Angelo Parodi Archives

Angelo Parodi Sardines in Olive Oil

These Angelo Parodi Sardines in Olive Oil came with an order from International Loft a few months ago. I had already tried their spicy sardines, and found them very good. I wanted to see if these plain pilchards would stand on their own. Some packages seen call them Portugese Sardines, either in English or Portugese.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.5/5.

Not nearly as impressive as the spicy ones were. There's not really much in the way of an aroma, just some slight fishiness, but not in a bad way. A sip of the oil is neutral. It's not EVOO, so not really surprising.

There appear to be four sizeable pilchards, all a bit ragged-looking, with some bones peering from the cavity opening. Some scales evident. Also, some pelvic fins, and on one, a tail. There are specks of something I suspect might be a little dirt. An initial bite is a bit bland, but the sardine flavor is fresh.

Let's Proceed

I'm surprised how pedestrian these look compared to the spicy ones, which were nicely packed and in virtually pristine condition.

Digging in, I found them tender and moist. The sodium level is listed as 420mg, but the taste is of far less salt.

Still, on the palate they are a meaty sardine, appearances aside.

When I got to the last fish, I broke out a little chili crisp to season it up, and that bit of extra saltiness was an improvement.

Main Takeaways

Not the prettiest pilchards
Moist, tender and meaty fish
Good flavor once you get past the looks

I have three more tins of these I got from Home Goods. They certainly will be from a different lot, so the possibility exists this tin was an anomaly, appearance-wise. I'll update once I try them, either way.

Update

It's only a week later, but I wanted to do this follow-up sooner than later, while the first tin was still fresh in my mind.

Initial impression upon opening (2nd) can: 4.8/5.

These were a little cleaner looking, and not quite as torn up. Four fish again. This time they came out of the can mostly intact. The aroma and taste of the oil were about the same as the first can.

These were stuffed in the can so tight they assumed a blocky, squared-off shape. As before, there were pelvic fins and a few scales.

The flavor and texture were comparable to the first can. Still a tad low on salt, but a good, fresh sardine taste.

I think the difference between the two tins is minimal, mainly cosmetic, and could be chalked up to normal variation in whatever fish or whoever was canning them on each particular day. The "best by" dates on the two were little more than a month apart. While we'd like to always see beautiful silvery bellies with no scales, the reality is that it's not going to happen 100% of the time. The bigger question for me is, why does Home Goods have product labeled with fresher dating than a normal vendor?

Brand: Angel Parodi
Description: Sardines in Olive Oil
Species: Sardina pilchardus
Country of Origin: Portugal
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.23 oz.
Price Range: $4

Angelo Parodi Sardines in Olive Oil with Chili Peppers

DeenLeave a comment

I've been wanting to try these Angelo Parodi Sardines in Olive Oil with Chili Peppers ever since my first experience with the brand, their boneless skinless sardines. Those didn't really impress me, but I hoped these Portugese pilchards would.

As with several brands these days, you may encounter several versions of packages containing the same thing. Depending upon where and when you buy them, they may appear as below or labeled in Italian as "Sardine Piccanti". The carton is impressive, with embossed, metallic highlights more in keeping with brands of much higher price (although those seen dated later lack the embossing) .

Initial impression upon opening the can: 5/5.

Some gorgeous sardines. Carefully packed silvery belly side-up. Only a couple pectoral fins and no tails. No discernable scales. The aroma from the can is not revealing anything. A sip of the reddish tinged oil tastes neutral until it reaches the back of the throat, but the heat is not at all harsh.

There are three husky fish in total. Trying to extract them from the can intact is difficult. To their credit, they are tender enough to want to split in two if not supported evenly. Underneath, there is one long piri-piri pepper that has been cut in half. Other cans I have seen contained multiple small peppers. These are not sold as "spiced" sardines or "in spiced oil", so no bay leaf or cloves. They are simply packed with just olive oil, chili peppers and salt.

Let's Eat

Here you can see the one large, bisected pepper. I tasted it, and any heat it may have had was already given up to the olive oil.

There were a good couple of tablespoons of oil left in the can, and I poured about two thirds of it over everything.

Turning to the fish, they are incredibly tender and rich. Not dry at all. The heat from the pepper is moderate and steady, not interfering with the flavor of the fish, which is fresh and mild. The salt level, listed as 420 mg, is also just right, enough to enhance the flavor without being intrusive.

Overall, there's a lot to like with these. And hard to beat for the price. A daily driver candidate, for sure.

Main Takeaways

Beautifully packed
Moist, tender, meaty fish
Steady, moderate heat from the pepper doesn't compete with the sardine flavor

Brand: Angel Parodi
Description: Sardines in Olive Oil with Chili Peppers
Species: Sardina pilchardus
Country of Origin: Portugal
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.23 oz.
Price Range: $4

Angelo Parodi Mackerel Fillets with Pepper & Ginger

DeenLeave a comment

I received these Angelo Parodi Mackerel Fillets with Pepper & Ginger with a recent order from International Loft. The flavor combination sounded interesting, as I had not seen ginger used before. Fingers crossed.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 5/5.

Very nice, appetizing-looking, skinless and boneless fillets of mackerel. The aroma from the can is of fresh fish, tuna-like. I'm not getting a sense of the seasonings yet. A sip of the oil is also unrevealing, save for a subtle hint of heat.

Tasting a bit of fish on its own, it has a robust flavor. The texture is firm, again reminiscent of tuna. But not in a bad way. The salt level is about right. The olive oil is of good quality.

Time to Eat

Angelo Parodi Mackerel Fillets in olive oil with Ginger and Pepper over rice

Pulling them from the can, the fillets remained mostly intact. A two inch-long pepper appeared, but I saw no ginger. Could it be powdered or?

I poured the rest of the contents over the fish and rice, hoping the heat would make the spices "bloom" a bit.

I arranged things nicely for a photo, then started to dig in. As I ate, I noted the spices remained as undertones to the fish flavor. A background heat, but also a certain something I could only attribute to the ginger. It wasn't in-your-face, but I can only characterize it as something you'd miss if it was no longer there.

Halfway through, a sliver of ginger appeared from nowhere. I tasted it, but its inherent flavor had apparently been subdued by the canning process. It still had a crispness to it, however.

I liked this, even if the spices weren't as intense as anticipated. The pricing was quite reasonable, the vendor being the direct importer likely having much to do with that.

Main Takeaways

Good quality, flavorful mackerel, even without the seasonings
Subtle spices didn't wow me as I had hoped
Still a bargain

Brand: Angel Parodi
Description: Mackerel Fillets with Pepper & Ginger
Species: Scomber sp.
Country of Origin: Italy
Source: FAO34, Eastern Central Atlantic
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 4.4 oz.
Price Range: $4-5

Angelo Parodi Sardine Fillets

DeenLeave a comment

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