For me, canned tuna surpassed its pantry-staple standing to change into a necessary provision years in the past. The grazer in me has turned these stackable cans into full-on meals — piled onto butter crackers, tossed right into a fridge-clean-out pasta salad, or stirred with sesame oil and Kewpie mayonnaise for a low-effort rice bowl that hits each savory be aware.

Regardless of the sea of cans you’ll discover within the grocery aisle, not all canned tunas are created equal. That will help you buy the perfect “Huge Tuna” to your buck, we put eight common manufacturers to the take a look at. 

Learn how to learn a canned tuna label 

Decoding a canned tuna label begins with the excellence between white and light-weight tuna. White tuna, typically labeled and offered as “chicken tuna,” refers to albacore. Albacore has a firmer texture, delicate taste, and a pale, off-white colour. Mild tuna most frequently comes from species like skipjack or yellowfin, or is typically a mix of tuna varieties. Its colour ranges from pinkish to mild brown and it has a softer texture and a richer, extra concentrated tuna taste. 

Subsequent, you’ll discover “strong” versus “chunk” which signifies how massive the items are contained in the can. Stable tuna has bigger, firmer fillet items and is usually dearer than chunk. Typically strong tuna is labelled as “fancy” on the can. Chunk tuna accommodates smaller, extra loosely packed items fairly than bigger fillet items. Chunk mild tuna is probably the most budget-friendly kind of canned tuna as a result of it accommodates meat from species like skipjack, that are extra plentiful than albacore and cheaper to catch. 

Lastly, you’ll see the 2 predominant packing types: water-packed and oil-packed. Water-packed tuna is preserved in water or a water-and-salt resolution. As a result of it’s packed in water, it has a milder, extra mineral-forward taste and a leaner texture. Oil-packed tuna, in contrast, is preserved in oil — usually extra-virgin olive oil, common olive oil, vegetable oil, or typically soybean oil. Packed in fats, this tuna has a richer, extra flavorful style straight from the can.

How we examined

For our masked style take a look at, we chosen eight oil-packed tuna manufacturers (4 albacores and 4 different tuna species) from grocery shops based mostly on their reputation and availability. We determined to check oil-packed tuna manufacturers as a result of they’ve a barely longer shelf life than water-packed tuna and you’ll repurpose any leftover oil for varied cooking wants. To maintain issues as truthful as attainable, we skipped canned tunas preserved in flavored oils like lemon pepper or spicy chili.

Earlier than we took out our brand-concealed cans for our testers to pattern, we established standards for a high quality canned tuna. Canned tuna, particularly an oil-packed one, ought to have a balanced richness, savory taste, and agency however tender texture. It shouldn’t really feel mushy within the mouth or style too fishy.

Out of the eight tunas we tried, a couple of fell flat and a few have been downright disastrous, with dry, chalky fillets, funky-tasting oil, or appearances suspiciously like cat meals. One tester even described a very abysmal model as trying “prechewed.” However a couple of of the samples achieved a steadiness of all the things we’d need in a high quality canned tuna. 

If reheating fish within the workplace microwave is frowned upon, draining eight cans of tuna within the shared sink is prison. Fortunately, the manufacturers under have been well worth the aromatic aftermath and small dent in my workplace repute.

Greatest total: Bumble Bee Prime Tonno Yellowfin Stable Mild Tuna

Bumble Bee’s Stable White took residence the perfect canned tuna crown within the first Meals & Wine style take a look at printed in our 1978 insert in Playboy journal (sure, that Playboy). Forty-seven years later, it’s the corporate’s distinctive yellowfin tuna that reigns supreme. Our testers praised the big items of fillets and their agency but pleasantly flaky texture. The flavour was deeply satisfying, and in contrast to another manufacturers, the oil added a lush, buttery richness with out overpowering the fish. “Tastes the closest to freshly cooked tuna. Greatest taste, palms down,” mentioned one tester.

Make the most of the fillet items and serve them in a crisp, Roman-style tuna salad, a comfy tuna casserole, or to spice up a tomato-y tinned fish pasta. 

Greatest for sandwiches: StarKist Stable White Albacore Tuna

Scan the canned tuna aisle and also you’ll spot Charlie the Tuna, StarKist’s official mascot, waving good day. A family identify within the tuna sport since 1917, StarKist was an early pioneer in popularizing canned tuna throughout the US. This tuna had the perfect flaking off our forks with out being mushy and had a juicy, silky mouthfeel. These attributes mixed with its delicate taste work nice for a traditional tuna soften with gooey cheddar or a refreshing tuna salad sandwich excellent for the summer season warmth. It’s price noting that whereas we appreciated how the oil improved the tuna’s texture, this model is packed not in olive oil however fairly vegetable oil, which may be much less interesting to some. 

Greatest for salads: Genova Premium Yellowfin Tuna 

Need tuna that stands out in a salad full of different elements? Genova — aka Rooster of the Sea’s premium model — has you lined. This tuna is barely darker in colour than another manufacturers however provides a nutty, buttery taste that testers liked. Its richer style is the proper steadiness to crisp greens, veggies, and a punchy French dressing. “I’d love this in lettuce cups as a fast snack,” mentioned one tester. 

Right here is the total listing of canned tuna contenders, in alphabetical order

• Bumble Bee Prime Fillet Tonno Stable Mild Tuna in Olive Oil
• Rooster of the Sea Stable White Albacore in Oil
• Genova Premium Yellowfin Tuna in Olive Oil 
• Good & Collect Premium Wild Albacore Chunk White Tuna in Additional-Virgin Olive Oil and Sea Salt 
• Northern Catch Chunk Tuna in Oil *Notice: That is Aldi’s private-label model*
• StarKist Stable White Albacore Tuna in Vegetable Oil 
• Dealer Joe’s Stable Mild Yellowfin Tuna in Olive Oil 
• Wild Planet Stable White Albacore Tuna in Additional-Virgin Olive Oil