May 2025 - Page 2 of 2

Wild Planet Sardines in EVOO with Lemon

Another installment in the quest to find a really good sardine with lemon that the lemon actually shows up. Wild Planet Sardines in EVOO with Lemon - Lightly Smoked. I do realize that the process of cooking and canning is necessarily going to subdue a good deal of the bright acidity that fresh-squeezed lemon possesses.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 3.5/5.

Three medium-to-large sardines of the Northwest Pacific variety. Initially, I wasn't sure exactly what constituted the lemon in this one until I found an extremely thin slice in the murk at the bottom of the can. In the hope that it would improve things, I tried bites with a little of it added on top, but was not impressed. Even any lemon oil flavor that might have been in the zest was absent.

Unfortunately, I really didn't get any of the smoked notes promised, either. Oh, well... The $3 price made them worth a try.

These are Northwest Pacific Sardines sourced from Thailand and are therefore not sardina pilchardus. The can touts them as "scale free", which they apparently were.

It seems like, for many producers, "in olive oil" only means a little squirt in the can. Once the fish are gone, what appears to remain is just juice with small droplets of oil on the surface. More seems to sploosh out onto the rim of can when you first open it.

Brand: Wild Planet
Description: Sardines in Olive Oil with Lemon
Species: Sardinops sagax or melanostictus
Country of Origin: Thailand
Source: FAO61, Northwest Pacific
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.4 oz.
Price Range: $3

Northern Catch Sardines in Hot Sauce

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We got ourselves a real sleeper here, folks. Northern Catch Sardines in Hot Sauce, an Aldi exclusive. Sometimes it's just one of those things: You're there. It's there. The price is a no-brainer, 99 cents. Put it in the basket, already. I had seen a review of these from about 4 years ago, and at the time they were herring. Today, they're pilchards sourced from Morocco.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4/5.

At first, I wasn't sure these were sardines, they were so big. Two (sometimes three) big fat ones squeezed into a can and swimming in harissa! Usually, I prefer my pilchards smaller, more like in the 3 to 5 per can range, but at 99 cents I guess I can't be too picky.

Hot sauce here is a misnomer. The down list ingredients say "natural hot flavor (capsicum, etc.)", but it's not hot. This is a mildly spicy, vinegary, unctuous (in a good way) sauce. This is the kind of stuff you would want a whole bottle of to put on that can of plain sardines you just bought. At 150 calories, the only thing keeping me from having two cans was the 660mg. sodium. Can't have everything, I guess.

Update July 2025: Sadly, these have been changed again, and are now brisling sardines in a much bolder sauce.

Brand: Aldi/Northern Catch
Description: Sardines in Hot Sauce
Species: Pilchards
Country of Origin: Morocco
Source: FAO34, Eastern Central Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.25 oz.
Price Range: $1

Aldi Herring in Curry Pineapple Sauce

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Was back at Aldi today, and although I said I probably wouldn't, I did go ahead and buy these Herring Fillets in Curry Pineapple Sauce.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 3.5/5.

Contrary to the image on the can (and to reviews you may have seen elsewhere), there are no chunks of pineapple (or anything else) in the sauce. The ingredients, like the Mango Pepper Sauce version, list tomato paste as a component, but the taste of it is not evident. Oddly, this one also lists mango chutney among its ingredients.

Anyway, like the Mango Pepper version, the sauce is mildly sweet and you might be hard-pressed to say just what the fruit flavor of it is if you hadn't read the can. Unlike the Mango Pepper, there is no heat to this one. I also can't really tell where the "curry" comes from. Suffice it to say it's just a pleasant, mildly fruity sauce.

I liked these just about as much as the Mango Pepper version-- maybe less-so-- as I preferred the bit of heat in that other one. At $1.69 for a 7.05oz. can, you really can't lose.

ps. I skipped the Tomato Sauce version as the picture on the can made it look like a huge, unappealing glop of ketchup on the fish. Meh...

Brand: Deutsche Kuche
Description: Herring Fillets in Curry Pineapple Sauce
Species: Clupea Harengus
Country of Origin: Germany
Source: FAO 27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 7.05 oz.
Price Range: $2

Angelo Parodi Sardine Fillets

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These Angelo Parodi Sardine Fillets in Olive Oil were an impulse buy at World Market. I figured I mostly knew what I would be getting from the label. Closer examination of same revealed they were from FAO34, Eastern Central Atlantic, as opposed to the expected FAO37, Mediterranean Sea. I can't say why I thought that. Perhaps my expectation was that a Southern European producer would be more likely to source from there as opposed to the waters off the west coast of Africa. But then I noticed these are sourced from Morocco, and only exported by an Italian firm.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 2.5/5.

Not the prettiest can of boneless skinless pilchards. But texturally, they were no different from the average skinless boneless pilchards I had tried before. Notice I said "average". I've definitely had better, but these were OK. I noticed a subtle, unusual "something" about the taste. I'm not sure if it was due to the fish or the oil they were packed in. It reminded me of scrambled egg, not necessarily in a bad way, just in an unusual one.

They were on sale for under $3, but I can't say I'm moved to buy them again. YMMV. I'll stick with the King Oscar until I find something better.

I see that Parodi also offers a skin-on, bone-in Portugese version that sells for about $5 a can in lots of two on Amazon. I might be tempted to try them.

See it on Amazon

Brand: Angel Parodi
Description: Sardines fillets boneless skinless in olive oil
Species: Sardina pilchardus
Country of Origin: Morocco
Source: FAO34, Eastern Central Atlantic
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 3.7 oz.
Price Range: $4

Brunswick Sardines in Olive Oil with Hot Peppers

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Picked up these Brunswick Sardines in Olive Oil with Hot Peppers by mistake thinking they were the Sardine Fillets in Olive Oil (and knowing that they were actually herring). I had tried the Boneless Skinless (Pilchards) in Olive Oil with Mild Red Pepper, so it was a chance to at least try these.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.5/5.

The package lists serrano pepper as the heat source. Although there are only a few bits of it in the can, the heat is quite pronounced. (As opposed to the whole peppers in the Mild Red Pepper pilchards.) I'm used to spicy foods, and these had me reaching for a plain cracker to tone down the after-burn.

The other thing I noticed that I may have overlooked on the plain "in olive oil" version is that these aren't really "in" olive oil. They just have droplets of oil on the surface of whatever brine/juice these are packed in. Olive oil is the second ingredient on the package listing, so one would assume it should be the second-most amount of the overall make-up. But I really don't see it. Also, "serrano peppers" should really just say "pepper" as it's only the slightest bits of pieces and seeds. But they do really spice it up. I can't imagine how hot they'd be if there was any more.

Anyway, if you like the heat, these might fill the bill for you.

See it on Amazon

Brand: Bumble Bee Seafoods/Brunswick
Description: Sardine Fillets in Olive Oil with Hot Peppers
Species: Herring
Country of Origin: Canada
Source:
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 3.75 oz.
Price Range: $2