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We have embarked on a taste test tour of supermarket foods. We nibble, we score, and we share the results to help you avoid the paralysis of Brand Choice Overload.
Today's topic: Canned Tuna A lot of us grew up with Mom's tuna casserole or brown bag tuna salad sandwiches for school lunch. Some would say canned tuna is as American as apple pie, but the first tuna fish was actually canned as a replacement for the more popular sardine during a shortage in 1903. What started as a temporary substitution has become a national habit; Americans consume almost 1 billion pounds of the stuff per year. If you follow the news, you probably know that canned tuna has become problematic over the past few years because of overfishing concerns and rising mercury levels. But a can of tuna remains a pantry staple in most American homes and provides for a number of quick meal options. So this week, the BA staff blindly tasted nine different brands of canned tuna, including albacore, yellowfin, and tongol varieties packed in both water and oil, and we picked our favorites. At the same time, nutritionist Marissa Lippert broke down the ingredient information, deciding on which brands are best for you.
Best Supermarket Brands for Flavor
#1 Trader Joe's Albacore Solid Water
Nutrition:One serving (2 oz) = 60 calories, 1g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 25mg cholesterol, 180mg sodium, 0g carbs, 0g sugars, 13g protein.
Ingredients: Solid Light Tuna, Water, Salt.
Cost: $1.49 from Trader Joe's in New York City.
Blind Tasting Notes: "Nice moist texture"; "Moist, sweet, yummy, salty--like this"; "Looks better than the others, almost like it hasn't been sitting packed in a can".
2# Starkist: Chunk light tuna
Nutrition: One serving (2 oz) = 80 calories, 0.5g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 35mg cholesterol, 300mg sodium, 1g carbs, 0g sugars, 18g protein.
Ingredients: Light Tuna, Water, Vegetable Broth, Salt.
Cost: $2.99 from Fairway market in New York City.
Blind Tasting Notes: "Fresh tasting"; "Good, not too salty"; "Kind of fishy"; "Pretty good".
#3 Genovo Tonno Solid light Tuna in Olive Oil
Nutrition: One serving (2 oz) = 120 calories, 8g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 25mg cholesterol, 250mg sodium, 0g carbs, 0g sugars, 13g protein.
Ingredients: Solid Light Tuna, Olive Oil, Salt.
Cost: $2.29 from Fairway market in New York City.
Blind Tasting Notes: "Juicy, more flavorful"; "Flavorful, good texture"; "Nice one--not too light or dark. I think oil-packed helps"; "Too fishy"; "Meh".
Nutritionist Marissa Lippert's Picks
Lippert broke down her picks into water-packed brands and oil-packed brands, but she says the only health difference really is that the oil gets you a little more in terms of healthy fats (unsaturated and omega-3s).
First, some notes from her: "Sodium levels: the lower the better, of course. Salt that tuna salad yourself, if you must! Two brands contained over 300 mg of sodium--nearly 15 percent of your daily recommendation--so they go to the bottom of my list. (Those brands were StarKist Chunk Light in Water and Progresso.) chicken of the sea is also out because it contains vegetable broth (which may add sodium) and soybean oil instead of olive oil. soybean oil contains only about 1/3 of the amount of monounsaturated fats compared to canola, safflower and olive oils--it's just not as nutritionally stellar.
Poll- and line-caught tuna generally have lower mercury levels than longline-caught fish. White albacore tuna tends to have more mercury than chunk light, but it also contains higher levels of good omega-3 fats. Sort of a catch-22.
Yes, tuna packed in olive oil contains more fat and calories, but it's healthy fat. If you're tossing it into a green salad (sans mayo), you'll likely need a bit less dressing, so it ends up evening out."
Water packed Tuna:
#1 Trader Joe's Albacore Solid White Tuna in Water
Nutrition: One serving (2 oz) = 60 calories, 1g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 25mg cholesterol, 180mg sodium, 0g carbs, 0g sugars, 13g protein.
Ingredients: Solid Light Tuna, Water, Salt.
Cost: $1.49 from Trader Joe's in New York City.
Our Assessment: Hooray! This was our favorite, too
2 Whole Foods 365 Tongol Tuna in Spring Water
Nutrition: One serving (2 oz) = 60 calories, 0g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 140mg sodium, 0g carbs, 0g sugars, 14g protein.
Ingredients: White Tuna, Spring Water, Salt.
Cost: $1.49 from Whole Foods in New York City.
Our Assessment: Most people thought this was both too salty and too fishy. And one person though it tasted "like cat food."
Oil Packed Tuna
1 Trader Joe's Albacore Solid white tuna in olive oil
Nutrition: One serving (2 oz) = 110 calories, 6g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 25mg cholesterol, 180mg sodium, 0g carbs, 0g sugars, 13g protein.
Ingredients: Solid White Tuna, Olive Oil, Salt.
Cost: $1.99 from Trader Joe's in New York City.
Our Assessment: Some thought this was dry and mealy, some thought it was firmly chunky and had a nice, mild flavor. It ranked towards the bottom.
Genova Tonno Solid light tuna in Olive Oil
Nutrition: One serving (2 oz) = 120 calories, 8g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 25mg cholesterol, 250mg sodium, 0g carbs, 0g sugars, 13g protein.
Ingredients: Solid Light Tuna, Olive Oil, Salt.
Cost: $2.29 from Fairway market in New York City.
Our Assessment: This was our third favorite for flavor!
Today's topic: Canned Tuna A lot of us grew up with Mom's tuna casserole or brown bag tuna salad sandwiches for school lunch. Some would say canned tuna is as American as apple pie, but the first tuna fish was actually canned as a replacement for the more popular sardine during a shortage in 1903. What started as a temporary substitution has become a national habit; Americans consume almost 1 billion pounds of the stuff per year. If you follow the news, you probably know that canned tuna has become problematic over the past few years because of overfishing concerns and rising mercury levels. But a can of tuna remains a pantry staple in most American homes and provides for a number of quick meal options. So this week, the BA staff blindly tasted nine different brands of canned tuna, including albacore, yellowfin, and tongol varieties packed in both water and oil, and we picked our favorites. At the same time, nutritionist Marissa Lippert broke down the ingredient information, deciding on which brands are best for you.
Best Supermarket Brands for Flavor
#1 Trader Joe's Albacore Solid Water
Nutrition:One serving (2 oz) = 60 calories, 1g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 25mg cholesterol, 180mg sodium, 0g carbs, 0g sugars, 13g protein.
Ingredients: Solid Light Tuna, Water, Salt.
Cost: $1.49 from Trader Joe's in New York City.
Blind Tasting Notes: "Nice moist texture"; "Moist, sweet, yummy, salty--like this"; "Looks better than the others, almost like it hasn't been sitting packed in a can".
2# Starkist: Chunk light tuna
Nutrition: One serving (2 oz) = 80 calories, 0.5g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 35mg cholesterol, 300mg sodium, 1g carbs, 0g sugars, 18g protein.
Ingredients: Light Tuna, Water, Vegetable Broth, Salt.
Cost: $2.99 from Fairway market in New York City.
Blind Tasting Notes: "Fresh tasting"; "Good, not too salty"; "Kind of fishy"; "Pretty good".
#3 Genovo Tonno Solid light Tuna in Olive Oil
Nutrition: One serving (2 oz) = 120 calories, 8g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 25mg cholesterol, 250mg sodium, 0g carbs, 0g sugars, 13g protein.
Ingredients: Solid Light Tuna, Olive Oil, Salt.
Cost: $2.29 from Fairway market in New York City.
Blind Tasting Notes: "Juicy, more flavorful"; "Flavorful, good texture"; "Nice one--not too light or dark. I think oil-packed helps"; "Too fishy"; "Meh".
Nutritionist Marissa Lippert's Picks
Lippert broke down her picks into water-packed brands and oil-packed brands, but she says the only health difference really is that the oil gets you a little more in terms of healthy fats (unsaturated and omega-3s).
First, some notes from her: "Sodium levels: the lower the better, of course. Salt that tuna salad yourself, if you must! Two brands contained over 300 mg of sodium--nearly 15 percent of your daily recommendation--so they go to the bottom of my list. (Those brands were StarKist Chunk Light in Water and Progresso.) chicken of the sea is also out because it contains vegetable broth (which may add sodium) and soybean oil instead of olive oil. soybean oil contains only about 1/3 of the amount of monounsaturated fats compared to canola, safflower and olive oils--it's just not as nutritionally stellar.
Poll- and line-caught tuna generally have lower mercury levels than longline-caught fish. White albacore tuna tends to have more mercury than chunk light, but it also contains higher levels of good omega-3 fats. Sort of a catch-22.
Yes, tuna packed in olive oil contains more fat and calories, but it's healthy fat. If you're tossing it into a green salad (sans mayo), you'll likely need a bit less dressing, so it ends up evening out."
Water packed Tuna:
#1 Trader Joe's Albacore Solid White Tuna in Water
Nutrition: One serving (2 oz) = 60 calories, 1g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 25mg cholesterol, 180mg sodium, 0g carbs, 0g sugars, 13g protein.
Ingredients: Solid Light Tuna, Water, Salt.
Cost: $1.49 from Trader Joe's in New York City.
Our Assessment: Hooray! This was our favorite, too
2 Whole Foods 365 Tongol Tuna in Spring Water
Nutrition: One serving (2 oz) = 60 calories, 0g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 140mg sodium, 0g carbs, 0g sugars, 14g protein.
Ingredients: White Tuna, Spring Water, Salt.
Cost: $1.49 from Whole Foods in New York City.
Our Assessment: Most people thought this was both too salty and too fishy. And one person though it tasted "like cat food."
Oil Packed Tuna
1 Trader Joe's Albacore Solid white tuna in olive oil
Nutrition: One serving (2 oz) = 110 calories, 6g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 25mg cholesterol, 180mg sodium, 0g carbs, 0g sugars, 13g protein.
Ingredients: Solid White Tuna, Olive Oil, Salt.
Cost: $1.99 from Trader Joe's in New York City.
Our Assessment: Some thought this was dry and mealy, some thought it was firmly chunky and had a nice, mild flavor. It ranked towards the bottom.
Genova Tonno Solid light tuna in Olive Oil
Nutrition: One serving (2 oz) = 120 calories, 8g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 25mg cholesterol, 250mg sodium, 0g carbs, 0g sugars, 13g protein.
Ingredients: Solid Light Tuna, Olive Oil, Salt.
Cost: $2.29 from Fairway market in New York City.
Our Assessment: This was our third favorite for flavor!
