Species sheet · The Edible Ocean
Atlantic bonito
Curious about everything, never in one place for long.
- Grilled in thick slices
- Marinated then preserved in oil
- Raw, in a sharp tartare
- In French
- Bonite à dos rayé
- Scientific name
- Sarda sarda
- In the water
- Open water of the Atlantic and Mediterranean, surface to 200 metres, in fast shoals.
- Season & buying
- Late summer and autumn, when the shoals run along the coast.
- Common length
- ~50 cm
- How to identify it
- Streamlined body, pointed snout
Dark oblique bars on the back only
Small finlets between dorsal and tail
On the plate
Red, savoury flesh, milder than tuna.
Avoid: Keeping it. It deteriorates fast and should be eaten the same day.
It has been preserved in oil since antiquity. Amphorae of salted bonito travelled from Gibraltar to Rome long before the tin can existed.
In Umay recipes
One Umay recipe calls for it.
