Fresh Tuna

Also known asTunny · Maguro · 金枪鱼 · 吞拿鱼

Name: Fresh tuna — large, fast-swimming, muscular ocean fish, mainly bluefin, yellowfin, bigeye, albacore and skipjack, sold as thick, deep-red steaks, and used for sushi, sashimi and grilling. The canned form has its own page.

Description

Tuna are among the fastest and most valuable fish in the sea. Bluefin tuna has been a prized food in Japan for centuries, and the highest quality is sold at the Tokyo fish auction for huge prices, with single fish selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Overfishing has severely depleted Atlantic bluefin, and strict quotas now apply, with some stocks recovering.

Fresh tuna has a firm, meaty texture, a clean taste when very fresh, and is best cooked rare, to keep it tender and moist. Fattier cuts, such as the belly (toro), are the most valued, and leaner cuts are used for steaks. Larger species accumulate more mercury than smaller ones.

Main nutrition value

Fresh tuna is a lean, high-protein fish that provides vitamin B12, selenium, niacin and vitamin D, and some omega-3, with fattier cuts and bluefin providing more.

How best to be consumed

Fresh tuna is best cooked rare, or eaten raw as sushi.

1. Sear a thick steak in a very hot pan for 1 to 2 minutes per side, leaving the centre pink, with sesame, pepper or a soy-ginger marinade.
2. Slice as sashimi or sushi only from fish sold for raw consumption, and very fresh.
3. Grill or bake steaks, or cook through for a firm, flaky result.
4. Make tuna tartare, poke or ceviche with citrus, avocado and herbs.
5. Buy fish with a deep, translucent, glossy colour and no strong smell, and keep it cold.

Overconsumption could cause…

Fresh tuna is healthy, but mercury and freshness matter.

1. Mercury, a metal that builds up in fish and can affect the developing nervous system, so pregnant and breastfeeding women and young children should follow local advice on how much and which fish to eat. Bluefin and bigeye tuna contain more mercury than skipjack and albacore, and are on lists of fish to limit.
2. Scombroid (histamine) poisoning, causing flushing, headache, rash and stomach upset within minutes to hours, from fish that were stored too warm, so buy very fresh fish and keep it cold.
3. Food poisoning and parasites (such as anisakis worms) from raw or undercooked fish, so use fish sold as suitable for raw eating, freeze it first, and take extra care in pregnancy and with weak immunity.
4. Fish allergy, which can be severe and is usually lifelong, so anyone allergic must avoid fish and check labels, including fish in sauces and dressings.
5. Overfishing of bluefin tuna, which many shoppers avoid.

GroupsOily FishFinfishHigh proteinLow sodiumRich in omega-3Rich in seleniumRich in vitamin ARich in vitamin B12Rich in vitamin DFresh

Made intoCanned Tuna

Related foodsRainbow TroutTroutSpanish MackerelAnchoviesHerringSalmon

Wikipedia — Tuna, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuna