[QUOTE=labtrash]
snerk 
:smack:
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What? Don’t make fun of me right now. I’m not in the mood.
[QUOTE=fishbicycle]
…Because they were first popular in Buffalo, New York.
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Not just popularized there but the exact time and place of their invention is known:
Huh, I never thought about this before, but to me there’s a definite difference in meaning. If it’s in a can (bleah!), it’s “tuna fish”; if it’s fresh (yum!), it’s just “tuna.” I would never refer to a tuna steak or a piece of sushi as “tuna fish.”
Of course, the converse is not entirely true, since I would always assume that “tuna salad” or “tuna noodle casserole” referred to the canned stuff, unless it was accompanied by additional modifiers (“grilled ahi tuna salad”).
I always say tuna. Very rarely hear anyone say tuna fish,but I live close to Canada so maybe thats why.
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog]
“Pizza pie” is the one that still looks odd to my eyes.
Still, I guess it’s not uncommon. A lot of languages seem to say things like “red colour”, or “pork meat”.
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Yes, Thai also says the word “color” (or “colour,” if you will) in front of every colo(u)r word.
I don’t think I’ve ever actually encountered the term “pizza pie” in real life. Perhaps it’s a regional thing? Back East?
Actually, I made a mistake there with the meat thing: the languages I’m familiar with actually say “pig meat” which, in the absence of a pork/pig distinction, makes sense.
[QUOTE=MadTheSwine]
I always say tuna. Very rarely hear anyone say tuna fish,but I live close to Canada so maybe thats why.
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Same here. Native Southern Californian, current Washingtonian. I can’t think of a single time I’ve heard someone IRL say ‘tuna fish’ except in the piano joke; although I remember hearing Steve Martin using it in a routine.
[QUOTE=Leaffan]
In Canada, and presumably the rest of the world, we simply say “tuna,” 'cause, like we know it’s a fish. So, why “tuna fish” in the U.S? It’s not like you say “chicken bird,” or “pork chop pig,” or anything. What gives?
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Probably because, prior to 1904, there wasn’t any canned “tuna fish.” Tuna were not considered food fish, at least in the US. For the previous 10-15 years there was a big demand in the US for canned sardines, and the best were from Southern California. One of the canneries was Halfhill’s.
When the sardine population almost disappeared in the 1903 season, Halfhill started canning Albacore Tuna. It had a mild taste(much like chicken) and was accepted quite well. The business mushroomed over the next few years.
My guess is, since the Tuna wasn’t an accepted food fish in the US, you’d have to market the product and call it something other than just “canned Tuna.” Perhaps calling it “Tuna Fish” allowed the public to know just what they were getting. And the term “Chicken of the Sea” was just a natural. It was even a trademarked brand by 1913.
(talking about Buffalo Wings)
[QUOTE=Laughing Lagomorph]
Not just popularized there but the exact time and place of their invention is known:
http://www.anchorbar.com/origins.asp
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It makes a good story, but deep-fried chicken wings were certainly popular at least ten years before 1964. But the Anchor Bar probably did popularize them in their current known form.
[QUOTE=samclem]
(talking about Buffalo Wings)
It makes a good story, but deep-fried chicken wings were certainly popular at least ten years before 1964. But the Anchor Bar probably did popularize them in their current known form.
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I believe it’s the sauce (equal parts Frank’s hot sauce and melted butter, for you home chefs - forget all that “secret recipe” nonsense) that the Buffalo bar claims invention of, not the deep frying of chicken wings.
Someone should sell a brand of chicken called “Tuna of the Land”
Apparently, some cactus fruits are also called tuna (a quick Google search confirms this). I had no idea either, until I read the Michener book Texas a few years ago. Perhaps specifying “tuna fish” was so that southwestern americans wouldn’t think they were buying canned fruit.
[QUOTE=CairoCarol]
Think about it: you can say “tuna fish sandwich” or “tuna sandwich,” and either one falls fine on the ear, but did you ever hear anyone talk about a “tuna fish noodle casserole”? Heck, no. A “tuna noodle casserole” has four nice beats to it.
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Then there’s “tuna salad sandwich”. I think I would say “tuna casserole” and hearers would know it meant tuna/noodles/cream of mushroom soup, and maybe peas.
[QUOTE=Siam Sam]
I don’t think I’ve ever actually encountered the term “pizza pie” in real life. Perhaps it’s a regional thing? Back East?
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It’s definitely an East Coast thing. Since pizza, in the US, wasn’t known outside of Boston and the Greater Metro New York area much before 1940, the term quite often used in ads for the product described it as “pizza pie.” Once pizza hit the mainstream US in the 1950’s, it became just “pizza.” At least, that’s my take on it. But, if you grew up on the East Coast, and your parents and friends called it “pizza pie,” why wouldn’t you call it the same?
When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie . . . .
In any case, believe it or not, some people don’t care that the name of an item is slightly redundant. They just like the way “tuna fish” sounds.
In my family, we always said ‘tuna fish sandwich’, but usually just said ‘tuna’ if we were talking about buying cans at the supermarket. No idea why.
Now, however, I have to deal with at least five different names for it, depending on the part of the fish and how it’s prepared. Just like beef, actually. The boiled meat that’s canned and mixed with mayonnaise for sandwiches is just called ‘Sea Chicken’.
[QUOTE=Max the Immortal]
Apparently, some cactus fruits are also called tuna (a quick Google search confirms this). I had no idea either, until I read the Michener book Texas a few years ago. Perhaps specifying “tuna fish” was so that southwestern americans wouldn’t think they were buying canned fruit.
[/QUOTE]
I’ve not heard this, but I don’t doubt that it’s true. The part of West Texas I grew up in was close to the Panhandle. No cacti there. Flat and desolate. Looked like the end of the Earth.
[QUOTE=Siam Sam]
Oddly, they have ham here, and while pork has long been eaten, ham itself is fairly recent and considered a Western delicacy. It is without fail called “mu ham,” or “pig ham” (“mu” means pig and pork both. It’s pronounced like we say “moo,” as in what a cow says. That leads to no end of mirth when you first get here and learn it. Then you get over it.)
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Sorry to hijack, but if they had pork in Thailand, how could they not have ham? It’s just another cut of meat from the same magical animal. Or did you mean they didn’t have cured hams, and just treated the ham as another cut of pork?
I’m going to have to go with Fretful Porpentine’s answer, as well as assessment of the food forms.
Tuna is a steak. Tuna fish is dreck that comes in cans.
Thanks to the SDMB, however, I have learned that it tastes much better if you add Bacon Salt.