Tuna fish sandwich

A tuna fish sandwich (or tunafish sandwich), also known as a tuna sandwich, is a sandwich made from canned tuna—usually made into a tuna salad by adding mayonnaise, and sometimes other ingredients such as celery or onion—as well as other common fruits and vegetables used to flavor sandwiches. Common variations include the tuna boat (served on a bun or roll) and the tuna melt (served with melted cheese). The more general term of tuna sandwich may also refer to cuisine utilizing filet of raw or cooked tuna, rather than canned tuna.

Tuna fish sandwich

A tuna fish sandwich with black olives and avocado served on non-toasted wheat bread
Alternative names	Tuna salad sandwich, tuna sandwich
Type	Sandwich
Course	Lunch
Place of origin	Various
Main ingredients	Tuna salad, mayonnaise
Ingredients generally used	Celery, onion, lettuce, tomato
Variations	Tuna boat, tuna melt
Cookbook: Tuna fish sandwich   Media: Tuna fish sandwich

In the United States, 52% of canned tuna is used for sandwiches.[1] The tuna fish sandwich has been called "the mainstay of almost everyone's American childhood,"[2] and "the staple of the snatched office lunch for a generation."[3]

Ingredients

A tuna fish sandwich is usually made with canned tuna mixed with mayonnaise and other additions, such as chopped celery, pickles or pickle relish, hard-boiled eggs, onion, cucumber, sweetcorn, and/or black olives. Other recipes may use olive oil, Miracle Whip, salad cream, mustard, or yogurt, instead of or in addition to mayonnaise. The sandwich may be topped with lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, bean sprouts, or avocado in any combination.

Variations

A tuna melt sandwich served with French fries

An open tuna fish sandwich with guacamole and cherry tomatoes

• A tuna melt has melted cheese on top of the tuna or on a tomato slice and is served on toasted bread.
• A tuna boat is a tuna fish sandwich served in a hot dog bun or long-split bread roll.

Nutrition

Tuna is a relatively high protein food and it is very high in omega-3 fatty acids. A sandwich made from 100 grams of tuna and two slices of toasted white bread has approximately 287 calories, 96 of which are from fat (10.5 grams fat). It also has 20 grams of protein and 27 grams of carbohydrates.[4][5]

According to the StarKist company:

The nutritional content of albacore may vary naturally from catch to catch. In particular, the fat and calorie content will differ depending on the region or depth where the fish are caught. Albacore tuna that swim close to the water surface can be higher in fat than tuna caught in deep ocean waters—but they are also lower in mercury content and higher in omega-3 content. Because availability of albacore tuna may vary from season to season, we use two different labels to accurately show the fat and calorie content of the product contents.[6]

A larger, commercially prepared tuna fish sandwich has more calories than noted above, based on its serving size. A 6-inch Subway tuna sub of 238 grams has 480 calories, 210 of those from fat, 600 milligrams of sodium, and 20 grams of protein.[7]

See also

• List of American sandwiches
• List of fish dishes
• List of tuna dishes
• List of sandwiches
• Skipjack tuna

References

1. "Tuna" Modern Marvels, 4 February 2010.
2. "Cookbooks fail in search for the quintessential tuna sandwich.", Burros, Marian, Reprinted in The Review Spokesman, March 12, 1985. Retrieved June 13, 2009. "Perhaps ['The Joy of Cooking' doesn't include a tuna fish sandwich recipe] because Irma Rombauer never wanted to become embroiled in the controversy [over which extra ingredients to add]. But how can any book that purports to cover the American cooking scene omit the mainstay of almost everyone's childhood?"
3. Could your tuna sandwich soon become extinct after high street chains and now celebrities boycott endangered tuna? Daily Mail, 8 June 2009
4. "Nutrition Facts - Fish, tuna salad". nutritiondata.com.
5. "Nutrition Facts - Bread, white, commercially prepared, toasted". nutritiondata.com.
6. Starkist Company official web site FAQ web page Archived 18 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
7. "Tuna - nutrition information". subway.com.