Canned tuna--no more Tonno

They recently remodeled my local grocery store (Hy-Vee). I've always hated that store, maybe I'll hate it less, but it's easily the grocer most convenient to our home, except of course, when you need Italian parsley and they don't have it, which they only have had once that I've noticed in the three years we've lived here. Anyway.

One thing I've always liked is it's the only store I've seen in town that carries Tonno, Chicken of the Sea's slightly higher-end, packed in olive oil canned tuna product:



Until now. This has always been a goofily shelved item in the awkward organic section. The other day, it was absent from its customary position. A woman working there said it was a product discontinuation. If so, that's really too bad. We've bought this tuna almost exclusively for about 5 years, we don't eat a lot of tuna, but Marcella Hazan's tuna/tomato pasta is a standby easy weeknight dinner. And a good tuna salad or sandwich is always a good fallback option.

Tonight we made pasta with a different Chicken of the Sea, packed in olive oil product, and it was worse by several orders of magnitude. So now, I'm looking for a new tuna. I've heard good things about the Tuna Guys, but $100 is a bit high for a case of tuna.

(Addendum: I just found what might be the most useful information ever posted on epinions.com. Hope they get these issues sorted out and reappear on shelves. Stupid 5 oz downsize though.)

I vaguely recall that Trader Joe's has this brand. I know we have some in the pantry.

I didn't see it at Trader Joe's in the Clybourn Corridor last time I was there. They have been carrying, though, at Caputo's on Harlem - - in both the regular size and the smaller size with the pull tab.

Good stuff.

Ronna

Jewel (Milwaukee & Ashland) carries this brand. I didn't realize it was chicken of the sea!

Marcella Hazan's tuna/tomato pasta is a standby easy weeknight dinner

We like this, too. I have never found this preparation to taste especially like tuna, it almost seems lemony to me. Do you have a similar experience?

Regards,

I regularly purchase this brand at the Trader Joe's on Clybourn.

I regularly buy it at Caputo's Cheese in Melrose Park and Freddy's Pizza in Berwyn carries it as well. I'm pretty sure I saw it at Caputo's last week, but didn't buy any since I was well stocked already.

Which gives me a good excuse to post this photo

I don't want to hijack the thread, but the best part was the four older men who'd bought some sandwiches, a bottle of mineral water, and a bottle of wine, and made themselves at home in the deli area. When they'd finished the sandwiches they got some espresso ($1.50 a cup) and a couple of pastries to share, and sat down again. I hadn't thought of Caputo's Cheese at BYOB, but apparently they informally accommodate it--or did for these old friends.

I don't think choices in Chicago do much for the KC-located Aaron

Progresso makes a yellowfin packed in oil that might be a good substitute. Amazon will sell you 24 3oz cans for $39.50, so it's not cheap.

Actually, Amazon also sells the 3oz cans of the Genova tonno for $24.51.

Both are free shipping with amazon prime, and shipping should also be free with orders over $25.

Genova
Progresso

StarKist Gourmet Choice Solid Light Tuna Fillet in olive oil.

gleam wrote:I don't think choices in Chicago do much for the KC-located Aaron

Thanks, gleam.

Yeah, I was more looking for alternative brands rather alternative locations. Though if all these stores still have it on their shelves, that makes me think I may be able to find that brand locally as well too.

Cathy2 wrote:We like this, too. I have never found this preparation to taste especially like tuna, it almost seems lemony to me. Do you have a similar experience?

Yes, actually. I never thought I cared much for canned tuna, and my wife and I both thought--when we first saw this recipe--that it sounded kind of gross, and coming from a cookbook we trusted, we had to try it. It's a great fallback dinner made from almost all shelf-stable ingredients when we haven't really thought out dinner.

bojangles wrote:StarKist Gourmet Choice Solid Light Tuna Fillet in olive oil.

I was mistaken above when I said we made this dish with a different Chicken of the Sea product, it was the StarKist in olive oil.



And while it was okay, it was not nearly as good as the Tonno product.

Aaron Deacon wrote:

gleam wrote:I don't think choices in Chicago do much for the KC-located Aaron

Thanks, gleam.

Yeah, I was more looking for alternative brands rather alternative locations. Though if all these stores still have it on their shelves, that makes me think I may be able to find that brand locally as well too.

This is what I was getting at when I noted that I've bought it at Trader Joe's. Plus, I didn't have the inclination to check if there are Trader Joe's in Kansas City (there aren't).

I have bought this tuna at both Graziano and Lincolnwood Produce. The price at Graziano was quite good, about $2 for the larger (5 oz?) can, IIRC.

head, meet desk.

Anyway, Aaron, I suspect the main difference you're finding between the Genova product and the Star Kist is that the Genova is Yellowfin, and the StarKist is probably albacore. So if you see a tuna on the shelves that specifies Yellowfin, give it a shot.

gleam wrote:head, meet desk.

Calmly step away from the desk...

Aaron is not the only person who will read this thread. Pointers on where to find it in the Chicago area may certainly be helpful to others.

Darren72 wrote:

gleam wrote:head, meet desk.

Calmly step away from the desk...

Aaron is not the only person who will read this thread. Pointers on where to find it in the Chicago area may certainly be helpful to others.

True enough, I suppose.

Chicago-area-ns: I used to buy Tonno at Marketplace on Oakton.

Marketplace On Oakton
4817 Oakton St
Skokie IL 60077
847-677-9330
http://www.marketplaceonoakton.com/

gleam wrote:Anyway, Aaron, I suspect the main difference you're finding between the Genova product and the Star Kist is that the Genova is Yellowfin, and the StarKist is probably albacore. So if you see a tuna on the shelves that specifies Yellowfin, give it a shot.

Yes, I suspect you're right, that's what I'm on the lookout for.

Aaron, I'm in the same boat as you. I can't find this lovely canned tuna any more! Amazon does have the 6 oz cans for $50-ish/case of 24. I haven't gone there yet. I live in West TN and have to drive to Nashville (2 hours to Publix....LOVE Publix!!!) to find it. Then I stock up. Note to self; down to four cans....plan trip to Nashville!

Trader Joe's used to be the place to find it but a lot of them are not carrying Tonno; it's regional.

There is a Starkist product that is Yellowfin in Olive Oil; I found it at my local Kroger and it was decent. Clearly not the same as Tonno but a fine replacement. Sometimes WalMart (*shudder*) carries it as well. When I return to either store, I will double check myself and report back. I know I found something as a suitable replacement.

On the flip side, don't you have a brother down in FL? Maybe he can score you some Tonno from his local Publix and ship it to you. Or go visit and send some back to yourself. Desparate times call for desparate measures!

I've been mulling that Marcella Hazan recipe and now I know I must make it....with my beloved Tonno!

ETA: The product I found is StarKist Yellowfin Tuna in Roasted Garlic Olive Oil. The garlic is not too prominent and the product has similar texture and flavor to Tonno. They have some other flavors as well; lemon dill is nice in a salad. A side note; Tonno has more than just the yellowfin product so if you do send someone shopping, send them the picture. I've seen albacore tuna as well as salmon. Good luck!

Just bought some cans of Tonno Genova and want to make the pasta with tuna and tomatoes, but I don't have the cookbook. It's on my wishlist so I will eventually. The two recipes I found on the web call for draining the tuna before adding it and one of those condradicts itself and says to use undrained tuna. Are you supposed to drain it or not?

J.P. Graziano had a bunch of Genova Tonno cans, in both normal & small (pull-top) sizes. Saw two cases of the small cans & 1.5 cases of the normal cans on the shelf on Friday afternoon.

J.P. Graziano
901 W. Randolph
Chicago, IL 60607
312-666-4587

imsscott wrote:Just bought some cans of Tonno Genova and want to make the pasta with tuna and tomatoes, but I don't have the cookbook. It's on my wishlist so I will eventually. The two recipes I found on the web call for draining the tuna before adding it and one of those condradicts itself and says to use undrained tuna. Are you supposed to drain it or not?

I don't drain.

I saw Tonno canned tuna at the Sunrise Fresh Market (not to be confused with the Garden Fresh Market) on Seymour in Mundelein. Bad news: $2.69 a can.

I also saw it at the Jewel on Route 60 in Mundelein. $2.59 a can.

Is this stuff so much better than regular Chicken of the Sea canned tuna in oil that I should pay more than twice the price of the other?

They carry Tonno Genova at Bizio's in Olympia Fields.

Katie, I would say yes. Tonno is yellowfin tuna while the regular Chicken of the Sea is light tuna. Comparing yellowfin to "light" tuna is night and day. I won't eat "light" tuna and until I tried this, would only eat albacore from a can.

I get Tonno for about $2/can so I think the prices you're finding it for are a little high.
If you compare the cost of Tonno to a more premium canned tuna (Albacore etc), the price difference isn't so bad.

I did find Dolores tuna at a local market, vegetable oil rather than olive, but yellowfin. Haven't tried it yet, and I don't recall the cost.



And yes, I think Tonno is worth the premium price.

I became very intrigued by this topic as I have never purchased this type of tuna. Went to the Jewel today at York & Butterfield in Elmhurst. They carry Tonno for $2.29 a can. The Starkist Yellowfin Tuna in Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Roasted Garlic is regularly $1.99, but is currently on sale for $1.79/can. (This information is for locals who may be piqued in the tuna topic as I was.)

Aaron- Have you ever tried asking your local grocer to stock the tuna for you? My parents live in the north woods of Wisconsin and their local grocer will bring in products for my folks.

Ms. Ingie wrote:Aaron- Have you ever tried asking your local grocer to stock the tuna for you? My parents live in the north woods of Wisconsin and their local grocer will bring in products for my folks.

They did stock it, but when I inquired, they told me the product was discontinued. It was fairly recent, so the person may have been wrong, or there may still be a lot of product left to sell before its no longer available. Either way, it looks like there is plenty of Tonno available in the Chicago area, and if that persists, I'll certainly try a bit harder to figure out why it's not here.

Aaron Deacon wrote:

Ms. Ingie wrote:Aaron- Have you ever tried asking your local grocer to stock the tuna for you? My parents live in the north woods of Wisconsin and their local grocer will bring in products for my folks.

They did stock it, but when I inquired, they told me the product was discontinued. It was fairly recent, so the person may have been wrong, or there may still be a lot of product left to sell before its no longer available. Either way, it looks like there is plenty of Tonno available in the Chicago area, and if that persists, I'll certainly try a bit harder to figure out why it's not here.

They still show it as a product on their website. They even have a product locater which says that they have it in the Kansas City Super Targets.

There were several stacks of it at the Caputo's in Palatine, Il.

We made the recipe and it was really good. Light and tasty. We really enjoyed it. Thanks Aaron!

imsscott wrote:They still show it as a product on their website. They even have a product locater which says that they have it in the Kansas City Super Targets.

Ah, touché. What does it say that it occurs to me first to check a Chicago food board rather than the corporate website for confirmation of a nasty rumor started by my local supermarket employee.

Glad you enjoyed the recipe, and thanks for the info!

Cheers,

Aaron

I finally found my worn-out copy of Joy of Cooking that has been relegated to the basement since I bought a newer edition (which I like much less) It contains the following recipe that I made using Tonno:

Canned Tuna Pasta Sauce
Cooked pasta, 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water reserved (I usually make the sauce as I'm cooking the pasta and steal a bit of water when I get to that point. Use much less salt than usual, this sauce can be salty.)
1/4 cup EVOO
3 tablespoons chopped parsley (reserve 1 tbsp for finishing)
8 large halved garlic cloves
3 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry, and chopped
1 cup oil-cured black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup pasta water
1/2 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds
generous pinch of red pepper flakes
One 6-ounce can tuna, drained and flaked
1 tablespoon drained capers
Salt and pepper

Heat EVOO on low, add garlic and parsley until the garlic is blond and soft.


Stir in anchovies, olives, pasta water, fennel seeds, and red pepper. (I usually mash the anchovies right in the pan, but don't omit the rinsing step or your sauce will be really salty.)


Cook for 1 minute, remove from the heat, and stir in the tuna and capers.


Season to taste and serve over hot pasta.


This comes together in minutes (usually taking less time than the pasta does to cook,) and I usually have the ingredients on hand. I can't fathom why JoC decided to cut this one (and their recipe for tostones!) it's a terrific weeknight meal if you're in a rush.