September 2025 - Page 2 of 3

Bar Harbor Wild Petite Sardines Revisited

I tasted these Bar Harbor Wild Petite Sardines a while ago, and expressed my intention to revisit them at some point. They are on sale at Whole Foods right now, so this seemed an opportune time to do so.

Initial impression upon opening the can: Same as last time.

10 fish on top with six more underneath. As you may recall, these are not smoked. Just sardines (sprats), EVOO and salt. The first time around, although I thought they were some quality sprats, I found them a little bland. I tried perking them up with a little Salsa Espinaler, but found it to be a little too much.

I theorized back then that just a little fresh-squeezed lemon juice might be the ticket, and I was correct. Rather than mask the intrinsic flavor of the fish, the lemon juice complemented it. And it didn't take much, less than a quarter of the lemon's juice for the entire can. Really good.

Main Takeaways

Still a good quality sprat
Plenty of fish in the can
Lemon juice just what they needed to brighten them up

See it at Amazon.

Brand: Bar Harbor Foods
Description: Wild Petite Sardines in EVOO
Species: Sprattus sprattus
Country of Origin: Latvia
Source: FAO 27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.2 oz.
Price Range: $5-6

Ferrigno Sardines with Preserved Lemon

DeenLeave a comment

I got these Ferrigno Sardines with Preserved Lemon on a recent trip to World Market. A product of France, they are labeled "Sardine Au Citron Confit". The artwork on the can depicts, for whatever reason, a nun and a gendarme in a Peugeot Deux Chevaux chasing a fish wearing a sunhat and sunglasses driving a convertible roadster.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.5/5.

Four pilchards looking a little rough from being stuffed into a shallow can. A sip of the oil is more vegetal than lemon. I see that it is sunflower oil. I check the can to find ingredients listing onions, green olives, oregano and pepper. Oh, and preserved lemon.

A card slipped under the pull ring contains the US English particulars, with the French on the can lid underneath. It indicates these could either be from FAO37 (Mediterranean) or FOA34 (Eastern Central Atlantic), but to check the processing codes printed on the can at time of packing to see which one. These were FAO34, which the card also confirmed.

I pried out one fish, very firm, to try on its own. A very meaty pilchard. In the space left, I see there's a lot going on in the bottom of the can, so I dumped it out over rice.

So, as you can see, there's a lot more than just lemon. Quite a bit of onion, and some green olive slices. The orange bits turned out to be lemon rind.

Digging in, an oregano-laced onion flavor predominates, with a flash of citrus showing up in random bites. The fish are firm and meaty, able to be divided by the pierce of a fork into discrete chunks. Melt-in-your-mouth tender, no, but not bad.

This take on sardine seasoning is interesting, but not what I bought them for. I guess confit should have been a clue there was going to be more than just lemon, and I should have inspected the label more closely.

I don't know that I'd buy these again, considering I was just looking for a lemon-y sardine, but the experience of them was worthwhile.

Main Takeaways

Not the prettiest can of fish, but tender
More onion and oregano than anything else
Lemon flavor lost in the mix

Brand: Ferrigno
Description: Sardines with lemon confit
Species: Sardina pilchardus
Country of Origin: France
Source: FAO34, Eastern Central Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.05 oz.
Price Range: $7-8

Fangst Brisling Spiced with Allspice & Cloves

DeenLeave a comment

These Fangst Brisling Spiced with Allspice & Cloves are from a recent online order. I got them after trying and liking the ones with heather and chamomile.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4/5.

Kind of a mess in there. I expected a neater presentation. But I give the benefit of the doubt, and forge ahead. A sip of the oil gives an unusual taste that I can't attribute to either allspice or clove. The aroma is the same. Then I remember this isn't olive oil but instead cold pressed rapeseed (canola) oil. I see little in the way of tails.

As I try to extract a whole fish from the can, I find they are impossibly tender and fall apart at the slightest movement. Perhaps this explains the messy appearance. The carton promises they are mildly spiced, and, with one clove and one allspice berry, they are that. The Danes have a different, subtle take on sardine seasoning from that of Western Europe, and I find that refreshing.

As with the previous Fangst brisling selection, they are noticeably salty, but not excessively so. I consider it a plus. By the time I reach the last of the eight or so fish, what's left in the can is mostly debris from the unsuccessful attempts to pluck out whole fish. I happily change utensils in order to get the rest of it.

I looked forward to trying these, and initial appearance aside, was not disappointed. I'd buy them again.

Main Takeaways

Kind of messed up looking
Really tender, too tender, "fall apart-y"
Still really tasty

A little pricey in lots of three at Amazon, but not too bad.

Brand: Fangst (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Description: Brisling Spiced with Allspice & Cloves
Species: Sprattus sprattus
Country of Origin: Latvia
Source: FAO 27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 3.5 oz.
Price Range: $8

Da Morgada Portugese Spiced Sardines

DeenLeave a comment

I found these Da Morgada Portugese Spiced Sardines at an upscale supermarket I rarely visit. The brand was unfamiliar to me, but they appeared to have promise. The carton has some gold leaf accents in the artwork, from which I inferred a degree of quality. Taking a chance at $7, I purchased them along with some mackerel by the same brand.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.

Four nice looking, plump pilchards. Smooth, silvery bellies. A little roughed-up skin in places. No scales or fins are evident. A sip of the oil is neutral on the tip of the tongue, with a mild heat that sneaks stealthily up at the back of the throat. The carton lists merely "olive oil", but it seems to be of good quality. I assume its red tint is from the pepper.

Trying to lift individual fish from the can, they are tender enough to want to fall apart. Two small piri-piri peppers reveal themselves beneath the fish. "Spiced" (as opposed to "spicy") usually means chili pepper, clove, bay laurel. The only seasonings listed are piri-piri and "aroma", whatever that means. Clean taste to the fish, they are of obvious quality. I see the carton claims they are hand-packed.

Looking for them online, I don't find the brand offered by any of the usual suspects. The few I see at Amazon are over-priced. I was hoping for more information from the website listed on the carton, but it looks like it was created in the early 1990s and hasn't been updated since. I'd recommend these, but good luck finding them.

Main Takeaways

Nice looking fish
Very tender
Would buy again if I could find them

Brand: Da Morgada
Description: Spiced sardines in olive oil
Species: Sardina pilchardus
Country of Origin: Portugal
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.2 oz.
Price Range: $7

Fishwife Slow Smoked Mackerel with Chili Flakes

DeenLeave a comment

I picked up this Fishwife Slow Smoked Mackerel on a recent run to World Market. Like many of you, I'm sure, I wonder if the quality of the contents lives up to the level of effort Fishwife puts into their packaging. Is it "all hat, no cattle", or was this mackerel worth $9 a can?

Initial impression upon opening the can: 5/5.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but the appearance and aroma had my full attention. A sip of the oil was a preview of coming attractions. Smoky, with a dark, complex sweetness, and a little heat on the back end. I wanted this out over rice, as the carton suggests, but took a little nibble off of a corner first. The texture was what I expected of a slow smoked fish, al dente, kind of like the bark on barbecued pork.

The carton lists a modest 220 calories (drained), but if I'm eating it over rice, I'm dumping the whole thing.

There were three pieces, skin on, one a bit larger and thicker than the others which looked more like from the tail end. A thin layer of fat under the skin improved the mouth feel.

The sweetness, the carton says, comes from demerara sugar, that from the first pressing of the sugar cane. Its molasses content adds a layer of complexity.

Altogether, we have sweet, salty, savory and a mild heat providing a winning combination. Was it worth the $9? I think so.

Main Takeaways

Amazing aroma
Tantalizing flavor profile
Fatty skin adds a decadent element

Brand: Fishwife Tinned Seafood Co.
Description: Slow Smoked Mackerel with Chili Flakes
Species: Mackerel
Country of Origin: Scotland
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/No
Net Wt: 3.7 oz.
Price Range: $9

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JOSÉ Gourmet Smoked Small Sardines in EVOO

DeenLeave a comment

Another selection from a recent online order, these JOSÉ Gourmet Smoked Small Sardines in Extra Virgin Olive Oil were intriguing. The majority of smoked sardines are sprats/brisling, so I welcomed the opportunity to try smoked pilchards, and especially some from a premium quality producer.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.

The five you see are what you get. This is one of those shallower cans. I was hoping for smaller fish, but that's OK. The initial whiff when cracking open the can was similar to that of tinned smoked oysters. The carton doesn't specify how the smoke flavor is achieved, but one has to assume from the firmness of the fish, the bronze appearance of the skin and the pink hue to the flesh that these are naturally wood smoked. A sip of the oil has, for lack of a better word, a "woody" note, like the oak-y notes of a fine red wine.

Some pelvic fins remain, but no scales evident. They are firm enough to be pulled from the can intact. The fish is tender but with that al dente bite smoked fish often exhibit. The smoke level is just right, not overpowering the taste of the fish.

Using EVOO is always welcome, but any flavor notes it might have imparted were masked by the smoke.

All in all, though, another quality selection from JOSÉ Gourmet.

Reasonably priced in lots of three at Amazon.

Main Takeaways

Not really all that small
Great smoky aroma and flavor
Good overall balance lets fish flavor still shine through

Brand: 100 Misterios / JOSÉ Gourmet
Description: Smoked Small Sardines
Species: Pilchards
Country of Origin: Portugal
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 3.2 oz.
Price Range: $9

Ati Manel Sardines in Olive Oil with Lemon

DeenLeave a comment

Ati Manel Sardines in Olive Oil with Lemon, another entry in the quest for lemon-y sardine goodness. To date, the JOSE Gourmet have been the ones to beat. I thought the Ati Manel spiced sardines were really good, and I hoped these would be, too.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.6/5.

A few fractions deducted for the roughed up skin. No scales noted. There was a brief whiff of lemon when the lid was cracked. A sip of the oil was not promising, however. First impressions can sometimes be wrong, though.

The first bite was a bit of a revelation. The lemon was there, and it hit just about right. Fishing around in the can, there was a small half slice of lemon. The pulp still retained its acidity. My thought as I worked through the rest of the can was how consistently the lemon flavor had infused the fish, right down to the last bite. And that was without consuming any of the lemon pulp with the bites of fish. Lastly, just the right amount of salt, coupled with mild-tasting, tender fish, made these a real winner.

It's hard to say if these bested their 100 Misterios lemony stable mate, JOSE Gourmet, but they are a definite re-buy, and a dollar cheaper.

Main Takeaways

Lemon not initially apparent
Mild tasting, tender fish
Lemon infused consistently throughout

Competitively priced in lots of three at Amazon.

Brand: 100 Misterios / Ati Manel
Description: Sardines in Olive Oil with lemon
Species: Sardina pilchardus
Country of Origin: Portugal
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.2 oz.
Price Range: $8