Canned Tuna...packed in Veg Oil or Water?

[jennifer75]

Which do you prefer and why?

I have been tempted lately to buy my tuna packed in Veg Oil but have always thought it to be unhealthy.

Does one taste better? Are there benefits of one over the other?

 

[pdswife]

Water! The oil adds a slimey "yucky" taste and feeling to the tuna.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Water......I think it taste better....Don't want the added fat.....

 

[RobsanX]

My mom always bought it in water, but DW buys it in oil... Honestly I don't use enough of it to really compare the two...

 

[Leolady]

Water. It tastes better than with all that oil.

OMG, me the fry queen is saying that!

 

[LadyCook61]

I prefer the taste without oil .

 

[jennifer75]

Hmmm. And in the market a fellow shopper told me she preferred the taste of oil packed.

I guess there's only one way around it, buy it in oil and try it for myself.

 

[ChefJune]

I only buy light tuna packed in olive oil (not veg oil). I first had it in Italy, years ago, and the flavor of that tuna (generally also imported from Italy) is light years ahead of Bumblebee, et al. The quality of the fish is also noticeably different.

I drain the oil off, but save it to use in the vinaigrette that often accompanies the tuna.

 

[BreezyCooking]

As usual, I'll be the dissenter here. I absolutely HATE tuna packed in water. NEVER buy it, no matter how cheap it is. It's dry as a friggin bone & has the consistency of styrofoam no matter what you do with it.

While I used to always purchase my canned tuna in vegetable oil (& drained the oil into a bowl of dry cat food as a treat for my kitties), I now exclusively buy tuna packed in olive oil. Both nutritious, absolutely delicious, & worth the extra $$.

 

[jennifer75]

June - Interesting. I've never noticed - or looked hard enough - for tuna packed in OO.

How do you prepare your vinaigrette? And how are you serving your tuna?

Sounds yummy.

 

[Leolady]

There is not a store in my town that sells tuna packed in olive oil.

 

[Lefty7887]

Water, but if I found it in OO, I'd be willing to give it a try.

 

[jennyema]

I only buy light tuna packed in olive oil (not veg oil). I first had it in Italy, years ago, and the flavor of that tuna (generally also imported from Italy) is light years ahead of Bumblebee, et al. The quality of the fish is also noticeably different.

I drain the oil off, but save it to use in the vinaigrette that often accompanies the tuna.

Amen. Italian tuna in olive oil is so vastly superior to American brands it's like night and day.

When I use American brands I buy in water and then adulterate it with all kinds of other stuff. The vegetable oil kind is skeevy to me.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Guys - I'm not talking about the fancy-shmancy pricey Italian imported tuna in olive oil. StarKist now sells canned tuna in olive oil, & that's what I buy. Every supermarket around here carries it - even WalMart. Really take a minute to check out the canned tuna section of your market, because it's easy to miss. But once you taste it & use it in your recipes, you won't forget it.

As far as what I use it for? Besides the usual mayo tuna salad for tuna melts, etc.; plain for a Nicoise salad; as a component of various Tuna Casseroles; this is by far my favorite recipe for it:

Breezy Mediterranean Tuna Pasta Sauce

Two 4.5-ounce cans StarKist Solid Light Tuna Fillet in Olive Oil, undrained
Approximately 10-12 caper berries, roughly chopped (or 2 tablespoons regular capers, left whole)
Approximately 10-12 Kalamata olives, pitted & roughly chopped
1 medium fresh tomato, roughly chopped
Two large garlic cloves, peeled & chopped
Approximately ½ cup fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Juice from ½ a lemon
Splash of dry white Italian wine (I like Pinot Grigio)
Approximately one teaspoon dried oregano
Extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons of butter (or leftover seafood butter**)
Several dashes of crushed red pepper flakes
Small handful of baby arugula (optional)

1# of spinach fettuccine or linquini to serve

Cook pasta according to package directions & drain.

While pasta is cooking, coat the bottom of a large skillet with extra-virgin olive oil & add butter to melt over medium heat. Add chopped garlic & sauté lightly for just a couple of minutes. Do not allow to brown (or – heaven forbid – burn! If garlic burns, start over again).

Add all remaining ingredients & stir occasionally – very gently – to heat through.

Serve over spinach pasta.

** “Seafood Butter” is the leftover dipping butter I save when my husband & I have steamed clams or lobster, etc., etc. I save & freeze it to use in recipes such as this, as well as for butter-poaching thick fish like cod, etc. While I’d never save dipping butter that was used communally by other people, hubby & I feel that we have the same “cooties”, so this has worked out quite well – lol!!

 

[jennifer75]

Fantastic! I'm gonna hunt for some next time I'm at the market.

 

[BreezyCooking]

And I'm not kidding when I say really "look" for it. Sometimes I'm just standing there in the canned tuna section like someone who's just entered a Twilight Zone dimension before I find it - & I'm used to buying it - lol!! It has a darker-colored label, if that helps. But sometimes it still takes me 5+ minutes to pick it out.

 

[babetoo]

i have always liked it packed in oi. water pack is bland and dry. now i will certainly look for it in olive oil, thanks for the tip

 

[jennyema]

There is not a store in my town that sells tuna packed in olive oil.

Look where the Italian products are. They might shelve it there.

 

[ChefJune]

June - Interesting. I've never noticed - or looked hard enough - for tuna packed in OO.

How do you prepare your vinaigrette? And how are you serving your tuna?

Sounds yummy.

I frequently make a casual version of Salade Nicoise, which in France is traditionally made with the canned tuna in olive oil. It's a composed salad of (besides the tuna) boiled tomatoes, skinny French green beans, tomatoes, hard-cooked eggs, salad greens, ripe olives, sometimes baby artichokes, and anything else fresh and sunny in the market. The ingredients are flexible. You can use as few or as many as you'd like.

For the vinaigrette, I start with a very finely chopped clove of garlic, sometimes an anchovy or two, and (definitely) a dab of Dijon mustard. For this salad, I prefer either fresh lemon juice or white wine vinegar for the acid, and then whisk in the olive oil from the tuna can. If more is needed, I supplement.

 

[ChefJune]

There is not a store in my town that sells tuna packed in olive oil.

Try looking on the shelves where the rest of the canned fish is in your supermarket. That's where I'm finding it these days. No need for a specialty shop!