All kinds of Tuna

Atum, Albacora, Bonito

Atum

Atum (Thunnus thynnus), the Atlantic or bluefin tuna, is now caught in the waters around the Azores. As a voracious feeder, three quarters of its body consist of blood-rich musculature, and particularly Japanese gourmets covet this firm, dark red tuna meat. At the market, it is almost invariably sold in portions and no part of it is wasted.

Atum: Espinhaço

The backbones left after the filleting, make a simple yet delicious stew with onions and potatoes known as caldeirada de espinhaço.

Albacora

Albacora (Thunnus albacares), the yellowfin tuna, is a somewhat smaller relative of the atum and used to be trapped in armações, those huge fixed nets. Nowadays, it is still caught by rod and line off the coast, and a scarce commodity at the market, as most of it is tinned. This is a pity for its light-coloured flesh also has a pleasant flavor when fresh.

Bonito

Bonito (Sarda sarda), the Atlantic bonito, means “pretty” in Portuguese. This smaller member of the tuna family reaches no more than 60 centimetres in length, and is more familiar canned. It has the lightest-colored flesh of all tuna fish, a soft rosy