Canned Tuna

[lemarais]

I recently discovered Genova brand "Tonno" in cans. It's a yellow fin tuna labeled as "solid light" , it's packed in olive oil, and it's absolutely... FANTASTIC!!

There's just nothing like this in cans. After years and years of Bumble Bee, this is quite a discovery. Each mouthful is so savory, so full of rich flavor, all I can say is this:

Genova tuna will spoil you forever.

Now, yes, there are some designer tunas in glass jars from Italy labeled "ventresca" that I'm sure are wonderful as well. But at $1.99 a can, Genova is going to be my "go to" tuna.

Any other tuna stories?

[Bill Hunt]

Well, it seems that Bunglebee, er-r, no wait, Bumblebee, has just recalled some of its canned tuna!

Hunt

[EM23]

And Chicken of the Sea.

[grampart]

The BB Solid White Albacore ( in the gold can) isn't on the list. Seems to be the "chunk" packed in water that's the bulk of it.

[Bill Hunt]

While much might depend on what I am fixing, the StarKist White Albacore in Oil is often my "go-to." I have tried variations in water, but discarded them rather quickly.

Hunt

[BobB]

Genova is good, but in that category (imported Italian-style tuna in oil), Pastene is even better, if you can find it in your area (it's a New England company and I don't know how widely they distribute). It's a bit more expensive at ~$3 a can, but still pretty reasonable compared to the jarred stuff.

[Cheese Boy]

Shop Rite has the Genova for $1.99 this week. I was surprised to notice, but, with a name like Genova you'd think the tuna would be sourced from Italy.

[rockandroller1]

Not any more than the Olive Garden represents Italian food :)

[mbfant]

I don't know the brand, but I underwent a similar conversion soon after moving to Italy. My mother's Bumble Bee soon failed to satisfy. Tender ventresca is a whole different cut (belly) from what usually turns up in cans destined for pasta sauce or tuna salad. It's delicious but usually eaten as it is, with a knife and fork, accompanied by boiled beans dressed with extra virgin olive oil, red-wine vinegar, and sliced very sweet red onion. I used to think the glass jars were great until someone reminded me that transparent glass is the worst way to store olive oil.

[c oliver]

I love the sound of that dish. What kind of beans please?

[mbfant]

Here in Rome, they're usually borlotti (cranberry, pinto), but elsewhere they might be cannellini. Really any mild white or beige bean would do. We usually do it with fresh borlotti in the summer but will occasionally open a can of cannellini in the winter (or in a hurry). You should use the sweetest red onions you can get your hands on (for us they're Tropea), but even there you have some flexibility -- soak sliced regular onions or green onions in vinegar for a while. Use wine vinegar (never balsamic!), great extra virgin olive oil, lots of freshly ground black pepper, and enough salt, but the amount depends on how much you put in the beans. Don't drain the beans too dry. You want some of their liquid. And serve some good bread for sopping up the yummy dressing that remains. In any case, this is a dish meant to solve problems, not cause them. It's pretty flexible. This is the way we normally eat beans in the summer, with or without tuna, or anything but bread, and, since my husband seems to have developed a thing for smoked herring, we've discovered these beans are great with that too.

[c oliver]

Thank you SO much for all this detail. I can see plenty of possibilities.

ETA: I'm glad you emphasized GOOD olive oil. To me, that's as important as all the other ingredients.

[Cheese Boy]

Flott tuna is very very good -- it's what tuna should taste like. Genova tuna never really wowed me to be quite honest, but I will give it another try based on the conversation here. I love mackerel fillets also, but the brand I was loyal to is no longer sourcing them from Denmark. Their fillets are now being sourced from China.

[lemarais]

Yes, I brought Flott back from Italy a couple of years ago. It was great! Interesting how the cans open "upside down". Guess from Italy we'll never know about BPA...

It's not easy to find here, though...

[c oliver]

If you want somethng special and pricey, try this Spanish brand:

http://www.tienda.com/food/products/s...

I've ordered it in the past and brought some back from Spain recently.

I used to buy the Genova brand at Costco but mine stopped carrying it. I'll have to keep an eye out for the other brand.

ETA: I could eat this straight from the can!

[alkapal]

that ortiz tuna is fabulous! the price on your link is even more than my local specialty store, where -- if i recall correctly -- it is six dollars or so a can.

[ferret]

Much cheaper by the dozen.

http://www.amazon.com/Ortiz-Bonito-No...

[c oliver]

I didn't actually order from La Tienda, just used as a quick reference. And, yeah, it IS awfully expensive but I make a wonderful app with it, chopped red onion, capers, cilantro, s&p, a little more oo and a tiny bit of sherry vinegar. Making myself hungry :)

[Bada Bing]

You might also try Wild Planet, like rockandroller1 here. I found to my delight that our Super Target store stocks at least 6 items from their product line. Uniquely, it seems, many of their tunas are packed neither in water or oil, but simply in the juices of the tuna itself. You get a higher yield that way, not to mention pure flavors. But they also have one or two lines packed in olive oil.

Consumer Reports noted that even while this brand was a bit more expensive, when you account for the weight lost to draining the usual kind of products, than it evens out.

[ferret]

As i pointed out above Costco sells 6-packs of Wild Planet for just over $14. The cheapest I've seen them elsewher is still over $3 a can.

[Bada Bing]

No Costo-Co here, alas.

[alkapal]

i like that tuna, too.

[melpy]

This is the tuna I grew up on. Just found it locally. Bought 4 cans.

[Bacardi1]

Have never tried (or even seen) the "Genova" brand.

Our "go to" for canned tuna in olive oil is a Star Kist product:

[Dee S]

If you can find the Yellowfin in Olive Oil, try that. They make a dill and a roasted garlic version as well.

My preferred tuna is Genova Tonno Yellowfin tuna in olive oil. The Cento brand is a good alternative but here it's over $3 / can.

[rockandroller1]

I used to love that Genova tuna, but last year we decided once and for all to get off all canned goods that use BPA in the can liners. I buy Wild Planet pole-caught now. It's very tasty and their cans do not have BPA. There are a few manufacturers waking up and making these changes and as they do, I am easing some cans back into our life - Eden Foods' beans, Muir Glen tomatoes, Amy's soups, but other than that, no cans.

[ferret]

Costco started carrying Wild Planet again. A (relative) bargain for really good tuna (about $14 for 6 cans).

[ohmyyum]

I just nabbed the wild planet 6pk for $9.99 with a manufacturer's rebate at my Costco in NC! I look forward to trying it.

[c oliver]

I just saw Wild Planet at Costco. So it's not packed in anything, I see. So I'd just add olive oil if that's the way I'm going?

[lemarais]

The BPA is apparently onlyh found in larger cans. In the small 5.5 oz size there is no BPA. I did some research about this issue with Cat food, and it's only in the 12 oz and above in the cat food.

This is also a big issue (though under the radar) with "microwave safe" dishes, I only use glass, and NEVER byt frozen foods that have to be heated in their plastic dishes.

[rockandroller1]

Source, please? I've never heard of such a thing. Can liner is can liner, not sure what the size would have to do with it but am open to being proven wrong (happens every day!).

[lemarais]

In this cat food, only the 12 oz size has BPA/. The 3 and 5.5 oz are BPA free.

http://www.catster.com/forums/Food_an...

[rockandroller1]

Yeah, but that's cat food.

[rockandroller1]

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/20...

[Jerseygirl111]

I eat their Solid White occasionally. Didn't realize it was CotS. Funny because of major brands, I much prefer Bumble Bee.

Jerseygirl111

[grampart]

I just returned from our local Publix store with a couple of the 5 oz. cans of "solid light premium yellowfin in olive oil" for $1.85 each. I sure hope I like it!

[kseiverd]

I'm also a Genova Tonno fan. ONCE, Trader Joe's had solid tuna, in OO, in jars. A bit price till I realized almost twice the size of standard can. I splurged and have regretted ever since only buying ONE can!?! Have never seen it at TJ's since. One market near me has jarred (ventresca) but it's a serious splurge... almost $6 for pretty much what you get in stand can at less than half that price.

[grampart]

A Chicken of the Sea product. Looking forward to trying it.

[sophia519]

I like the "Roland" brand tuna, in water, not olive oil. It is only 2.79 a can and so much better than bumble bee, chicken of the sea and starkist. I have also heard the Genova brand is very good, too, but haven't tried it yet.

[lemarais]

Can't stand tuna in water. And, if you drain off the oil as much as possible, the additional calories are minimal, not to mention that olive oil is a "good" oil. Go for the olive oil!

[grampart]

Buying water-packed and, after draining, adding a drizzle of my own high quality olive oil works for me.