I call canned tuna with mayo “tuna salad”.

My Husband calls it “tuna”.

If we are ever to divorce, I can assure you this will be one of the reasons. My Husband becomes irrationally angry when he hears tuna with mayo called a salad. Seriously. It is his Number One Pet Peeve. I know very few things in life that make his angrier.

Though I know my husband BELIEVES THAT TUNA SHOULD JUST BE CALLED TUNA (seriously- he will not change his mind about this) what do all the rest of you think?

What do you call tuna when mixed with mayo?

If you add celery or onion along with the mayo, does your answer change?

Where do you stand on the uber important tuna/tuna salad debate?

88 thoughts on “Tuna Salad”

      1. This post cracks me up. There is something about pet peeves that are funny and I mean that in a kind way.

        But I’m with you, LA. There has to be a word to differentiate what is in the can and when it is mixed with something else. Otherwise, you’d say “Did you want tuna for lunch?” and it would be impossible to know whether that is tuna by itself or with mayo! 🙂

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      2. Exactly! There has to be some sort of differentiator. Someone might just want canned tuna with nothing in it! And totally agree on pet peeves being amusing….because they’re often so trivial…yet they drive us crazy!!

        Liked by 1 person

  4. Well, there’s potato salad and egg salad and chicken salad… Even with all those, I don’t use the term “tuna salad.” I’ve never wondered why. I just put that stuff between bread slices and say it’s a tunafish sandwich.

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  5. Tuna, but I don’t have serious objections to the salad part either. I do refer to eggs/mayo as egg salad though! Probably our preferences were formed in childhood based on what we heard growing up.

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  10. What a conundrum. If we are making this at home we call it “tuna.” If it is at a deli or restaurant we call it “tuna salad.” Or maybe it is just a marketing ploy to make us consumers feel better. The addition of celery, pickles, pickle juice, old bay, pepper, etc at home does not change it from being called “tuna.” If this is all your husband has to get excited about, make a stand, preach to the choir, or stand on his soapbox, I consider him a lucky man (LOL). No offense intended you understand.

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  13. Yep, tuna salad. I do like celery and onion in mine too, sometimes even chopped black olives but even just plain tuna and mayo is a salad. Do you think that showing your hubs all these responses will help him see the light? — And a definite yes to tuna melts on english muffins with melted cheese!

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  14. I’m kind of the opinion that as soon as you add anything to something, it becomes something else. So, in this case, it is no longer just tuna. It doesn’t have to be salad, though, either. Maybe tuna with mayo, but it isn’t just tuna anymore. That said, I’m not all that invested either way. And I would vomit if mayo touched anything that goes in my mouth because I’m really weird like that, so it needs to be cream cheese to really make it tuna salad in my house. lol!

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  15. I make a lovely tuna w/cannellini beans, a little onion, Mayo, lemon juice from The NY Times. They call it a tuna & bean salad.

    I just can’t get worked up over you say 2-mayto & I say 2-motto 😉

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  17. Definitely tuna salad. Although full disclosure, I’m from the midwest and if I offered you some pop to go with the tuna salad I wouldn’t want to upset your husband, who may be looking for a soda 😁

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  20. Tuna Salad. We took a friend who was visiting from Australia to a sandwich shop before we dropped her off at the airport. She ordered tuna salad and was shocked that it was mixed with mayo. She was expecting a sandwich with straight tuna, lettuce and tomato. I guess tuna salad in Australia is different than here. Anyway, she got incredibly sick on the flight home.

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  24. I grew up where the main item was called tuna fish. In my mind, it was spelled as one word. We probably called the dish under discussion tuna fish salad. Any time and every time I add mayo to tuna, it is tuna salad. I am shocked that anyone would call it tuna. Tuna comes out of a can. (Yes. I do see it fresh in the supermarket.). If you add other ingredients, it is then a salad or a casserole. I wouldn’t eat NAKED tuna!

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  26. Just for fun (and to irritate your husband), put down a bed of lettuce, top with a half of an avocado, and top that with what you call tuna salad. It’s delicious, but the point is, what does he call it now?😉

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  27. hahaha! I actually discussed this topic with my kids once. I actually call tuna salad, ‘tunafish’. As in do you want a tunafish sandwich? That’s what my mom called it. But I was telling my kids how some people call it tuna. Very funny how people get so irate over the silliest things. I do call chopped chicken with mayo, chicken salad.

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  30. This post made me chuckle…lol. It’s always the little things in life that drive us nuts, I think..lol. I personally don’t eat much tuna anymore. I totally “OD’d” on it in all my younger, constantly dieting days. Not a real big fan anymore. BUT, having said that, on the rare occasion that I do eat it, I only call it “tuna salad” when I’ve added mayo, celery, a little dill and maybe some capers. I’ve never just added mayo……so, I’ll remain ‘mute’ on that direct question…lol.

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  31. I would call it tuna with mayo. Adding celery or onion would make me call it tuna salad. (It’s so funny the little things people are adamant about, right? My husband calls sheets blankets. That drives me bonkers. 😉 )

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  34. Tough one. Since the normal way we eat it is Tuna and mayo-we do just say tuna. BUT if you gave me a tuna salad sandwich that only had tuna and nayo I wouldn’t give it a second thought. It would be a perfect tuna salad sandwich. Yes-if celery and stuff added it is then a salad. At the same time mixing eggs with only mayo does make THAT egg salad. I never realized what a slippery slop this could be. Lol

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