lemon Archives - Sardeenz!

Minerva Limited Edition Sardines with Lemon & Thyme

These Minerva Limited Edition Sardines with Lemon & Thyme came with that initial order from International Loft. I hadn't encountered this particular flavor combination anywhere before. It sounded intriguing. So was the notion of a limited edition. I hoped both together would make for something special.

They are nicely packaged, in a style befitting a premium offering. The can is wrapped in a glossy black paper, then slipped into a sleeve adorned with metallic red and gold graphics.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.

The aroma of the thyme hits you immediately. A sip of the oil is heavy with the flavor of the thyme. The lemon is there, but fighting to peek through. Three big pilchards. I'd hoped they would be smaller, as that usually means a fresher tasting, more tender fish. Ultimately, it wasn't a factor.

Let's Get Into It

Trying to pull fish intact from the can is difficult. They are very tender. An initial bite is melt-in-your-mouth goodness. The little bit of thyme seen in the photo belies the actual content. Underneath, there is a serious amount of thyme, like maybe as much as a half teaspoon (or more?). The olive oil is not listed as EVOO, but is of high quality.

I managed to get them out over rice largely intact. The skin peeled away at the slightest touch. I was surprised to see a few scales.

I poured the rest of the can contents over the fish, wanting to get the full experience. In retrospect, I should have left some (read: most) of the thyme in the can.

As I worked my way through, I noted the lemon still managing to make its presence known. Even through all that thyme, I could taste hints of both the pulp and zest.

I also thought a little more salt might have been in order. It has a way of accentuating other flavors, particularly citrus. Best I can tell, it was a relatively low 107mg.

Main Takeaways

Tender, tasty fish, even though larger than my preference
Too much thyme for the lemon to really shine through
Not enough salt

If I buy these again, I'll definitely leave the excess thyme in the can. The amount included wasn't necessary, and might have actually been a negative, all things considered.

Brand: A Poveira/MInerva
Description: Limited Edition Sardines in Olive Oil w/Lemon & Thyme
Species: Pilchards
Country of Origin: Portugal
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.25 oz.
Price Range: $8

Fishwife Albacore Tuna with Spanish Lemon

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I picked up this Fishwife Albacore Tuna with Spanish Lemon about four months ago, and never got around to trying it until now. In fact, I had forgotten I had it, and bought another can while it was on sale again at Whole Foods last week.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.8/5.

It's one of those stiff cans you have to battle to get the lid off without making a mess. It's a nice, solid chunk of tuna. The initial aroma is of a mild tuna, but nothing lemony coming through. A sip of the oil is similarly neutral, but with perhaps a hint of lemon. A nibble of fish straight from the can at first seems to just have that tuna tanginess. But then it kind of blooms toward citrus-y.

Prying the meat out of the can, there is no physical lemon to be found. The "lemon" in the ingredient list must be juice or some other form of lemon essence. One part of the meat, an area that was at the bottom of the can, had a bit of a discoloration to it. I wondered if it was the result of contact with whatever the source of the lemon flavor was.

As you can see, visually it just looks like a plain tuna. I dumped the entire liquid content of the can over the fish. I wanted to make sure I got the most of whatever lemon flavor there was to be had.

Getting more into it, though, with each bite it became more apparent the tanginess was from the lemon. I did find myself thinking, however, there wasn't anything overtly Spanish about it, and I might have just supplied my own good quality tuna and some lemon.

Once satisfied I had given it a thorough assessment on its own merits, I decided to experiment a bit. I had a new jar of S&B Crunchy Garlic with Chili Oil I wanted to try. As chili crisp type condiments go, it's a little saltier than most, and I did find it actually enhanced the lemon flavor of the tuna.

Final Thoughts

As quality tuna goes, it has a good flavor that the lemon, however it's achieved, improves. Although it did make me consider just trying to replicate it with my own tuna and lemon.
This would be a good choice for a salad topped with tuna.
When on sale, it's a good value for a premium canned tuna.

Brand: Fishwife
Description: Albacore Tuna with Spanish lemon
Species: Albacore tuna
Country of Origin: Spain
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 3.2 oz.
Price Range: $8

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Les Mouettes d’Arvor Sardines with Lemon and Chili Pepper

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These Les Mouettes d'Arvor Sardines with Lemon and Chili Pepper were among the baker's dozen cans I just received. Although my count may be off by one, I'm making them my 100th tin tasted. I'm choosing them because they represent (to me) several unusual characteristics: they're from France, they're unusually spiced, and they're by a brand with which I'm heretofore not familiar.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.8/5.

These look nice, albeit the skin is a little torn up. It's one of those shallow cans, so I'm surprised to see six fish. There's no overt aroma. A sip of the oil is neutral and doesn't represent the flavors of the seasonings. The can says extra virgin olive oil, but I wouldn't have guessed it was otherwise. I'm not getting any of the back-of-throat heat I expect from chili pepper. Usually, lemon and chili pepper are mutually exclusive sardine flavorings. Once again, a can of French sardines lists "lemon confit", but this time there is nothing I would consider a confit.

There are some scales, some tails, and some pelvic fins. Perhaps that's common to French pilchard packing processes, or just this cannery, I don't know. The fish lift from the can intact. The meat is a little on the firm side, and with a somewhat dry mouth feel. Working my way through the can, the lemon and pepper are subtle, becoming more evident as I go. The heat is courtesy of one tiny piri-piri. The lemon seems confined to a long, thin strip of lemon skin, giving a more zest-like than a citrus note.

A paper label affixed to the lid side of the can lists all the particulars, even the name of the fishing vessel making the catch. I had to photograph it, since opening the can required tearing it back to access the ring.

The Gonidec family cannery, in business since 1959, is the last one remaining in Concarneau, a major French fishing port.

These weren't bad, overall. But I don't know that I'd buy them again.

Main Takeaways

More fish than expected
Lemon confit just some lemon skin
Not impressive enough to buy again

Available at Amazon. A little pricey there.

Brand: Les Mouettes d'Arvor
Description: Sardines with Lemon and Chili Pepper
Species: Pilchards
Country of Origin: France
Source: FAO27, Northeastern Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.06 oz.
Price Range: $10

Ferrigno Sardines with Preserved Lemon

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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

Ati Manel Sardines in Olive Oil with Lemon

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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

Matiz Wild Sardines with Natural Lemon Essence

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I had picked up these Matiz Wild Sardines with Natural Lemon Essence at World Market a couple of months ago, and am just now getting around to trying them. They were $5, and I had seen good things about the brand.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.5/5.

Another of those stiff-to-open cans. The skin is a little ragged, but there's something about skin-on pilchards being packed silver belly side up that makes them more visually appealing. Four fish here, a number more to my liking. Fresh sardine aroma. A taste of the oil-- they are packed in sunflower-- reveals a very subtle lemon essence. Plucking individual fish from the can, they are tender enough to fall apart without much resistance.

Tasting one fish on its own, I found it acceptably mild in flavor. I dumped the rest, oil and all, over some hot rice, which seemed to make the lemon flavor "bloom" a bit. There's no slice of lemon in the can. After a recent packaging refresh, the ingredients now list "natural lemon aroma" as the flavoring. Formerly, it said "natural lemon essential oil".

The carton has a helpful little blurb: Rather than "ma-TEEZ" or "ma-TEES", Matiz is pronounced "ma-TEETH". That can be attributed to the Castilian dialect of Spain, the legend being that a medieval Spanish king's lisp was emulated by his subjects.

I see they have also had a recent price increase at World Market, now $5.49. I think, all things considered, they're still worth it.

Main Takeaways

Nice and tender
No lemon in the can, but still lemony
Price has increased, but still worth it

See it at Amazon. Still under $5 each in quantities of 5 there.

Brand: Connorsa / Matiz
Description: Sardines with Natural Lemon Essence
Species: Pilchards
Country of Origin: Spain
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.2 oz.
Price Range: $5-6

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.

Main Takeaways

Really nice looking fish
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