# Explain the difference: Canned tuna in oil vs. in water **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 29, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339 "2011-03-29T02:46:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Westrogothia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@Westrogothia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Westrogothia)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339/21 "2011-03-30T19:11:12Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > Also - does anyone actually NOT drain their canned tuna? :eek: (need a barfy face) I dont. The oil is the best bit. 🙂 With some boiled eggs and mayo its great for a post gym meal. But then Im one of those crazy low carbers. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339/22 "2011-03-30T19:24:53Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > Sometimes for camping/kayaking/road trips I bring along cans of tuna Cans? We use pouches for camping/kayaking trips. Way easier to flatten, pack out, and store than the empty can. They pack easier too because you don’t have the hockey puck shaped bulk. > [@Gary T](#): > > Where once we had to drain the excess oil out, now we have to drain the water and add oil. Horror! Add oil? That just sounds nasty! ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339/23 "2011-03-30T20:15:11Z")
The difference? tuna in oil tastes better. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339/24 "2011-03-30T20:23:39Z")
Or not. I haven’t bought the packed in oil kind in forever. I only eat it on sandwiches, and the lighter the fishiness the better for that application. It’s really only there to bind the mayo, relish, and pepper flakes together. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339/25 "2011-03-30T20:33:00Z")
I like the tuna packed in oil that I buy at Italian or Portuguese grocery stores. It’s packed in olive oil. Yes, it has more calories, but it tastes better, particularly in salad nicoise, as pointed out upthread. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339/26 "2011-03-30T20:42:31Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > .Also - does anyone actually NOT drain their canned tuna? :eek: (need a barfy face) Depends. If by “drain” you mean punch a small slit with the can opener, guzzle down the delicious tuna nectar straight from the can until it’s gone, then continue removing the lid, then yes I drain it. In fact, I just did that 5 minutes ago. I’m with Markxxx. Tuna in oil was fine when that was all that was available, but once I tried the water (actually water + vegetable broth - they figured out plain water didn’t taste that great) version, there was no going back. Now the oil type leaves my mouth feeling slimy. Ooh, I still have one more can of tuna in my desk. Time for some more. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339/27 "2011-03-31T08:01:24Z")
> [@](#): > > Cans? We use pouches for camping/kayaking trips. Way easier to flatten, pack out, and store than the empty can. They pack easier too because you don’t have the hockey puck shaped bulk. I am fairly sure that my cats would not allow me to have tuna packed in pouches, as they are addicted to tuna juice. Pouches don’t have juice, right? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339/28 "2011-03-31T10:09:29Z")
I am now craving me some tuna in escabeche sauce, damn you all… (white vinegar-based) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339/29 "2011-03-31T12:47:37Z")
I grew up with packed-in-oil, simply because that’s the only way it used to be. Now I only buy water-packed. Every way I eat tuna involves adding some kind of oil to it, so if I used the packed-in-oil variety, it’d be like eating slime. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339/30 "2011-03-31T13:43:11Z")
Tuna packed in water is not a new invention. I’m 49 and that was the way we always had it when I was a kid. My mother probably bought it that way because of the calories. But I remember that if we ever accidentally got a can of tuna in oil we all thought it tasted wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339/31 "2011-03-31T15:23:12Z")
I think that I’m going to have to buy a couple of cans of tuna in oil. I’m 53, and my mother was perpetually on one diet or another for as long as I can remember, and we always had tuna salad with mustard, not mayo. But now I have to find out what tuna in oil tastes like. ---
**Author:** ![TheThirdFuller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@TheThirdFuller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheThirdFuller)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339/32 "2011-04-01T19:10:33Z")
The difference is tuna in oil is gross, and tuna in water is yummy. We bought two cans of it by accident. After opening one of them and realizing our detrimental mistake, we spent a good chunk of time trying to think of what we could mix it in to make it not disgusting. We aren’t the food wasting type. I think we may have ended up donating the second can to a food drive. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339/33 "2011-04-01T23:23:57Z")
Just the thought of tuna in oil makes me queasy. Plus, it would deprive me of the best part - drinking the tuna water, straight from the can! Joe ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339/34 "2011-04-04T08:41:51Z")
> [@Cuckoorex](#): > > Why can’t the cat eat the oil…? It’s not like it’s toxic or anything. > [@Lasciel](#): > > Well, ours, being a cat, isn’t much for moderation, and then she barfs all over everything for the next three days as her itty bitty tummy tries to deal with the godawful invasion of fishy oil which got crammed down the pike. Yea I don’t like cleaning tuna oil out of the carpet when she barfs it back up. She always does, and always on the carpet. Tuna water she’s fine with. Just today I made a tuna fish sandwich. The blasted cat was in the bedroom, and even though I stealthily sneaked the can opener out of the drawer, she was underfoot and demanding foodz within seconds of the first _psssthk_ of the seal being broken on the can. HOW do they do that?? ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339/35 "2011-04-04T11:08:43Z")
> [@TheThirdFuller](#): > > The difference is tuna in oil is gross, and tuna in water is yummy. THIS but the exact opposite. Tuna in oil is yummmmmmmmm, Tuna in water is insipid. Canned Salmon definitely does not need oil but Tuna does and so do sardines. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Sardines on toast. Oily, smushed up sardines spread on toast. Best Thing Ever! ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339/36 "2011-04-04T11:36:43Z")
I think packed in oil, and nowadays flavored oil, is ubiquitous because the tuna in cans is so overcooked as to be almost tasteless on it’s own. The little 95g (3 1/3 ozs) cans are popular at work for lunch. One day recently one guy was lauding their “healthy” snack value since he was eating several a day. I checked the cans we had in our drawers and was shocked to find that, although each contains about 70 calories worth of tuna, some in oil with chili have 150 - 200% that many calories in fat. And although many places list drained calories no-one I’ve seen drains the little cans. ---
**Author:** ![TheThirdFuller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@TheThirdFuller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheThirdFuller)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339/37 "2011-04-04T15:21:50Z")
> [@calm\_kiwi](#): > > MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Sardines on toast. Oily, smushed up sardines spread on toast. > > Best Thing Ever! My grandmother likes sardines, and I like my grandmother… so I opened a can of sardines once to give it a shot. I was immediately inclined to relieve my stomach of its holdings and decided sardines were not for me… much like oily tuna. ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339/38 "2011-04-04T15:56:36Z")
When I was a kid I loved the packed in oil tuna and my twin brother only wanted the packed in water kind. I’m not sure if it was just because of sibling rivalry or because of actual taste preferences, but I’m sure my mother loved that. I much prefer packed in oil even today but it’s hard for me to justify the caloric difference between the two. So I only buy packed in water now. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339/39 "2011-04-04T16:23:07Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > Yea I don’t like cleaning tuna oil out of the carpet when she barfs it back up. She always does, and always on the carpet. Tuna water she’s fine with. Just today I made a tuna fish sandwich. The blasted cat was in the bedroom, and even though I stealthily sneaked the can opener out of the drawer, she was underfoot and demanding foodz within seconds of the first _psssthk_ of the seal being broken on the can. HOW do they do that?? Cats have been given special powers by Bast. Among these powers are the ability to hear any can opener, at any time, over a truly astounding distance. Cats have been instructed, again by Bast, that they MUST puke on the carpet or on the good upholstered furniture. They are NOT ALLOWED to puke on any hard, nonporous surface, because that would make the puke too easy to clean up. They must puke on porous surfaces, the more expensive the better. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339/40 "2011-04-04T16:41:59Z")
It’s not the oil-to-water switch that made the tuna taste bad – it’s that there’s no dolphin mixed in with it anymore. 🙂 (yes, I stole that from Rush Limbaugh.) [SIZE=2]Actually, I prefer tuna in water for my sandwiches. On a whim I tried some tuna in oil a few months ago and didn’t care for it at all. [/SIZE] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-difference-canned-tuna-in-oil-vs-in-water/576339.md?page=3)