tasteless tuna

[ceecee15]

Has anyone noticed how tuna has lost it's flavour over the past few years? It used to be so moist and full of flavour but is now tasteless, tough, dark in colour, too fishy, too salty or tastes of metal.

Anyone else agree or is it just me? If not, then what has happened?

[beerbelly]

Its cr*p

Even my favourite fish ( smoked haddock ) is just dyed with chemicals these days !!!
might move to Whitby !!!

[Ausf-A]

Take a holiday to Norway and taste fresh fish like it should be. Here in Germany fish is part of the everyday diet, and not seen as a luxury. Shame it has declined so much in England. I remember mobile fish stalls and fishmongers in most towns.

[shaneystar2]

No BB move here to the east coast where we have a lovely fish market just down the road in Lowestoft. You get there early and although they don't land nowhere near as much as they did in days gone by ....it's always lovely and fresh.We have still got local fishmongers and a fresh fish stall in the market..I never buy any fish from a supermarket. The tuna is imported anyway I should think and has been frozen to within an inch of it's life.
As for Norway ..I quite agree ..I lived there for a year and we ate fish all the time.The fishmarket in Bergen is wonderful.You can go down on the quays and buy fish from the boats in most places.
And in Germany when we go to visit our rellies we always have delicious Rotbarschfilet from the market. Yummy !

[Ausf-A]

Nothing beats freshly caught prawns with mayonaisse and lemon juice on white bread. Had them in Tromsoe, got to be my best meal ever.

[shaneystar2]

Oooh Stop it Ausf-A !!
We lived in Stavanger and we used to get the prawns and do the same thing ! Have to say I wasn't too keen on the bread there though. Bit heavy.. M-I-L used to send us graubrot through the post !
I do apologise for hijacking your thread ceecee15....it's all too mouthwatering !!
Ditch the tuna for prawns !

[ceecee15]

Great replies from everyone - many thanks! What about the tuna in tins? I take it that has been frozen as shaneystar2 said or got too many chemicals injected into it.

[shaneystar2]

Somebody posted about this a while back..could have been our eco warrior Nickmo.
Apparently there is a high level of mercury in tuna.
Don't want to alarm you but....
http://www.grinningplanet.com/2004/08-10/mercu ry-in-fish-article.htm
I eat tinned tuna now and again ..but I think you would have to consume large amounts of it to get mercury poisoning.
If Nickmo spots this post he has all the info.
Try typing "tinned tuna" into the search facility. May be some posts there about it.

[ceecee15]

yeah I know about the mercury that's why you should only eat about 2 tins a week. The way it tastes now tho I won't be eating any!

[shaneystar2]

It does indeed put you right off !
Having said that I had tuna salad for tea !!
It was a tin of yellowfin tuna in brine...it was quite nice actually,better than some I have tasted.
If you like tinned fish ..which I do..Sainsburys do skinless and boneless fillets of sardines in a tin ,in oil or tomato....these are delicious !

[beerbelly]

Hi ,shaneystar2 .
re ..sainsburys sardines in tomato sauce .

love them . cut a baguette longways and toast .
i then drizzle with garlic oil ( i infuse my own )
spread with the sardines & sauce , grill , then lots of
lea & perrins worcestershire sauce .
if im feelin' really saucy , might splash with tabasco

this should give me my Omega3 for the week ....b..b

[ceecee15]

I like sardines as well but I just want tinned tuna to taste like it used to. don't think that'll ever happen. here's hoping nobody decides to f**k about with chocolate, eh?

[nickmo]

Oh dear - tuna is a bit of a no-no - what we fetin the uK has largely been frozen and is not really the fresh fish it should be - ask at any of the supermarkets and theyll tell you not to re-freeze the tuna.

The East coast of England used to be a big landing area, but as there are now quotas for the atlantic tuna - split between east and west atlantc as they though there was no migration, but research has shown this not true - the industry has largely died out.

Also depends on the variety - big eye, yellowfin, bluefin, skipjack - all have different peoperties. Albacore or longfin tuna is one of the highest priced but is still regarded as in danger of over fishing and caught using unsustainable methods.

In respect of dolphin friendly tuna - that does not mean doplhin safe - no tuna fishing is when nets are used. Divers are used to flush dolphins out of the nets used to trap tuna, but obviously this is never foolproof and if you eat tuna - you will be in essence endorsing the death of dolphins. Balancing the desire for tuna against stock levels has been addressed by captive farming - but when you hear it takes 20 tons of white fish to feed 1 ton of tuna - why not stick to white fish??

Info on fish and stock levels at http://www.fishonline.org/ if you're interested in the issues.

As for flavour missing - if it means you won't eat it - you'll save lives of dolphins, albatross and other vunerable species killed by the line fishing and purse netting industry providing an expensive, tasteless product ....must be better.

[shaneystar2]

I knew you would be along Nickmo !
As a child I remember my dad who when he left the MN after the war and went back to trawler fishing ;taking me down to the harbour when he came home from his trips. The boats used to be so packed into the harbours at Yarmouth and Lowestoft you could walk across the river on them.And the Scots lassies used to come down from Peterhead and gut the herrings on the quays.In those heady days we always had lovely fresh fish,mostly herring but dad used to bring home other fish too.. and even the occasional lobster !!
We had smokehouses and all sorts...all long gone now.
There is one smokehouse left.
They don't land any fish at Yarmouth at all now unless they are locals in small boats fishing for dabs or the like.
Lowestoft is a good fish market though and there are still a few trawlers.For how much longer though? We always have to go over there very early in the morning before it's sold out.But a nice fresh dab is a real treat.

[nickmo]

By 'eck, Shaney, 'n I can 'ear t' Ovis music in t' background....Eh, Grenville lad, 'Ow 'bout a reet nice cuppa tea, then lad......now I remember, 1904 I think it were, first good storm of t' spring, an' them lassies, bye, we 'ad a laugh, but then Boer War came.....

Whoops, sorry - regression is a favourite past time......

We live on an island - sort of place that has water rond all of it - and still we get frozen stuff dumped here from the South Atlantic 'cos we can't be bothered to make the importance of sustainable practices get through to the people that matter....

That'll do for this one I think - loads of politics about to kick in and not what I want to see on a Sunday.

And may I be the last to wish you a Happy Easter Shaney - apologies for launching into memory lane!

[ceecee15]

Thanks NICKMO. There's virtually no chance of me ever eating tinned tuna again as it tastes disgusting. Hope many other people do the same and many benefits will be made.

[nickmo]

Hi ceecee15 - its a fact that like most foodstuffs, what we are presented with now has little relation to produce form a while back, and when you are aware that there are now some 450 - 500 chemicals in the human body thatwre not present 40 years ago - these are by far the most likely to be sourced from foodsauffs.

If you have an interest in the fishiing processes, have alookthrough the info at: http://www.mcsuk.org/campaigns/campaigns.php?title=bycatch%20campaign and the other campaigns. You don't have to be a tree hugger type to see that sustainable is the key word - true for all sorts of food production.

I get on a soapbox to push the farmers' markets and farm shops, so do please get along to them if you can. Surveys regularly prove on a like for like basis they are 25 -30 % cheaper than supermarkets, and you can be assured that what you get is fresh, local and the provenance can be followed - which is an important issue. And you can ask about what is on sale - the fishmonger will tell you about his stock - farmed, line caught, where landed etc. as well as tips ways to handle and prepare it. Fish is a seasonal product, so do loo out for the best available, and thanks for the good query topic!

[shaneystar2]

Well this has been a most interesting thread and a very Happy Easter to you Nickmo and to you too ceecee for letting me waffle on !!

[ceecee15]

LOL TO SHANEYSTAR2

[nickmo]

Nothing wrong with a waffle shaneystar2 - You just carry on......