Sea Sogood Fish-free Tuna (Albert Heijn)

Available in natural, olive oil, and lemon and black pepper versions.

Back in the day, when I was pescatarian, canned tuna was one of my go-to protein sources. I loved me a tuna-salad sandwich, a tuna-pasta casserole, or a good-old tuna melt. I’ve always found that of the many animal products that have vegan analogues, seafood are the most difficult to emulate. So I’m always both excited and wary about trying new products that claim to mimic seafood. The vegan tuna that I’ve tried in the past has often had a problem with texture, taste, or both. So when I found out that Albert Heijn was selling these little cans of fish-free tuna, I was intrigued.

I love the design of these cans. They’re really reminiscent of the real thing, and were even located near the canned seafood in the store. Upon opening, I was surprised there was no liquid to drain, even in the olive-oil version. The “tuna” looked more realistic than some others I’ve tried in the past. (Some look like little pebbles of pea-protein.) I nibbled a piece right out of the can and was surprised at how fishy it tasted. I mean, like overwhelmingly fishy. It was a bit too much for me and I don’t remember actual canned tuna having such a pronounced flavor. That said, the real test is how it would taste when made into a sandwich. I mixed it with some vegan mayo, a bit of mustard, a splash of lemon juice, and some dried dill, which helped to tone down the fishiness a bit, but it was still lingering in the background. My impression is that in an attempt to make sure it was a convincing fish analogue, the folks at Sea Sogood went a bit overboard with the algae oil. (I’ll admit, I’ve yet to try the lemon and black pepper version, so that may temper the fishiness a bit.)

So would I recommend this? If you really like a fishy taste (or a seaweedy taste), and really miss canned tuna, this might be the product for you. If you’re not a fan of the taste of algae oil, this might be too “fishy” for you. If you want to give this product a try, you can find it at the canned-fish section of the Albert Heijn or order it from the AH website.