Tuna is a favorite in the fitness circle, low-fat and nutritious, not to mention, the taste is also very delicious, almost every fitness expert can casually say ten ways to do tuna.
At that time, tuna sold well in Europe and the United States, and now, canned tuna can be found everywhere on the shelves of domestic supermarkets, and the price is "very friendly".
But if you pay a little attention, you will find that the first place on the list of canned tuna ingredients reads: Bonito!
Image credit stocksnap.io
What？ Is bonito a divine horse species? Obviously said good tuna canned, where did our tuna go?
Tuna vs bonito
The warm Pacific Ocean is phosphorescent and deep. Beneath the seemingly calm ocean are countless mysterious marine creatures, some of which are colorful or some of which are strangely shaped.
One of the fish, flying at the speed of a cannonball on the bottom of the sea, never stopping, is today's protagonist - tuna.
Image source pexels.com
Tuna is also known as "Tuna", and the name sounds strange because it is a transliteration of the English name "tuna" for tuna.
Tuna is a typical ocean-going migratory fish, the so-called ocean migration, that is, this fish will periodically "turn back" in the ocean.
Tuna is the world, because the migration distance is very large, and fishing boats in various countries are chasing them, which is why the international convention for the protection of tuna will be introduced.
Tuna is a typical commercial fish, and the economic value makes merchants "sharpen their knives" one by one.
The reason why the canning merchant dares to be so fishy and pretend to be a tuna with bonito is not to borrow anyone's guts, but that the tuna itself is not a fish, but a large group.
The tuna family includes six species of tuna, bonito, bonito, bonito, bonito, fox bonito, and naked fox bonito, all of which have a cannonball-like body, metallic luster, and torpedo-like speed, so all of the above species can be generally referred to as "tuna".
From the perspective of fishery utilization, the price of tuna is sorted from high to low, mainly divided into six types: bluefin tuna, masu tuna, big-eye tuna, yellowfin tuna, albacore tuna and bonito.
The first three are generally cut into sashimi and sold into high-end sushi restaurants, while the latter, in addition to making sashimi, is more canned and sold around the world.
The bluefin tuna, which ranks first in price, is the most famous "top brand Huadan" in the tuna population, and is the largest tuna, weighing up to more than 500 kilograms.
The bright blue back of the bluefin tuna, the silver halo abdomen, and the muscular muscles all make people "salivate". The streamlined body resembles a torpedo, with a maximum speed of 72 kilometers per hour and a 60-day crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.
Hemingway once lamented that if anyone could catch such a fish, he would be able to "be worthy of being with the ancient gods." Such a rare and expensive fish, the belly is full of fat, large and fat, is a good choice for high-grade sashimi.
Big-eyed tuna is the strongest of all tuna, although they are smaller than bluefin tuna, they are the "Mr. Bodybuilder" in tuna, belonging to the lean tuna, the fat content is particularly low, the flesh is bright red and shiny, and it is popular with fitness people.
The last in line for the price is bonito, which, yes, is the boss of the canned tuna ingredients in the supermarket.
Bonito is the smallest tuna, mostly 0.5 meters long, mostly frozen after distant-water fishing (fish meat needs to be thawed and then processed), the output is very large, the cost is low, and the meat is rich, can be called inexpensive, canned tuna in supermarkets are mostly made of it.
Bonito, picture source Hui Junbo
In addition, there are also small yellowfin tuna and albacore tuna used as raw materials for canned tuna, which is the high-end product of canned tuna.
Then again, whether it's a little more expensive yellowfin, albacore, or cheap bonito, as long as it is made into canned food, the taste and nutrition are not much different.
In recent years, with the strengthening of tuna catch restrictions, canned tuna is generally made of bonito, so the price of canned tuna in supermarkets is generally not high, and almost everyone can consume it.
Why make canned tuna with bonito?
Tuna as a representative of the "green skin red meat" fish, in addition to low fat and high protein, rich in a variety of minerals, vitamins, but also rich in EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid, one of several Ω-3 fatty acids commonly used in the human body) and known as the gold of the brain DHA (docosahexaenoic acid, is an important component of the cerebral cortex, central nervous system and retina, its level in vivo will directly affect the proliferation of brain cells, nerve conduction, synapse growth and development), It can effectively prevent the occurrence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and promote the development of children's brain and retina.
In addition, tuna swim in the deep sea, and all kinds of marine pollution are relatively small, which is an absolute excellent ingredient.
Some people can't help but ask, if tuna is so good, why canned food? Wouldn't it be better to farm in large areas so that the public can eat fresh tuna meat instead of being canned.
In fact, human beings have been making unremitting efforts on the road of artificial breeding of tuna, helpless, it is really "concubines can't do it."
Image source pixabay.com
Tuna is a "can not stop" fish, at the bottom of the dark and deep ocean, it needs to filter the oxygen in the water through the gills to breathe, only by swimming rapidly, it will not choke, so the tuna is swimming even when sleeping, but the speed is lower than that of the day.
It is precisely because of the "excessive exercise", ordinary fish are generally cold-blooded animals, while tuna is a hot-blooded animal, and the developed blood vessels save heat in the body, so that their body temperature is as high as 33 ° C ~ 35 ° C.
High body temperatures and a strong metabolism make tuna react quickly and become super hunters in the ocean.
Fish that can eat and swim in this way require a lot of food and sufficient feeding space, which is a high-risk business that burns money and high risk, so even if it is farmed, it can only be kept in a small range for 6-7 months.
At present, tuna is still dominated by distant-water fishing, even if there is some artificial farming, the overall scale is also very small, so the price of fresh tuna meat is doomed to not be civilianized.
Although the big noble golden guns of bluefin, masu, and big eyes can't eat what they want, the small bonito can also have its benefits.
Large tuna are mostly top predators, at the top of the food chain, and are very prone to excess heavy metals, such as the bluefin tuna, known as the wolf of the deep sea, which has a mercury content of 60 times that of sardines.
Mercury is very damaging to the nerves and kidneys of the brain, and it can also cause unbearable neuropathic pain, which makes people shudder.
In terms of heavy metal content, small bonito is much lower, and if there are children or the elderly in the family, it is safer to eat canned tuna or choose bonito under conditions that cannot judge the hygiene of the ingredients.
Common canned tuna is usually divided into three categories: water immersion, oil immersion and flavor enhancement. Water-soaked canned food is relatively light, suitable for making salads or sandwiches; oil-immersed canned food has a lubricating taste, full of flavor, more suitable for pizza, and the calories are higher; as for the flavor-enhancing canned food, spicy, five-spice, mustard can be chosen at will, healthy and nutritious at the same time, to meet the various requirements of foodies (you).
Source: Tadpole staves
Edit: Dannis