Tuna fish sandwich

Tuna fish sandwiches (often just tuna sandwiches) are popular sandwiches. Since the price of tuna has dropped with effective commercial tuna farming, tuna fish sandwiches have become a cost-effective source of nutrition; however, there exist dire concerns about the sustainability of tuna fishing globally.

Ingredients and preparation

Generally consisting of canned tuna, either chunk light or chunk white, tuna fish sandwiches are quickly and easily prepared. The tuna can be mixed with mayonnaise and made into salad with vegetables, such as chopped celery and onion, according to taste. Many consumers also add lettuce and tomatoes.

Variations

Chunk-style tuna mixed with Miracle Whip and sweet pickle relish make what may be called "old fashioned recipe," a sweet variation. Typically served on untoasted white bread.Solid white albacore mixed with real mayonnaise, salt & pepper, chopped raw onion and a splash of lime juice could be called "deli-style," a more savory blend.Gourmet versions of the tuna fish sandwich exist, including the classic French Nicoise. [ [http://tunatrader.wordpress.com/2006/08/28/nicoise-tuna-sandwich/ Tuna Trader web site] ] One version, originally from Brooklyn, contains cream cheese instead of mayonnaise, and pickles or sliced cucumber. fact|date=October 2007

Nutritional information

Tuna is a relatively high protein and low-sodium food, and it's very high in Omega-3 nutrients. A sandwich made from 100 grams of tuna and two slices of toasted white bread has approximately 287 calories, 96 calories of which are from fat. It also has 20g of protein and 27 grams of carbohydrates. [ [http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c214x.html Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Fish, tuna salad ] ] [ [http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c21Gb.html Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Bread, white, commercially prepared, toasted ] ] [ [http://www.tunafacts.com/healthbenefits/index.html Tuna Foundation official web site nutrition page] ]

According to the StarKist company,

A larger, commercially-prepared tuna fish sandwich has more calories than noted above, based on its serving size. A 6-inch Subway tuna sub of 250 grams has 530 calories, 280 of those from fat, about a gram of sodium, and 22 grams of protein. [ [http://www.subway.com/applications/NutritionInfo/nutritionlist.aspx?id=sandwich Subway Restaurants official web site nutrition page] ]

History of tuna

Until 1903, tuna was considered a "nuisance" fish or pauper's food, when, after a sardine shortage, a California canner replaced the usual fish with albacore. [ [http://www.tunafacts.com/abouttuna/tunahistory.html Tuna Foundation official web site history web page] ] [ [http://www.foodtimeline.org/ Food Timeline web site] ] [ [http://seafood.ucdavis.edu/pubs/albacorefishery.htm University of California at Davis official web site Seafood Network Information Center web page] ] After 1910, the industry grew with increasing consumer demand for tuna fish, discovery of new fisheries off San Diego, and World War I demand for tuna supply. [ [http://www.tunafacts.com/abouttuna/tunahistory.html Tuna Foundation official website history web page] ] By the 1920s, other related species were being fished and marketed as tuna, but albacore retained the highest prices. [ [http://seafood.ucdavis.edu/pubs/albacorefishery.htm University of California at Davis official website Seafood Network Information Center web page] ] At that time:

The tuna catch has decreased in recent decades:quote|Fishing effort and catch of albacore in the Japanese pole-and-line and the U. S. surface fisheries have declined, beginning in the early 1980s. In contrast, recent landings in the Japanese longline fishery have been relatively constant, and there has been a rapid development of Asian gillnet fisheries that harvest large numbers of albacore in the North Pacific. Several factors are associated with the decline in the traditional surface fisheries, but their relative importance is unknown. It appears that no single factor is responsible, but that the decline in catches is a result of complex interactions among factors, including (1) a reduction in overall fishing effort for albacore, (2) lack of fishing in areas of traditional high catch, (3) indications of population decline and (4) major anomaly patterns in oceanographic conditions across much of the North Pacific in the md-1980's and early 1990s.| [ [http://seafood.ucdavis.edu/pubs/albacorefishery.htm University of California at Davis official website Seafood Network Information Center web page] ] As with many other top predators in the world's oceans, tuna stocks are in serious trouble [ [http://ram.biology.dal.ca/~myers/depletion/ Ransom Meyers and Boris Worm in Nature 2003] ] .

Tuna sandwiches in the media

Tuna fish sandwiches have been featured as meals on the Food Network, including renowned chef Emeril Lagasse featuring the delicacy on his "Sandwich Sensation" show in 2004. [ [http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_28646,00.html Recipes : Kicked Up Tuna Melt : Food Network ] ]

Large chain sub shops such as Subway, Quiznos, and Blimpie often feature tuna subs as a daily deal or featured sub. [ [http://www.subway.com/applications/menu/frmMenuPanel.aspx?menuId=4&countryCode=USA&languageCode=ENG Subway offcial website Featured sandwiches web page] ] [ [http://www.quiznos.com/menu/subs.asp Quizno's official website Menu page, featuring the "Real Deal menu"] ] [ [http://www.blimpie.com/menu/eatintakeout.php Blimpie official website Menu web page] ]

In an episode of the U.S. version of The Office, Andy Bernard nicknames Jim Halpert "Big Tuna" after eating a tuna fish sandwich on his first day in the Stamford Branch of Dunder Mifflin. fact|date=October 2007

References

ee also

* Albacore
* Tuna melt
* Tuna salad

External links

* [http://www.tunafacts.com Tuna Foundation official web site]
* [http://pacificalbacore.com/recipes/ Wild Pacific Albacore recipes]
* [http://wfoa-tuna.com Western Fishboat Owners Association]
* [http://afrf.org American Fishermen's Research Foundation]