Tuna in olive oil

Tuna from Liguria, in good olive oil

Olio Calvi tuna in olive oil is Yellowfin tuna from Liguria, hand-cut, gently cooked, and aged for six months in their own olive oil. One of the finest canned tuna products Italy has to offer — for bread, pasta, and cold dishes.

The tuna in olive oil from Olio Calvi is a fine Ligurian canned fish product made from Yellowfin tuna and their own olive oil. The Calvi family from Imperia-Oneglia has been at home in the olive oil business since 1919 and combines their own oil here with Yellowfin tuna from Ligurian ports — compact, rosy-bright, and delicately firm to the bite, more akin to freshly cooked fish than industrial canned goods.

Compact, tender, hand-cut

As soon as you open the jar, you'll see why this product is so popular in high-end gastronomy: compact, light fillet pieces, not fibrous scraps. The pieces lie close together in the oil, light rosy to ivory in color. The scent is mild with a green nuance from the olive oil — no fishy smell, no metallic tone like with cheap canned goods.

On the tongue, the tuna in olive oil is tender, meaty, and mild at the same time: it doesn't melt, it doesn't fall apart, it gives itself fiber by fiber. The taste is clear and low in salt, with the lingering, slightly sweet aftertaste that only really good canned fish has. The Ligurian olive oil carries it softly and subtly — it supports the fish instead of masking it. The six months of aging in oil here is not marketing, but palpable in taste.

Try it on bread with capers and lemon

The Calvi tuna is too good to be stirred into mayonnaise salads. We enjoy it best uncomplicated: on toasted sourdough bread, with a few drops of the preserving oil from the jar, a few crumbled capers, lemon zest, and freshly ground pepper — that's all it needs, really.

In pasta cuisine, it works wonderfully: for spaghetti with cherry tomatoes, garlic, and parsley, add a few pieces at the last minute, just toss them through. We also like a Salade Niçoise — potatoes, green beans, egg, olives, and as the centerpiece, generous flakes of tuna. For antipasti, it goes well with marinated artichokes and a good hard cheese. Our tip: on white beans with red onion, parsley, and a splash of lemon — satisfying, meaty, and refreshing at the same time.

After opening, the jar will keep in the refrigerator for about three days. Don't throw away the preserving oil — it brings back the full flavor in vinaigrettes, pasta sauces, or as a dip for bread.

Since 1919 in Imperia, in family hands for three generations

Behind this tuna is the olive oil house Olio Calvi in Imperia-Oneglia on the Ligurian Riviera. Giuseppe Calvi returned from the First World War in 1919 and founded "Fratelli Calvi" with his brother Paolo in 1921. The company headquarters are still at Via Garessio 56, the oil mill is located in Pontedassio in the middle of the olive groves. In the 1970s, Gianni and Annabianca developed the famous Mosto Oro from the Taggiasca olive. Today, Gianni and Luca Calvi lead the house in its third generation.

The tuna in olive oil is processed traditionally: Yellowfin fillets are hand-cut fresh after catching, slowly cooked at low temperatures, and manually placed into 200g jars. Unlike canned products, the pieces thus retain their compact shape and light color. Then they are poured over with Calvi's own olive oil and aged for six months — a time in which fish and oil come together and the tuna develops the depth for which it is valued.

You can find more Ligurian treasures in our Olio Calvi collection — from Mosto Oro to anchovies and olive creams to single-varietal Taggiasca oil. If you like canned fish in this league, you will also find something in our canned fish selection. All due respect.

Content 200g – Drained weight 140g