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Just when you think there’s nothing in the house to eat, youremember. Security is a can of tuna in the pantry and a can openerin the kitchen drawer.

Tuna is high in protein and low in calories. Only the egg cancompete with it on equal terms. But, pound for pound while eggs winon cost, they lose on cholesterol levels. Let’s call it adraw.

But, hey, didn’t we just read a recent news controversy abouthigh mercury levels in some fish, especially blue-fin tuna?That’s the kind that often is used for sushi. Unless you arepregnant or have dietary restrictions, the occasional serving ofcanned tuna isn’t a problem.

Canned tuna comes in a variety of textures: solid pack, usually asingle piece of meat; chunk, made up of large pieces of meat;flake, smaller and less desirable pieces of meat; and grated, mushyand useful only where the end use is an unrecognizable mixture suchas a paté or sauce.

Canned tuna also comes in different packing media: olive oil,vegetable oil, brine and water. Technically, they areinterchangeable in recipes, but olive oil will give the bestflavor. And with apologies to Charlie the Tuna, all of our testedrecipes were made with tuna packed in Italian olive oil. Life isshort. Eat the best.

We say 6-ounce cans here, but if you have a 6.5- or 7-ounce can, itshould work.

Mayonnaise seems to figure into many tuna recipes. Hellman’sis preferred. For a tuna salad sandwich, though, nothing beatsMiracle Whip. But if you have a food processor or a blender,it’s easy to make your own mayo.