April 2026 - Sardeenz!

Pollastrini Sardines in Sunflower Oil

These Pollastrini Sardines in Sunflower Oil came from International Loft. As with other Pollastrini tins in the order, this one also includes an add-on label indicating sourcing from Croatia. I've liked other selections from them so far, and wanted to see what their unembellished, plain sardines in oil were like.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.

The skins are a little rough, but that won't affect taste. The aroma from the tin is solely of the fish, and a little stronger than I'm used to. But not in a bad way. No scales apparent, but I see some tails, typical of Italian packed sardines. They're easy enough to cut off.

A sip of the oil is neutral, as sunflower usually is. Pollastrini produces plain sardines packed in olive oil, and I'm not sure why International Loft doesn't appear to stock them. They do stock the spicy sardines in olive oil version. But, if the fish have a good taste on their own, though, the type of oil isn't necessarily critical.

Let's Eat

Pulling them from the tin, they are quite tender, almost falling apart. The few tails I saw, I easily cut away with a fork. There are six fish, once again testament to Pollastrini's ability to pack more fish in a smaller can than their competitors.

What little oil was left in the tin, I poured over the fish, attempting to avoid the skin and tails debris.

Digging in, they are as tender as they seemed. I found, however, as I worked my way through them, the taste to be somewhat earthy, maybe even muddy. Not a lack of freshness, but something intrinsic to the fish, a blandness. Disappointing.

They lacked salt, but even the addition of a salty condiment didn't materially improve things. Sodium is listed as 550mg, but they tasted nowhere near that salty.

Main Takeaways

Tender fish
Good count
Unimpressive flavor

Brand: Pollastrini
Description: Sardines in sunflower oil
Species: Clupea pilchardus (Sardina pilchardus)
Country of Origin: Italy/Croatia
Source: FAO37, Mediterranean Sea
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 3.5 oz.
Price Range: $6

Delamaris Mackerel Fillets in Olive Oil

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These Delamaris Mackerel Fillets in Olive Oil were found as a new item at a local international market. I'm always on the lookout for a good tin of mackerel fillets at a reasonable price. At $3.49, these were worth a try.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 5/5.

Some nice looking fillets. The extra chunk filling in space at the lower right to me says customer first impressions matter. The aroma is of fresh fish, mild and slightly tuna-like. I see no bones or skin.

A sip of the transparent, pale green olive oil gives a clean taste. The front label just says "olive oil", but the ingredients list "refined olive oil, extra virgin olive oil", and you can taste the quality of it.

Let's Eat

Altogether, there was one large chunk, a smaller chunk underneath, and that bonus piece. The meat is firm, and the pieces remain intact as they are extracted from the tin. There is still quite a bit of the olive oil with some floating mackerel bits in it left in the can, and not wanting to waste any, I poured it all over the fish and rice.

The fish is firm and toothsome on the palate, but in no way dry. It has a mild, buttery flavor that I always say makes me prefer it over tuna. Good mackerel is like a good steak.

The sodium is listed as an above average 510mg. but I found the fish not at all salty, and quite frankly didn't miss it.

Main Takeaways

Mild, buttery fish
Good mackerel flavor
Really good olive oil

All in all, a really nice tin of mackerel fillets. I've paid over twice as much for similar, and wasn't twice as impressed as I was by this one. I'll be going back for more.

I noted the company website says they pack in a combo of EVOO and sunflower oil. I also noted the tin had an adhesive label covering the entire bottom. Peeling it back, I expected to see conflicting information printed directly on the tin, but it was totally blank.

Also odd, I thought, was the inclusion of both the California Prop65 warning as well as a "Not for sale in the State of California" statement.

Brand: Delamaris
Description: Mackerel Fillets in Olive Oil
Species: Scomber japonicus
Country of Origin: Slovenia
Source: FAO37, Mediterranean Sea
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 4.4 oz.
Price Range: $3-4

Espinaler Sardines in Pickled Sauce 3/5

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These Espinaler Sardines in Pickled Sauce 3/5 (Escabeche) came from Caputo's. As part of the Espinaler "classic" line, they are still quite a bargain at $5. I'd had their mussels in pickled sauce before, and wondered how that might translate to sardines.

This was one of those deep, super stiff cans with the undulating ridges on the lid. Usually, that makes for a big mess when either your hand or the lid suddenly slips, and the packing oil or sauce flies everywhere. Savvy sardine aficionados have learned a "walk and rock" technique to get the lid off without incident. Typically, you can get the lid about halfway peeled back before things start getting dicey. But, if you "walk" it, concentrating on the left and right alternately, you can get to a point where you can "rock" the lid back and forth until it gently releases. Thus endeth the lesson.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.

On a 3/5 tin of sardines, I always hope for 5, but in this case got 3. Beautifully packed, pristine skin, no scales, fins or tails. The aroma of the sauce is immediately apparent when the lid is first cracked.

A sip of the oil/sauce is less revealing, but would bloom later on. The oil in this case is sunflower.

Time To Eat

I heaved the three big pilchards out over rice, and before pouring any of the sauce/oil over them, took a minute to whisk it back into an emulsion with a plastic fork.

Digging in, the fish are as tender as can be expected from pilchards their size. They are acceptably moist, with a good, fresh sardine flavor.

It hadn't struck me before now, only having had this sauce preparation with their mussels, that the flavor of this pickled sauce/escabeche is quite reminiscent of the Salsa Espinaler appetizer sauce. Both are vinegary, with a mild pepper note.

I didn't find these notably absent of salt, but the sauce made up for any lack thereof. Sodium is listed as a moderate 350mg.

I thought it was odd that the carton I received was printed (in Spanish) "sardines in olive oil". Only two labels, applied over the back and front, contained the name and information for sardines in pickled sauce. Someone must have forgotten to order boxes at the cannery.

Brand: Espinaler
Description: Sardines in pickled sauce
Species: Sardina pilchardus
Country of Origin: Spain
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.05 oz.
Price Range: $5

JOSÉ Gourmet Small Sardines in EVOO

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These JOSÉ Gourmet Small Sardines in EVOO came from Caputo's. I had tried several varieties, and wanted to get a sense of just plain sardines in EVOO by them. I had already had the even smaller ones in the "crosspack" configuration.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.

Nice braided packing, silvery bellies up. Only a few spots of roughed up skin. I see no scales, tails, nor fins. There's a fish aroma that's only a little stronger that which I've some to expect. An initial sip of the EVOO is unrevealing.

Let's Eat

The fish are reasonably firm, and extract from the tin mostly intact. There are six fish total. Small, yes, but I've had other tins with a six count (or more) that weren't touted as being a premium small size.

I note the EVOO has a dark, almost amber color, not the golden green I'm used to seeing. Tasting it a second time, it has none of the flavor notes I've come to expect from a good extra-virgin olive oil. I poured about half of what was left in the tin over the fish and rice anyway.

Digging in, they are tender, but a tad dry on the palate. I also note a lack of salt, which, together with the lackluster EVOO, is making for a rather bland experience. Disappointing. I also note verbiage by both the vendor and the producer on the vendor's website touting these as being smoked. Neither my palate nor the carton corroborate this claim.

About halfway through, I pulled out my new jar of MW Polar Crunchy Black Garlic Chili Crisp, which made a measurable improvement.

Main Takeaways

Tender pilchards, if a tad dry
Bland flavor, fish and EVOO
Needed salt

This wasn't the experience I was expecting or had hoped for. JOSÉ Gourmet has been consistently good in the past, but I guess every tin can't be a solid winner.

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

Brunswick Sardines in Soybean Oil

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These Brunswick Sardines in Soybean Oil came from Walmart. A recent store reset moved the tinned fish to a different aisle. Store resets are usually when new items are slotted in, and I didn't remember seeing these there before. They may have been stocked previously, but the entire section at all three local Walmarts has been seriously neglected in recent months. This tin was the only one of its kind on the shelf. At $1.24, it was worth a try.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.5/5.

The aroma is fishy. Not in a terrible way, but a little stronger than that to which I am accustomed. I see no scales and just a few pelvic fins. The tin is non-specific as to species, and I'm not quite sure what these are. Product of Poland implies Baltic Sea, and by association would most likely mean sprats. But these don't look like sprats.

Digging In

I had already had lunch, but was eager to see what these were about. So, I instead chose to have them as a snack.

The first thing I noticed was how the flesh is pale, almost white, so no pilchards here. The first bite revealed a bit more. The meat is quite tender, with a mild flavor, so I'm now thinking herring. Usually, herring standing in for sardines is skinless boneless fillets from a much larger fish.

As I worked my way through the tin, I noted some of the individual fish differed texturally from the others. Some were a bit mushy, like overcooked catfish.

The smoke flavor is there, but it's not doing any great service to the fish. The soybean oil in this instance is also, well, just a bit meh... I also thought they could have used a bit more salt. If the nutritional information matches that of the Brunswick website, sodium is a moderate 340mg. The website also confirms the species as herring.

Overall, I don't feel too put out over spending the $1.24. At least you and I both now know what we're getting with this rather pedestrian tin of fish.

Main Takeaways

Mild, tender fish
Inconsistent texture
Smoke and salt lacking

Brand: Bumble Bee Seafoods/Brunswick
Description: Sardines in soybean oil
Species: Herring
Country of Origin: Poland
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 3.75 oz.
Price Range: $1-2

Fishwife Smoked Salmon

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I picked up this Fishwife Smoked Salmon at Whole Foods, where it is currently on sale at 30% off for Amazon Prime members. That brought the sticker shock $11.99 price down to $8.38.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4/5.

Initial impression is usually based on appearance, things like scales, fins, aroma. Fractions of points added or removed for each. It's very disappointing when points taken off are the result of glaringly empty space.

I mean, really. If you were a new customer to a highly-promoted brand, and paid $12 for a tin of smoked salmon packed only 75% full, what would you think? It would leave a bad taste in your mouth, even before the first bite. "Sold by weight, not volume", yeah, I get it, but I reserve the right to expect a far better OOBE at this price point.

Moving on. The aroma is subtly smoky. The appearance is not as dark as with some tinned smoked salmons, but the coloration suggests the promise of it having been "slow smoked over beechwood". The olive oil is neutral, and not being EVOO, I expect is basically just preserving moisture.

Let's Try It

I placed the fish over a bowl of rice. Being there was a copious amount of oil left in the tin, I poured only about a tablespoon's worth over everything.

The meat is tender and moist with a well-balanced contribution from the smoke. The smoke not overpowering the flavor of the fish is always a plus.

The fish is not as al dente as other premium smoked salmons usually seen packaged in small round tins, including those from Fishwife. The texture is flaky and it's cooked just right.

Sodium is listed at an above average 670mg, but it doesn't taste that salty. The level was just about right, in my estimation.

Main Takeaways

Flavorful, tender salmon
Good smoke balance
OOBE disappointing

Brand: Fishwife Tinned Seafood Co.
Description: Smoked Salmon
Species: Atlantic salmon
Country of Origin: Norway (processed in Denmark)
Source: Farmed
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 3.7 oz.
Price Range: $12

Alshark Moroccan Sardines in Olive Oil

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These Alshark Moroccan Sardines in Olive Oil came from a local Middle Eastern market. They were a new item since last I visited. Google Lens translates some of the Arabic verbiage to reveal the name is really "Al Sharq". Labeled "Lightly-smoked sardines in olive oil", I was intrigued, as so few pilchards come out of Morocco smoked. For $2.69, it didn't seem I could go wrong.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.5/5.

Looks to be a good count, at least five. Packing not so pretty. Dark dorsal side up. Scales, or is that just loose skin? I see no tails, but there are dorsal fins, quite unusual.

The aroma is stronger than usual of fish, but not in a bad way. There is also a hint of the aforementioned smoke. A sip of the olive oil doesn't reveal much, but also tastes faintly of smoke. The carton doesn't specify how the smoke flavor is achieved, so we'll assume smoked means smoked, not just flavored.

Here We Go

Lifting them out of the tin to put over rice, they are slightly inclined to break apart. As I do so, I'm having trouble deciding if what's being dislodged by my fork is just skin or sheets of scales. I'm hoping for the former.

I also note several hair-like pin bones loose about the fish. I'm not worrying about ingesting them, but their presence is off-putting.

I poured about a tablespoon of the oil left in the tin over everything, trying to avoid any of the debris left floating in it.

Digging in, the fish are tender and moist. No dryness, no mushiness. Whether scales or skin, I was surprisingly unbothered by anything unwelcome sticking to the roof of my mouth.

The smoke has been judiciously applied. It's complementing the flavor of the fish nicely. Overall, the non-visual portion of the experience has been quite good.

Main Takeaways

Moist, tender fish
Balanced smoke
Dim the lights or close your eyes while consuming

While I applaud the flavor, texture and smoke, I'm having a hard time forgiving the lackadaisical approach to processing. I doubt I'll be returning to these any time soon. Perhaps, in time, they will up their game on fish cleaning protocols.

Brand: Alshark (Al Sharq) / Baroody Imports, NJ
Description: Sardines in Olive Oil
Species: Sardina pilchardus
Country of Origin: Morocco
Source: FAO34, Eastern Central Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.38 oz.
Price Range: $2-3