Tuna is one of the most consumed fish in our Mediterranean diet, even more so if we lead a healthy or fitness lifestyle. Being in the gym often means seeing people eating rice or pasta with tuna in a tupperware. The most common thing is to see that canned tuna, although the ideal is always to eat it fresh.
Has it happened to you that you go to the supermarket and find cans of tuna with different types of preserves? Natural, with virgin olive oil, with sunflower oil, pickled... Would you know which is better? We help you correctly choose which can of tuna is the most appropriate.
How do you make canned tuna?
Freshly caught fish is frozen on the ship. Once it arrives at the plant, it is inspected and thawed by experts. Then they are steamed and cut to remove the meat and placed in cans or jars with oil, salt and any other ingredients. Finally it is sealed and pressure cooked back into the can to seal the jar and sterilize the contents.
According to tuna processing experts, things can go wrong at various stages. It is necessary that quick freeze and is kept that way to preserve quality. Otherwise, ice crystals will form in the meat and pierce the cell walls, allowing moisture to escape when the tuna thaws.
The tuna also goes through the critical steps of thermal processing in the plant, which can make or break its flavor and texture. That is, the fish is heated and cooled several times, so time and temperature are important. At worst it will overcook. While canned tuna in oil makes up for some of the dry feeling, it doesn't make up for it all.
If a tuna is sold in a glass jarThis will be an indicator that the fish is moist and tender, as glass cannot withstand the high-temperature treatment used for cans, so the contents are pasteurized at a lower temperature.
Light tuna vs albacore tuna
Aside from the topic of canned tuna in oil vs. tuna in water, we've probably noticed that there are two other main varieties of fish for sale in the supermarket. These are "light" tuna (skipjack) and "white" tuna (also known as albacore).
These two types of tuna differ in their toxin content, particularly in the amount of mercury they contain. The light tuna Canned it is the “best” option in terms of mercury content. However the canned white or albacore tuna and fresh is only considered a "good" choice. It is recommended that people limit their intake of types of fish in the latter category to one serving per week.
Health experts also say that women pregnant women and breast-feeding should choose the types of fish with lower mercury content, so it would be better to buy light tuna and not white/albacore.
Types of canned tuna
When going to the supermarket we find numerous types of packaging. This can make us not understand if it is healthier to consume it naturally (with only water), in oils (sunflower or olive) or pickled. Below we will clear up your doubts so that the next purchase is healthier and more nutritious.
Natural
Tuna packed in water is what most people expect from canned tuna. With no added fat or ingredients, one can contains fewer calories than tuna packed in oil and is ideal for recipes. If you are looking for more protein without the addition of fat, canned tuna plain is the best option.
Water-packed tuna is firm, light in texture, easy to flake or mash, and fairly dry. The dry quality of the fish makes water-packed fish an excellent choice for recipes where it is mixed with more ingredients, such as tuna cakes or a salad.
From a macronutrient standpoint, there isn't much difference in the amount of protein or fat when comparing canned tuna in brine to fresh tuna. Fresh is higher in protein and also has a few more calories. In 100 grams of the natural can we find 25 grams of protein, 1 gram of fat and 109 calories, while 100 grams of its fresh cooked version have 32 grams of protein, 1 gram of fat and 136 calories.
in oils
Some fish lovers prefer the olive oil option because it is more tender, making it flavorful and easy to eat straight from the can. It is wetter than tuna canned in water, so it is recommended for light, fresh salads. The nutritional difference comes when you buy canned tuna in oil since, although the protein levels are the same, the fat content increases to almost 7 grams per 100 of product and the calories increase to 159 calories.
Is sunflower oil bad even though it is a vegetable oil? The properties provided by olive oil are unmatched by sunflower oil; so if you want to buy canned tuna in vegetable oil, it is preferable that you bet on olive oil. Also, oil-packed tuna has less sodium than water-packed tuna.
Pickled canned tuna
Escabeche is a method of preserving food in vinegar. The method for processing a pickled food is considered to be marinated, and the technique consists of pre-cooking it using a vinegar broth, fried oil, wine, bay leaf and peppercorns. In this case, the calorie content increases up to 170 per 100 grams of product. Even so, as also happens with those packed in oil, tuna continues to maintain its protein content.
In the case of some cans of pickled tuna, there is a possibility that they may contain monosodium glutamate (E-621). The more we avoid this component, the better it will be for our health. They also tend to be high in sodium.
What is the most recommended?
Seeing on the label "olive oil" can make us believe that it is healthy. It is, we are not going to deny it, but what is the purpose of that can? If we are going to use it for salads and then we are going to add an oil and vinegar dressing, we will be consuming an excess of oil.
Extra virgin olive oil is healthy, but taking too much can cause us to exceed our recommended daily amount of fats. Likewise, we will be increasing our calorie intake without realizing it; something counterproductive if we are on a weight loss plan.
Do not settle for emptying the oil that the can contains, since the tuna is soaked in it and it is highly difficult to remove the excess. The ideal is to buy it natural and low sodium, so we get rid of abusing any nutrient and we make sure to take a good dose of protein (about 10-12 grams per can).
Which one is more fattening?
If we are concerned about calories, tuna in water is undoubtedly better for the waistline. In half a cup of canned tuna in oil we find 145 calories, while the same amount in water has only 66 calories.
When it comes to Omega-3 fats, healthy fats that can reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes, tuna in water is the best option. Studies have found that tuna in water has approximately three times the beneficial Omega-3 EPA and DHA fats than tuna in oil. This is because when you drain the oil from oil-packed tuna, some of the Omega-3s in the fish accompany it. But water and oil don't mix, so when you drain the liquid from canned tuna, you don't reduce the Omega-3s.
However, in some cases, tuna in oil can provide better results. For example, half a cup of canned tuna in oil has 55 micrograms of selenium compared to 5 micrograms in the same amount of tuna in water.