Fresh from my previous fake fish fun, I decided to remain under the sea and try Loma Linda’s Tuno.

If the fishless fingers filled me with fear, you can imagine the trepidation triggered by tuna-free tuna.

I found it in Morrisons alongside the tinned tuna in a foil packet. I decided to put it in the fridge, figuring it would taste better cold, and then spent a few days working up the courage to actually try it.

There are a few different flavours, but I opted for “Tuno and Mayo” (all vegan), as that tends to be my serving preference for the real thing.

As you can see, it looked fairly authentic, and it didn’t have an overpowering fishy smell, which can be so off-putting with actual tinned tuna.

I bravely tried a smidge on a fork, and my main reaction was “oh”. The texture was a touch chewy, and it really tasted of nothing. If anything, it reminded me more of that very plain chicken mayo sandwich mix you can get pre-prepared.

I added some regular (non-vegan) mayo to see if that helped, then layered in some sweetcorn, but it just didn’t work for me.

I reckon if they used a Coronation mayo, added some dried apricots or raisins, and marketed it as a fake chicken sandwich filler, it would match much more closely what my brain had been expecting. As it was, I just couldn’t make it fill the role of tuna.

Maybe I’ll circle back round and try one of the other flavours, but it’s a tu-no from me for now, sadly.