Ahi tuna and yellowfin tuna both belong to the category of fish. But they are different in every aspect. Ahi tuna and yellowfin tuna are subspecies of albacores. They are marine animals and maintain their body temperature higher than the water bodies they are swimming in.
Summary
Ahi Tuna vs Yellowfin Tuna
The main difference between ahi tuna and yellowfin tuna is their size. A yellowfin tuna has a larger body size and the colour of its meat is deep red. On the other hand, ahi tuna has a relatively smaller body and the colour of its meat is Pink. Generally, a yellowfin tuna is the subtype of ahi tuna.
Ahi tuna belongs to the tuna species. They are found in tropical and subtropical regions and are often cooked at low temperatures. They are served with sashimi and sushi. Ahi tuna is a good source of protein, vitamin B12, carbohydrates, and omega-3 fatty acids.
Yellowfin tuna is a type of Ahi tuna. Known as Shibi in Hawaii. Yellowfin tuna are maned so because of the presence of yellow colour fins, filets, and anal. They are found in every part of the world except for the Mediterranean sea.
Comparison Table Between Ahi Tuna and Yellowfin Tuna
| Properties | Ahi Tuna | Yellowfin Tuna |
| Size | The height of Ahi tuna goes up to 250 centimetres and weigh up to 300 pounds. | The largest yellowfin tuna had a height of 2.4 metres and weighed 200 kg. |
| colour | The meat colour of Ahi Tuna is Pink. | The meat colour of Yellowfin Tuna is deep red. Yellowfin tuna appears light yellow. But their body colour is of dark metallic blue that changes to silver on the belly. |
| Nutrient value | Ahi tuna contains a large amount of protein. Selenium is a very rare mineral. Therefore, from Ahi tuna, you can get selenium. The other nutrients are potassium, phosphorus, vitamin B and D, etc. Phosphorus keeps the joints and bones strong. While potassium protects the nervous system. | They too have a large nutrient value due to the presence of large amounts of proteins and minerals. They are found mainly everywhere on Earth except for the Mediterranean sea. |
| Cooking | Cooking Ahi tuna is very easy. One can cook it by baking, grilling, and searing. One can even mix this up with other food materials while cooking. | They are used in seafood dishes like sashimi. Yellowfin tuna is an excellent food for grilling. |
| Type | Yellowfin tuna and bigeye tuna are the kinds of Ahi tuna. | Yellowfin tuna is a type of Ahi tuna. |
What is Ahi Tuna?
Tuna fish is the widely harvested fish in the USA, France, and Japan. They are sold as canned fish. Tuna meat is the favourite among all fish lovers. The fish ahi tuna belong to this tuna family only.
The height of ahi tuna increases up to 250 centimetres and can weigh more than 300 pounds. They can be found in every part of the world. The three-ounce of Ahi tuna contains twenty-three grams of protein, seventy-two grams of calories, and less than a gram of fat.
When cooked in an oven at a temperature of 400 degrees Fahrenheit, it takes up to 25 minutes to get cooked. Grilling takes 12 minutes approximately when grilled at a temperature of 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Ahi Tuna has a flavour of mild meat. The food prepared from ahi tuna is very popular in some countries like Japan, China, and the USA. The reason behind this is that the Ahi tuna is easy to prepare, healthy, tasty and can mix up with any other food.
There are two varieties of Ahi Tuna: yellowfin tuna, and bigeye tuna.
What is Yellowfin Tuna
A yellowfin belongs to the larger family of tuna. They can be found in subtropical and tropical oceans all around the world. Yellowfin tuna weighs more than 180 kg. The yellowfin tuna is slightly smaller than the size of bigeye tuna, Pacific bluefin tunas, and Atlantic bluefin tunas.
The fish got its common name because of the presence of yellow dorsal and anal, fins, tails, and yellow finlets. The body colour of the yellowfin tuna is dark metallic blue that changes to silver on the belly. The belly has at least 20 vertical lines.
The use of Yellowfin tuna often comes with seafood dishes, especially Sashimi. Greenpeace International has added this to the red list of seafood. The red list of seafood is the list of fish that are present all around the world and is favourite among all. But the source of this kind of fish is sustainable fisheries.
Yellowfin tuna live mostly in the uppermost layer of the ocean and sometimes it appears at the surface of the ocean. They mostly range in the top 100 metres of the ocean. They travel with their companions. And sometimes, even travel with other species of the tuna family.
Yellowfin Tuna prey underwater. Their prey mostly includes other fishes, squid, pelagic crustaceans, flying fish, sauries etc. They are capable of praying to fast-moving fishes.
Main Differences Between Ahi Tuna and Yellowfin Tuna
- Yellowfin tuna belongs to the category of Ahi Tuna. Yellowfin tuna is a part of the Ahi tuna family.
- Ahi tuna has a smaller size than a Yellowfin tuna.
- Ahi tuna has pinkish meat. On the other hand, Yellowfin Tuna has deep red meat
- Ahi tuna is preferred for making such dishes. On the other hand, Yellowfin Tuna are not preferred for making raw seafood dishes such as Sashimi.
- Ahi tuna does not. On the other hand, Yellowfin Tuna lives mostly on the upper layer of water.
Conclusion
There are several species of tuna and among those, the bluefin is the most expensive. Yellowfin tuna N]and ahi tuna are the subspecies of slender, albacores, and little skipjack. Ahi tuna and yellowfin tuna are subtropical marine animals that have low quantities of fat. Because of less fat, they have a lean body.
References
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Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page.