When we open a can of tuna, one of the very first gestures is to drain the oil it contains. Most of us have seen our mothers do it and then uncritically reproduced that passage. But why do we do it? In a historical period in which the reduction of waste it must become a mantra for all of us, the time has come to question ourselves even about these small gestures.
Some of us could run into the doubt that that oil was not good, that it was not even good for us.
But the Experimental Station for the Food Preserves Industry (SSICA) of Parma on behalf ofNational Association of Fish and Tuna Preservers (ANCIT) recently conducted research that disproves this false myth. It emerged that the oil that wraps the canned tuna keeps the original aroma, flavor and organoleptic qualities intact.
The research analyzed olive oil from several 80 g cans, stored at three different temperatures (4 °, 20 ° and 37 °). After 13 months, oxidation tests, sensory analyzes and the acid profile of the fats were carried out. The result? Not only has the oil not changed (for the worse), but rather in contact with the tuna it has recorded “an increase in polyunsaturated fats, in particular composed of Omega 3 fatty acids (DHA) and Vitamin D (cholecalciferol), of course not present in olive oil, retaining good characteristics in taste, aroma, flavor and color. This is because the sterilization conditions to which it is subjected foresee temperatures that do not compromise the organoleptic and nutritional properties, and do not cause oxidation “, explains ANCIT in a note.
What happens to the oil in the can of tuna is what happens to the water in which we boil the vegetables. «Like the water in which vegetables are boiled, it contains the mineral salts lost by cooking vegetables, so the oil in the can contains part of the nutritional principles of tuna »continues the gastroenterologist and nutritionist Luca Piretta.
Then there are those who think that the can itself can compromise the quality of the oil. This belief should also be overcome according to the survey. The steel packaging, in fact, not only isolates the product from external agents but eliminates the need to add preservatives. The packages are hermetically sealed and then sterilized at a temperature between 110 ° and 120 °, guaranteeing safe storage for years, they explain from ANCIT.
How to use olive oil from cans in the kitchen
Well, the first obvious solution is to consume it along with the tuna itself. But being an ingredient in many other recipes, you can indulge yourself. And this also allows us to add a dose of OMEGA3 to our diet; “The presence of long-chain omega 3 fatty acids is such that 10 grams of oil cover 10% of the daily requirement (according to ISSFAL data), as recommended by international scientific societies” he observes Francesco Visioli, Pharmacologist and Professor of Human Nutrition at the University of Padua; “The same goes for vitamin D, to such an extent that 10 grams of oil cover about 5% of the recommended daily requirement for the 19-50 age group, (according to the LARN tables), essential for maintaining the metabolism of football”.
Olive oil can thus be useful, for example, to prepare sautéed pasta with tuna, in white or with tomato. And then again, it can be used for a bruschetta, to marinate fish for a second dish and to prepare a seasoning sauce. In gallery find some delicious recipes designed by Paolo Pedemonte (Health Soup).
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