lemon Archives - Sardeenz!

JOSÉ Gourmet Sardines with Lemon in Olive Oil

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

Safe Catch Wild Sardines in Olive Oil with Lemon

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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

Eva Adriatic Sardines in Vegetable Oil with Lemon

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These Eva Adriatic Sardines in Vegetable Oil with Lemon were a new item at the local Mediterranean market. I've made a habit of checking there regularly for new tinned fish, and have made several interesting discoveries. Let's see how these are.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.

Nice looking, packed in tight. Skin a little roughed up but that's OK. No scales evident. A few tails, but that's to be expected from canneries in this area. A lot of sardines from Italy caught in the Adriatic and packed in Croatia also seem to come with tails left on. They're soft enough to either ignore or remove with the flick of a fork.

A sip of the oil has a nice, subtle but real lemony flavor. It's soybean oil, not really a problem, and it helps keep these at $2 a can.

Hauling them out over rice, they are tender and a bit fall-apart-y. There are seven fish total in this modest 3.5oz. tin. I've found this to be the case lately with sardines packed in Croatia. Looking online, these used to be 4oz. so a little shrinkflation going on. But still, 7 fish.

I poured the remaining oil over everything, using my fork to strain out any skin or other debris left in it. There's a real lemon slice there, and it retains some brightness of flavor.

These are quite tender, and the lemon flavor has infused everything well enough to give a good flavor experience throughout the entire can's worth.

Not too salty, the sodium listed is 410mg. I thought everything was well-balanced.

$2 for actual pilchards with lemon is an unbelievable bargain.

Main Takeaways

Tender, flavorful fish
Good lemon flavor throughout
Super bargain for sardines with lemon

I'll be checking back for more of these. Hopefully, they won't run out before I get there. I also got some Eva Adriatic Sardines in Olive Oil, slightly higher in price, that I'm looking forward to trying.

Brand: Podravka USA / Eva
Description: Sardines in vegetable oil with lemon
Species: Clupea pilchardus (Sardina pilchardus)
Country of Origin: Croatia
Source: FAO37, Mediterranean Sea
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 3.5 oz.
Price Range: $2

El Raño Wild Caught Sardines with Lemon Essence

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I had read you could sometimes find sardines at Home Goods stores. These El Raño Wild Caught Sardines with Lemon Essence would be my third such find there. The store has a "gourmet foods" aisle, and it's typically crammed full with a hodgepodge of jarred sauces, olive oils, snacks, condiments and sundry other such items.

You really have to stoop and dig sometimes, as none of it is what you'd call "merchandised". And you kind of have to watch the pricing, too. Sometimes their marked-down price is slightly above that which you can find elsewhere, if you know where to look.

This happened to be a promotional package that included a ceramic serving dish. The boxed tin was nestled in the dish, and all was slipped into a cardboard sleeve. A dot of glue kept things from sliding apart, but it also damaged the carton upon opening. I tried to find an image of an identical carton, but to no avail. It seems like many canneries change their packaging more often than their underwear. So, I did a little quick cut-and-paste photo fixing.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4/5.

Not very pretty. It's three quite large pilchards (allegedly) crammed into the deep can. I see spine and bones protruding from one, and there are quite a number of scales. And at least one set of pelvic fins. A far cry from the pretty, silver-bellied specimens found in better tins.

There is an initial subtle aroma of lemon which quickly dissipates. There is no fishy aroma to be detected. A sip of the oil takes a moment to echo the lemon flavor.

Here We Go

Getting the first one out was difficult, and it had to be broken up to extract it. The large spine, as well as some residual entrails I'm not used to dealing with, I found to be a distraction. I scraped off some more scales and resumed my assessment.

There was a tablespoon or more of oil (listed only as vegetable oil) left in the can. I poured most of it over everything in hopes of maximizing any experience of lemon flavor.

I noted the meat was not dry, but it flaked in a way I'm not used to with sardines. Its texture was a bit like some other kind of fish (tilapia?). Another distraction. But I soldiered on.

The heat of the rice did let the lemon flavor bloom a bit, and I found at least that part of things pleasant. There was no actual lemon in the can, so "natural lemon flavor" is all I have to go on. The salt balance was OK, neither too high nor too low.

Main Takeaways

Large fish, with odd texture
Too much in the way of scales and other unpleasantries
Distractions interfered with enjoyment

I had higher hopes for these. The El Raño label is under the umbrella of Conservas Artesanas Gallegas, which also produces La Narval and Maruxaina. But it appears to be their "value" brand.

Here's a view of the full package and the serving dish.

The cost was $8, with the store tag saying "compare at $10". The dish is nothing special. But for cheap, who cares? If it had been $8 for just the tin of fish, however, I wouldn't have considered it a bargain.

Amazon sells a double-pack of a small sardines version of these at a tempting price, but I am ambivalent about risking the $12 for two smallish cans only to be potentially disappointed again.

Brand: Conservas Artesanas Gallegas / El Raño
Description: Wild caught sardines with lemon essence
Species: Sardina pilchardus
Country of Origin: Spain
Source: FAO34, Eastern Central Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.2 oz.
Price Range: $10

Wild Planet Sardines in EVOO with Lemon, Part 2

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A recent review elsewhere of Natural Catch Sardines in Organic EVOO got me thinking about these Wild Planet Sardines in EVOO with Lemon again. The Natural Catch are sourced from Viet Nam, and are not true pilchards, but rather another species endemic to that part of the world. These Wild Planet are, as well, and are processed in Thailand. Let's see what I think this time.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.5/5.

The first time around, 7 months ago, I wasn't too impressed, overall. I really didn't get any sense of smoke, and very little lemon. This time, a sip of the oil revealed a subtle hint of smoke, so being labeled lightly smoked is apropos. Again, I'm moved to comment there should be a labeling requirement to say "with oil" when it's apparent the packing liquid is only partly oil. I note that water is included as an ingredient here, listed just after the EVOO.

The appearance and aroma are about the same as last time. They are scale-free as touted, but there are some pelvic fins still attached. The aroma is neutral, not smelling of fish or smoke. This time there are four fish as opposed to three, a plus in my book.

I put them out over rice, fished out the lemon and "artfully" arranged it over the fish.

As last time, the lemon has had most of its flavor cooked out by the canning process. But I am getting more of an impression of it from the fish this time.

The fish are meaty and reasonably tender. I don't find them dry at all. The salt level is a little on the low side, but adequate. I sprinkled a little furikake over the last fish, and its additional salt I deemed an improvement. It may have even enhanced the lemon flavor somewhat.

Part of my reason for wanting to revisit these was to reassess the Northwestern Pacific variety of sardine. To date, the only brand available to me has been the Wild Planet. Until I can obtain selections of another brand containing them in single quantities, these will have to be the basis for my judgement of the species.

Main Takeaways

Meaty, tender fish
A little saltier might have been better
More smoke flavor this time, but the lemon still needs improvement

If you prefer these Northwestern Pacific sardines, at the price, these are still a good value.

Brand: Wild Planet
Description: Sardines in Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Lemon
Species: Sardinops sagax or melanostictus
Country of Origin: Thailand
Source: FAO61, Northwest Pacific
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.4 oz.
Price Range: $3

Maria Organic Tuna Fillets in Light Brine and Thyme-Lemon

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I got these Maria Organic Tuna Fillets in Light Brine and Thyme-Lemon at the same time as some of their spiced sardines, which really liked. I'm afraid this time things would be quite different.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4/5.

This really looks great. Nice pink skipjack tuna. Substantial chunks of meat. I don't see any actual lemon, but at least there's not an overabundance of thyme.

But here's where things went south. The aroma, and subsequently a taste of the canning liquid, a "light brine", were eerily reminiscent of a certain lemon-scented disinfectant spray. And the disappointment didn't end there.

A taste of the fish revealed the brine had successfully infused the meat with the offending flavoring. I guess that's what brines are supposed to do to meat, though. They're intended to preserve moisture, tenderize and flavor the meat soaked in them.

It Gets Worse

I put the fish out over rice, and cautiously poured a modest amount of the lemon-thyme brine over the meat.

Digging in, I found the pieces hard to separate with a fork. Bite after bite, I couldn't help but remark to myself how utterly dry this tuna was. It was as if the brine and the lemon and thyme had done everything exactly the opposite of what they were supposed to do. And altogether it made this quite possibly some of the worst tuna I've ever eaten.

I could have stopped any time, but I continued to hope the $8.49 wouldn't be a total waste. Rather than throw it out, I thought, "what's the worst some chili crisp can do, now?" So I applied a little of a spicier variety I happened to have on hand. Unbelievably, the lemon disinfectant overtone managed to cut through even still.

I really wanted to like this, primarily based on how impressed I was with the sardines I'd had before. But sorry, no. I also have to wonder if things would have been vastly different had this been packed in olive oil, rather than a brine. Unfortunately, Maria Organic doesn't appear to offer such a combination.

If it matters, this can was packed December 2023 (L345/23). The carton says PT N3531, but the can says PT C2171P.

Main Takeaways

Off-putting aroma and flavor
Very dry tuna
Utter disappointment

Brand: 100 Misterios / Maria Organic
Description: Tuna Fillets in Light Brine and Thyme-Lemon
Species: Katsuamo (Katsuwonus) pelamis (Skipjack)
Country of Origin: Portugal
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 4.5 oz.
Price Range: $8-9

Minerva Limited Edition Sardines with Lemon & Thyme

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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