad. - Canned Tuna: - Mountain Times

Pet food canned tuna comes from the dark red portion called the "blood meat," which people find less appetizing. But it is perfectly safe for people to eat. (Cultural touchpoint: the famous Jane Fonda scene in Klute where she licks the fork after dishing out pet food for her cat. )

In the US today more than 1/2 of the canned tuna sold is used for sandwiches, 1/4 for salads, and the remainder for casseroles and other cooked dishes.

And here's something interesting I found when researching Salad Niçoise. My curiosity was piqued when someone slammed a restaurant I really like, complaining that her Salad Niçoise was not made with fresh tuna, but with canned. This classic French salad from Nice is made with tuna, green beans, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, onion, capers, and potatoes. When I was cheffing I made a jillion of them, always with canned tuna... luscious Italian tuna, packed in olive oil.

When I traced the recipe back, I found that traditionally it was ALWAYS made with canned tuna, never with fresh. Matter of fact, I found a quote from the mayor of Nice, a master of the dish, who stated that authentic Salad Niçoise must NEVER be made with fresh tuna. Why? Because it was a classic Sunday dinner for working class people, for whom canned tuna was a luxury. Fresh tuna was priced out of reach for these people, who might only ever taste fresh tuna at a big wedding dinner. So in a sense it's a kind of "soul food," and he feels that making it "fancy" with fresh tuna ruins the spirit of the dish and dishonors its humble beginnings.

So now you know.