Fishwife Sardines with Preserved Lemon

I'd seen a couple of youtube videos reviewing some low-priced and moderately-priced cans of sardines with lemon. In both, the reviewer was less than impressed. I had a can of the Fishwife Sardines with Preserved Lemon I was waiting to try. My hope was this more premium offering might do a better job on the lemon flavor.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.5/5.

Really nice looking fish with intact skin. Three sizeable pilchards. My preference would be smaller, but that's OK. Clean fish aroma. A definite "essence" of lemon flavor infusing the oil.

Lemon always adds a zing to the flavor of most fish, so it's not surprising many canners offer a lemon flavored variant. It's typically seen in the form of a slice of lemon added to the can, on top of the fish. How much flavor it imparts to the fish and the packing oil can vary.

What exactly makes the slice of lemon in this can "preserved", I don't know. Unfortunately, the package does not specify. It looked pretty much the same as the one in one of the video reviews, i.e. a cooked sliced of lemon. Rather than being laid on top of the fish, it was squeezed in between two of them.

One complaint the reviewer had about the moderately-priced can was that the fish were mushy. A commenter blamed that on the lemon, claiming that the acidity denatured the proteins in the fish. A plausible theory, but I did not find this to be the case with the Fishwife brand. The reviewer's can was smaller brislings. Conversely, the Fishwife contains three sizeable pilchards, so that difference may or may not be a factor.

I found bites with smaller pieces of fish and a piece of the lemon gave a more satisfying lemon "experience". But was it an experience worth the $8 price? You'll have to decide that for yourself.

See it on Amazon (Whole Foods)