Deen, Author at Sardeenz!

Genova Yellowfin Tuna with Calabrian Chili

This Genova Yellowfin Tuna with Calabrian Chili came from Walmart, where I also purchased the lemon and herbes de Provence version. I remember liking that one, and hoped this one would be similarly satisfying.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.

Similar to the lemon version, it appears to be nice, thick chunks of tuna. The oil is tinged red from the Calabrian chili, and also paprika extract further down the ingredient list. The aroma is not too fishy, a good sign. A sip of the liquid isn't too revealing, but there is a subtle heat to it. As with the lemon version, no physical spices are visible.

Let's Dig In

This time, I just dumped everything straight from the can over rice. You can see the thickness of the chunks is equal to the depth of the tin.

Initial bites are promising. The chili heat is subtle but pervasive and has saturated the meat nicely. Continuing on, the chili flavor maintains a steady, well-balanced undertone of spice. I thought it complemented the flavor of the tuna well.

The label describes the seasoning as "Calabrian chili flavor infused olive oil", but again, as with the lemon version, this should not be construed to mean the packing liquid is totally olive oil.

Sodium is again 500mg, but it doesn't taste that salty. I thought the salt level was OK.

As with the other, I found the tuna a little dry, but not terribly so. My previous experience with chili seasoned tuna was a Korean offering that also had potato mixed in, and I found I preferred this one by a substantial margin.

Main Takeaways

Good quality yellowfin tuna
Chili heat well-balanced

Brand: Genova Seafood
Description: Yellowfin tuna with Calabrian chili
Species: Yellowfin tuna
Country of Origin: Thailand
Source: FAO71, Western Central Pacific
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 5 oz.
Price Range: $3

IASA Grilled Sea Bass Fillet in Olive Oil

DeenLeave a comment

This IASA Grilled Sea Bass Fillet in Olive Oil came from a local gourmet specialties market some months ago. I figured I had put off opening it long enough. Let's see how it tastes.

You may see the product carton titled either in English or Italian, as mine was. The back of the carton, however, was all in English.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.

A nice looking fillet, filling the tin reasonably well. The aroma is mild and fresh. A sip of the nearly clear olive oil gives only a hint of the fish's flavor. There are grill marks on the fillet, but the overall color of the meat doesn't give the impression it was actually cooked that way.

Let's Dig In

The fillet was difficult to remove from the tin in one piece. It broke apart into several chunky sections.

There is a fairly large amount of oil remaining in the tin. The carton reveals the drained weight to be almost exactly half of the contents. Nevertheless, I poured all of it over the fish and rice.

The meat is incredibly tender, virtually melting in your mouth. The flavor is extremely mild, enough so to make one wish all canned fish fillet were as good. I still tend to believe the grill marks are strictly cosmetic, but the flavor and tenderness made me not really care.

The salt content is low, only 153mg. sodium for the entire tin. And that's fortunate, as anything more would have detracted from the spectacular flavor of the fish.

I searched the tin for an FAO fishing area stamp, but found none. The carton reveals the fish is actually farmed.

Main Takeaways

Tender, mild and flavorful fish
Simply packed in olive oil and salt
A little pricey, but worth it

Brand: IASA
Description: Grilled sea bass fillets in olive oil
Species: Dicentrarchus labrax
Country of Origin: Italy
Source: N/A, Farmed
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 5.11 oz.
Price Range: $12.50

JOSÉ Gourmet Sardines with Lemon in Olive Oil

DeenLeave a comment

Pay attention, reader. These JOSÉ Gourmet Sardines with Lemon in Olive Oil are, to date, the manifestation of what I think "sardines with lemon" should be. And I mean that in all respects.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.

These are some really nice looking fish. There was no promise of what size these would be on the carton, but I'm really happy that they're smaller. Hopefully, that's consistent from can to can.

There's no overtly fishy aroma. The oil is tinged slightly yellow, which I hoped meant good things, either in terms of olive oil flavor or lemon-wise. I tasted the oil, as I usually do, and found a subtle yet realistic lemony essence.

Pulling fish from the can, they are firm enough. But tasting them, they are beautifully melt-in-your-mouth tender. No scales evident at all. Almost as perfect as a skin-on, bone-in pilchard can be. The lemon flavor is spot-on. There's a half slice in the bottom of the can. It retains its citrus flavor well enough so that bits of it consumed with the fish only improve the experience. Even the rind is worth tasting. Highly recommended.

I happened to crack open this can while enjoying a glass of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Its own lemony notes complemented the sardines well, its bright acidity cutting through the richness of the fish and olive oil nicely.

Revisit and Update

It's been about a year since I reviewed these, and I decided to pull another tin from my stash to see if they were still as good as I remembered.

Only four, larger fish this time. Some skin broken, even missing on a couple. Not nearly as pretty as the original can. Initial impression points reduced to 4.6/5.

I dumped them out, oil and all, over rice. They are as tender and moist as before, despite the downgraded appearance and larger size. The lemon flavor might have been a tad less impressive, but the lemon slice retained some of its citrus tang. Still recommended.

Main Takeaways

Really nice looking fish, but can vary
Top notch lemon flavor
The lemon sardine to beat

See it at Amazon. They are well-priced there when purchased in packs of three or more.

Brand: 100 Misterios / JOSÉ Gourmet
Description: Sardines with Lemon in Olive Oil
Species: Pilchards
Country of Origin: Portugal
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.2 oz.
Price Range: $9

Natural Catch Spicy Yellowfin Tuna Filets

DeenLeave a comment

Caught these Natural Catch Spicy Yellowfin Tuna Filets, new and on sale at Whole Foods. Regular $5.49 marked down to $3.77 for Amazon Prime members. One of a few cans of various premium tuna I've acquired recently to try.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.5/5.

Nice presentation with the pepper visible. Packed reasonably full of layers of yellowfin tuna filet. Ingredients list vegetable broth in addition to organic EVOO and spices. A nice, warm heat from the seasoning, not overpowering. No dry mouth feel like some tuna, and a nice, fresh tuna taste.

Natural Catch is an up-and-comer in the premium tuna arena. Based upon this can, I'd say they will be a contender. Recommended.

Update

I had another can in my stash for several months now, and decided to revisit and update this year-old review. Very early reviews here were not as in-depth as they have come to be, and this was one in need of revisiting.

I had been critical in the past about Natural Catch marketing. For a time, they mounted an aggressive social media campaign showing how their tuna consisted of premium filets. I noted, in both individual cans I had tried after the first one, and in the advertising, that the filets comprised only the top third of the can contents, and what was underneath was largely a mass of chunk tuna.

This most recent tin had a little more in the way of filets, approximately 50%, with an additional filet piece below the photogenic ones normally covering the top.

The flavor was consistent with my previous assessment, and I still recommend it, especially if it can be had at the sale price at which Whole Foods periodically offers it.

See it at Amazon.

Brand: Natural Catch
Description: Yellowfin Tuna in Spicy EVOO
Species: Yellowfin tuna
Country of Origin: Viet Nam
Source: FAO71, Western Central Pacific
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 4.4 oz.
Price Range: $5-6

Safe Catch Wild Sardines in Olive Oil with Lemon

DeenLeave a comment

These Safe Catch Wild Sardines in Olive Oil with Lemon were a new item at a local independent supermarket. New enough that I wasn't able to find an image of the carton online anywhere. Not even on the Safe Catch website, which makes no mention of them selling sardines at all. Puzzling.

I thought the "bone-in with skin" banner was odd. Usually, that's assumed if other than boneless/skinless.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.8/5.

Some husky pilchards. No scales apparent, and the skin is in reasonably nice condition. Fresh aroma from the can. A sip of the oil hints at the lemon.

Let's Dig In

There are five fish total in the deep tin. A slice of lemon in the bottom still retains some brightness of flavor. The fish tended to break in two somewhat as they were lifted from the can. I poured the remaining olive oil in the tin over everything, hoping to maximize any lemon flavor.

The first bite is both good and bad. The meat is tender, almost too tender to the point of maybe mushy, but not quite. It's acceptably moist, but not what I would characterize as juicy. The bad part is the clump of scales stuck to the roof of my mouth, but it only happened one more time after, so not a deal breaker. There was also some random detritus I couldn't identify that kind of diminished the overall experience.

I thought they could have been a little saltier, sodium is an average 310mg. It might have also perked up the lemon, which was subtle but detectable throughout.

At the $4.39 price point, I expected a little better processing, e.g. the scales and detritus. Hopefully, it's just not a representative sample can.

Main Takeaways

Tender, moist fish, but maybe borderline mushy
A little more lemon flavor would have helped
Some unwelcome scales and mystery bits

Brand: Safe Catch
Description: Sardines in olive oil with lemon
Species: Sardina pilchardus
Country of Origin: Morocco
Source: FAO34, Eastern Central Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.4 oz.
Price Range: $4-5

Casablanca Sardines in Tomato Sauce

DeenLeave a comment

These Casablanca Sardines in Tomato Sauce came from the same market as the Casablanca Spicy Sardines with Hot Peppers. I guess they were also $1.99 as, for some reason I recorded that I had purchased two tins of those instead of one of each. Then I apparently stashed these way, and forgot about them until just now.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.8/5.

More huge pilchards. Nicely packed, though, not roughed up at all. At least this time it wasn't one of those stiff, hard-to-open tins. Which also makes me wonder how many canneries Casablanca uses. Closer inspection shows these with a BB date of only six months away, odd for a product that had just been stocked by the market.

The aroma is fresh, and a taste of the tomato sauce reveals a brightness of flavor. The sauce is a basic one, being only water, tomato paste and sunflower oil.

Let's Eat

Lifting them out of the tin, they want to break in two. Stuffed under one of the two really large pilchards is one smallish one, also a bit "fall-apart-y".

I noted a few scales in the transfer to the bowl, but nothing major. After whisking it up a bit, I poured the sauce remaining in the can over everything.

The fish are incredibly tender, with melt-in-your-mouth level texture. Nice and moist as well, with a good sardine flavor.

Not really salty at all, only 210mg. sodium for the entire tin. But I didn't feel compelled to take any measures to address it.

I think the age on these has proven that vintage sardines are a valid concept. If kept at moderate ambient temperature, tins with a couple years on them can be a premium experience. Even better when the tin is only $2.

Main Takeaways

Tender, moist fish
Just okay tomato sauce
Bargain price

Brand: Spice N' More Corp. / Casablanca
Description: Sardines in tomato sauce
Species: Sardina pilchardus
Country of Origin: Morocco
Source: FAO34, Eastern Central Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.4 oz.
Price Range: $2

Eva Adriatic Sardines in Olive Oil

DeenLeave a comment

These Eva Adriatic Sardines in Olive Oil were purchased at the same time as the Eva Adriatic Sardines in Vegetable Oil with Lemon. These were $1 more, presumably due to the olive oil. Let's see how they fare.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4/8.5.

Not too bad looking. Skin a little rough. Tails, as expected, and a few fins. No scales apparent. The aroma is a bit fishy, maybe a little less fresh than I'd like. A sip of the olive oil is unimpressive, and has taken on hints of the fishiness.

Let's Eat

There appear to be six fish. They want to break up a bit getting them out of the tin. I flicked off the tails as I went. That's just my preference, they're not prickly. I poured most of the remaining olive oil over everything, more to enhance mouthfeel than for flavor.

Working my way through the lot, I note they are tender but not mushy. They are also sufficiently moist. I did, however, end up encountering a few scales as I went

I'm finding them a little bland, though. For better or worse, the fishy aroma hasn't translated to the taste.

Again, I find myself wishing they were a little saltier. To that end, I added a little Lao Gan Ma Fried Chili in Oil to the last fish. It's not excessively spicy or salty, really, but it added a little oomph that was lacking. I also realized the last fish was actually two stuck together, so a bonus there.

I'm not terribly disappointed in these, they were worth the try. I'm glad I already went back and bought four more tins of the lemon variety, which were a dollar cheaper and far better, IMO.

Main Takeaways

Tender, moist fish
Good seven count
A little bland, needed some salt

Brand: Podravka USA / Eva
Description: Sardines in olive oil
Species: Clupea pilchardus (Sardina pilchardus)
Country of Origin: Croatia
Source: FAO37, Mediterranean Sea
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 3.5 oz.
Price Range: $3