Known as the "King of Sashimi", the delicious tuna of the deep sea is widely popular with foodies and has a high market value. As the main species of distant-water fisheries in Guangdong Province, tuna is an important part of distant-water fisheries and marine economy. Huang Fuxiong, president of the Guangdong Distant Water Fisheries Association, revealed that in recent years, Guangdong Province has increased its support and is committed to opening up the domestic market, and the volume of tuna and other distant-water products and market consumption have increased year by year.
On July 30th, the 2021 "Ocean Treasure, Ten Thousand Families Sharing" Tuna Tasting Meeting was successfully held in Guangzhou Dining and Drinking Space. The tasting meeting was supported and guided by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Guangdong Province, and jointly sponsored by the Guangdong Distant Water Fisheries Association and the Guangdong Catering Service Industry Association. Representatives from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Guangdong Province, the Consulate General of Japan in Guangzhou, and the China Distant Water Fisheries Association attended the tasting meeting.
At the event site, professional fish cutting masters demonstrated the dissection of tuna on the spot, and the chef team of Chef He Haihui, a famous Cantonese chef, "Geek Kitchen", cooked the dishes. From "materials" to "delicacies", diners witnessed the whole process of tuna truly "swimming" on the table. In the famous food drama "Lonely Foodie", there have been many times when tuna delicacies appear, from sashimi and sushi to stewing and grilling... It's a wonderful experience.
Tuna, a prestigious premium ingredient, is transliterated as tuna because of its English name "Tuna". Usually, we will encounter a lot of terms and terms about this fish, in fact, tuna is a huge family, in addition to the local tycoons worth tens of thousands of yuan, there are also affordable small fresh. This article introduces you to the most comprehensive and detailed knowledge of this delicacy.
There are only 8 species of real tuna
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We usually say tuna, refers to: mackerel suborder - mackerel subfamily - mackerel subfamily - tuna family - tuna genus under the genus 8 species, including: Atlantic bluefin tuna, Pacific bluefin tuna, southern bluefin tuna, bigeye tuna, albacore tuna, yellowfin tuna, blackfin tuna, longtail tuna.
1. Atlantic bluefin tuna
Atlantic bluefin tuna is the most expensive tuna, living in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, the fin is dark blue, the back to the abdomen is silver gray, the life span can reach 30 years, the body length can reach 3 meters, the largest individual recorded was caught in Nova Scotia, Canada, weighing 679 kg. Spawning sites are in the Gulf of Mexico (April to June) and the Mediterranean Sea (June to August).
2. Pacific bluefin tuna
Pacific bluefin tuna live in the warm waters of the North Pacific Ocean, the appearance is almost the same as the Atlantic bluefin tuna, the body length of up to 3 meters, is an oceanic migratory fish, in groups of activity, feeding on fish, cephalopods, crustaceans, spawning in the Philippines. Most of this fish is caught in Japan.
3. Southern bluefin tuna
The Southern Bluefin Tuna is slightly smaller than the first two bluefin tuna species, reaching a length of 2.5 m and 260 kg, mainly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. In Japan, this bluefin tuna is also popular and has a slightly lower price than the first two. All three species of bluefin tuna are currently the most intensively caught tuna.
4. Big-eyed tuna
Big-eyed tuna, also known as macrobrachic, lives in tropical to subtropical waters, inhabits depths of up to 250 meters, body length of up to 2.5 meters, is a marine migratory fish, feeding on fish, cephalopods, etc., is one of the edible fish, but also one of the largest catch of tuna.
5. Albacore tuna
Albacore tuna, also known as albacore tuna, is named after the pectoral fin of about 30% of its body length, living in tropical and temperate oceans and the Mediterranean Sea, inhabiting depths of up to 600 meters, feeding on fish and squid, with a body length of about 1.5 meters and about 60 kilograms. Most of the canned tuna that is commonly found on the market is made from this fish.
6. Yellowfin tuna
Yellowfin tuna, named after the yellow color of the two dorsal and fins, lives in tropical and subtropical waters, but does not include the Mediterranean Sea, has a body length of about 2 meters, weighs about 200 kg, and moves in groups, feeding on fish, crustaceans, squid, etc., as a high economic value of food fish.
7. Blackfin tuna
Blackfin tuna is distributed in the western Atlantic Region, from Massachusetts in the United States to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with a body length of up to 1 meter, inhabiting coastal waters, moving in groups, feeding on fish, cephalopods, crustaceans, and can be used as edible fish and swimming fishing.
8. Long-tailed tuna
Long-tailed tuna, also known as green sweet tuna, inhabits turbid coastal waters and moves in groups, feeding on fish, cephalopods, and crustaceans. It is found in the indo-western Pacific region, from the Red Sea to New Guinea and from Japan to Australia in the north.
In addition to the above 8 kinds of genuine tuna, there are 14 kinds of close relatives in the tuna family, namely the tuna family's positive bonito, double-finned rudder bonito, flat-rudder bonito, flat-rudder bonito, flat bonito, line bonito, oriental fox bonito, gray leaping bonito, and naked fox bonito.
Body size, color, which tuna is the best to eat?
High-quality ingredients are a delight to behold. Different tuna contain unique flavors, food color, as a high-quality marine fish from the deep ocean, just look at the size and color, is this delicious visual representative.
Different members of the tuna family have different appearances, with body lengths ranging from tens of centimeters to 3 meters, and weights ranging from tens of kilograms to hundreds of kilograms, with huge differences in size.
Comparison of the size of different species of wild tuna (Source: OPRT)
Among the members of the tuna family, the Atlantic bluefin tuna is the largest, followed by the Pacific bluefin tuna, the southern bluefin tuna is third, the big-eyed tuna (tied) is third, the yellowfin tuna is fifth, the albacore tuna is sixth, and the bonito is the smallest. Blackfin tuna and long-tailed tuna (commonly known as dried green tuna) are also smaller.
When we usually eat tuna sashimi, we usually see that the color of the meat is red, but in fact, the tuna meat also has other colors.
The flesh of bluefin tuna is dark red, high in fat, and rich in flavor, making it the first choice for tuna sashimi.
The flesh of the yellowfin tuna is light pink and has a light taste, but the taste is comparable to that of bluefin tuna, which is a cheap tuna sashimi, and the canned yellowfin tuna is the Chanel in the canned tuna.
Albacore tuna has the lightest flesh color, also known as white tuna, and has a lighter taste and can also be used to process canned tuna. Canned albacore tuna is one of the best in canned tuna, and "canned platinum tuna" is made from it.
The meat of bonito is the most intense, the fat content is also the highest, and it is used in large quantities to process canned food. Canned bonito is inexpensive, usually bought in supermarkets, and tuna sandwiches in fast food restaurants are mostly processed from bonito. Bonito is also the raw material for processing wood fish flowers.
The only marine fish that feed on different parts
With other seafood fish, tuna is probably the only type of seafood fish that is eaten in different parts. Different parts have different tastes and different prices, and the best way to experience this delicacy from the depths of the ocean is to appreciate the taste separately.
Tuna is a round-bodied guy with a spine in the middle of his body. When the whole tuna is cut into pieces, it is usually cut along the spine into four strips, two abdominal meats and two back meats. Obviously, belly meat is fatter and fatter than back meat.
Tuna is relatively large and can generally be divided into different parts such as red meat and fatty meat.
Red meat is mainly located on the back of tuna, because tuna needs to migrate long distances, which makes this part muscular, high in heme content, and lean meat. This red meat part, the flesh is dark red in color, high in iron and heme, also known as "naked", mellow in taste, less greasy.
Fatty meat is mainly located in the belly of tuna, where it is high in oil and nutrients. From the head of the fish to the tail of the fish, the fat meat is called "big belly" and "middle abdomen", from the big abdomen to the middle abdomen, the meat color becomes lighter, the fat content increases in turn, and the fat and nutritional value also gradually increase, which is also the highest value part of the whole body of a tuna. The large abdomen is rich in oil, the middle abdomen melts in the mouth, and the fat is moderate.
In fact, tuna not only has a difference in belly meat and back meat, but also the meat of the left half of the body and the meat of the right half of the body will also have different prices.
In some Japanese fishing ports, tuna is always kept facing down from the same side of the body to the market, and the fish is not turned over in the middle. In this process, the weight of the fish's body will cause more squeezing on the downward side (lower body) of the body, and the flesh is easily damaged. In this case, the upward-facing side (upper body) of fish is of better quality and more expensive.
Current tuna consumption: Dominated by Japan
According to the International Foundation for Sustainable Development of Seafood's State of the World's Tuna Fisheries Report, the total catch of all major global tuna stocks in 2019 was approximately 5.3 million tonnes, of which 58% of the catch was bonito, followed by yellowfin tuna (29%), bigeye tuna (8%) and albacore tuna (4%), with the top bluefin tuna accounting for only 1% of global catches.
According to statistics, the top ten global tuna fishing production are: Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Ecuador, Taiwan, Papua New Guinea, Spain, the United States, Iran, accounting for 62% of the total global tuna fishing production.
The main forms of consumption of tuna are frozen, fresh, canned products, dry goods and so on. According to the statistics of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, its main consumer markets are Japan, Europe and the United States. Japan is the first country to consume tuna, the world's most important consumer of tuna sashimi, and the current leading country in the global tuna industry.
For a long time, my country did not receive catch quotas for top tuna such as bluefin tuna. Until 1994, China's distant-water fishery has begun to take shape, and with continuous efforts and efforts, it has obtained a fishing quota of nearly 100 tons of bluefin tuna, which is a milestone event for China's distant-water industry.
【Source】 Southern Rural Daily
【Reporter】Huang Xujun compiled from the Guangdong Tuna Industry and Consumption Market Research Report, World Knowledge Pictorial, Eight Fresh Crossing the Sea, Mister Tuna, Tuna Fisheries Promotion Organization, etc., hereby express their gratitude