Tuna as Food & Products
In Japan, where sushi started as a street food, tuna was not a highly regarded fish like it is today. This was because it can change colour quickly through oxidation - especially the high fat bluefin tuna species that now fetch millions at auctions. In fact, it was the cheap tuna of today, the skipjack tuna that we normally put in cans, was the most valued in the 1800s, and today's most valuable cuts, the high fat belly cuts of Otoro of the bluefins used to be fed to the local cats. In the 1950s refrigeration technology changed all that.
Although canned tuna dominates canned fish today, it was sardines in the late 1800s. Then, in 1903, during a shortage of sardines, tuna was used to fill the surplus cans. Demand increased rapdily from there, with canned tuna feeding the soliders during the first World War. Although tuna feeding armies wasn't new either, it is said Roman legions would march alongside migrating tuna in the Mediterranean Sea fuelling their legionaries and victories.
If you asked most people in the world what they think of when you say tuna the answer would most likely be canned tuna. Yet increasingly, along with the global sushi boom, people are starting to think about tuna as a sushi topping. ​
In the following sections you will learn about the history of tuna as a food item in Japan and how different tuna species have occupied the throne of the King of Fish over time. You will also learn about how tuna are transformed into a variety of different foods and products the Japanese and the rest of the world reveres.
A Sushi Master Class
We are developing a Sushi Master Class so if you are a chef, a home chef, a restaurateur, or just a sushi lover we will be covering a range of topics that will have you slicing like a pro, entertaining like a rockstar, or sounding like a sushi concierge!
