Best brand of tuna packed in oil

Which brand of tuna packed in oil is the tastiest? I recently bought an expensive (to me) jar of Italian tuna and didn't find the taste to be worthy of the cost. However, I still do prefer tuna in oil over water. Suggestions to brands appreciated!

Darlene Carrigan
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16 Comments

Melusine
Melusine August 25, 2013
To split the Tonnino hair a bit -- they have a couple of grades. The blue-labeled tuna is fine for salad, but the red-labeled ventresca is wonderful, and a better choice when the tuna is front and center in whatever you're making.
 
Ronnie
Ronnie August 24, 2013
Tonnino, tuna fillets on olive oil is delicious, but it is a little pricey..
 
calendargirl
calendargirl July 20, 2012
I'm with pierino on both Corti Brothers and Zingerman's. Both are terrific sources. I took advantage of their sale on Ortiz Bonito del Norte last summer and was so glad I did. Even the canned tuna haters like this stuff, and for good reason.
 
ChefJune
ChefJune July 16, 2012
I've been buying Tonnino in glass jars at Whole Foods. It's pricy, but SO delicious.
 
Darlene C.
Darlene C. July 16, 2012
Thanks for all the tips. Picked up some Ortiz Bonito del Norte as well as some tuna belly over the weekend. Can't wait to do some taste comparisons this week! I see a Nicoise salad in my near future.

@Pierino Many thanks for posting the zingermans website. Had a lot of fun ordering specialty items. Will be returning often to this site!
 
pierino
pierino July 16, 2012
In which case another source you might want to check out is Corti Brothers in Sacramento. Fantastic stuff.
 
Melusine
Melusine July 15, 2012
Tonnino -- without anything cute added to it. The "I'm too tired to cook" favorite recipe for The Friend is a pasta 'sauce' with diced artichoke hearts (also in oil, not water) sun-dried tomatoes, a mix of good olives, capers, lemon and a couple jars of the Tonnino Ventresca. Yummy stuff.
 
CHeeb
CHeeb July 15, 2012
I tried a new World Market brand in store yesterday ,Darlene. Neptuna is in a small jar from Costa Rica.It was reasonably priced ( 2/$5 ) and one jar made two large sandwiches. It,too, is in olive oil.It was very firm fleshed and mild. Not fishy at all.
 
em-i-lis
em-i-lis July 14, 2012
I like cento!
 
CHeeb
CHeeb July 14, 2012
There are two varieties that my father really likes in his birthday basket of gourmet goodies each year. We like jarred or canned Tonnino brand. I find it at The Fresh Market and occaionally at World Market. Amazon also usually is a source for Tonnino .The second is a Publix brand in a can called Genova Tonno. Both are very meaty and tasty . They rarely have the "shreds" of tuna you find in most tunas today, and they are canned in olive oil ,too.
 
pierino
pierino July 14, 2012
FWIW if you read the label on the Genova (really fine print) you will see that it's made by Chicken of the Sea.
 
Diana B.
Diana B. July 14, 2012
Here's a link to the taste testing kbckitchen refers to: http://www.cooksillustrated.com/tastetests/overview.asp?docid=30478
 
pierino
pierino July 13, 2012
I would recommend As do Mar or Ortiz. Both are packed in Spain.
 
Tarragon
Tarragon July 14, 2012
I have seen Ortiz tuna recommended on this site previously. Where does one obtain it? I have looked for it unsuccessfully in Whole Foods, Fresh Market, and various "gourmet" markets in the Miami area. Thanks!
 
pierino
pierino July 14, 2012
You can order Ortiz through Zingerman's. In fact they are having a sale on it through the month. That would be for the "bonito del norte". They also have other styles and cuts, the best being the tuna belly, "ventresca" which can be really expensive.
 
kbckitchen
kbckitchen July 13, 2012
Cooks illustrated had a comparison a few months ago. Sorry I don't remember the winner but I'm sure you can find it on line
 
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