Sardines and Tuna....oil or water Good question and answer. Survival patrol rations and the bulk of retreat rations.....oil.......the body must have some fats and oils for adequate nutrition and to aid in the metabolism of other food groups. In a SHTF, fats and oils may be hard to come by. As survival boat/aircraft rations, water may be preferred. Fresh water will be in short supply, and the water that the tuna is packed in may be of more value than the small amount of additional energy that the oil would provide. Tuna and sardines are fairly oily varieties of fish, so sacrificing the small amount of additional oil for water may help eke out such water supplies as may be found in the life raft / boat / aircraft a little further. Some tinned fish products are packed in different sauces, and a variety of sauce offerings should be included in your stores to alleviate food fatigue due to a monotony of taste alternatives. In rotating your stock, a variety of flavours will also save a little food fatigue, and your kids won't be as inclined to complain....Oh...not tuna in oil again!!
Stocked up on a few tins of the tuna in hot sauce for variety recently. My favorite is still the smoked tuna in oil.
Based on the can's expiration dates from what is available to me locally (walmart/publix), those in oil have a longer shelf life. I "like" the sardines in olive oil. They have ~5 year expiration date, and the olive oil is considered healthier than soybean oil. Tuna is more palatable, but I have yet to figure out a long term mayonaise solution.
Home made mayo for when there are no supermarkets There are recipes for making mayonaise with raw ingredients...you only need to make as much as you need for the refigerated life of it http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/12974/basic+mayonnaise<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /> http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/12313/potato+salad+with+dijon+mustard+mayonnaise http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_qjlbaUMek
That looks like a super-easy recipe for mayonnaise! I saved the video, and will give it a try someday ....
Oil. If you want better than that, pick up some sardines , herring or other fish in oil and sometimes mustard. Great snack on crackers and much more nutritious long term than plain old processed tuna. Beware the tuna that claims to be 'Packed in the USA'. It's likely caught somewhere, shipped to China, processed and packed in bags and then shipped back to the US for final can packaging. I rarely buy tuna for my preps anymore but I do know that the mylar bag packages of tuna or other fish last longer than cans.
Tuna is not my favorite 'canned fish' - I prefer Smoked or Kippered Herring, and Sardines in a variety of 'stuff - oil, water, mustard Sauce. The La. Hot Sauce tastes good, but a bit too hot for me. I keep a couple cans of Kippered Herring on my bike, in case I am stuck in the boonies. Smoked Oysters are good too, but the canned is from China.