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Published on Leave a comment on Matiz Lightly Smoked Sardines in Spanish Olive Oil

These Matiz Lightly Smoked Sardines in Spanish Olive Oil came from World Market about three months ago. To be honest, I kind of lost track of them in my tinned fish stash. It's starting to get out of hand. Some recently reviewed plain sardines made me want to continue on that path for a while, even though I'll probably find some spiced ones and try them next. Let's see how these were.

Matiz Lightly Smoked Sardines in Spanish Olive Oil carton
Matiz Lightly Smoked Sardines in Spanish Olive Oil open can
Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.8/5.

Nice looking fish, photogenically packed silver belly side up. The aroma from the just-opened can is neutral, not really imparting any smokiness. A sip of the oil is also neutral, but I think I detect a subtle note of spice that shouldn't be there. There look to be five husky pilchards.

A taste of the fish is promising, though. The meat has a soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture. No scales to speak of, nor fins. A couple of partial tails, though.

Let's Eat
Matiz Lightly Smoked Sardines in Spanish Olive Oil over rice

Extracting them from the can to put out over rice, they are firm enough not to fall apart. There is also the five fish, a welcome portion. About a half inch of oil is left in the can and I pour half of it over everything.

Working my way through the first couple, I find the meat consistently tender and moist. The fish flavor is mild, but I thought it could have used a touch more salt.

Still not getting any smoke, though. The ingredients list only "smoked aroma", which tells me there is room for inconsistency can-to-can. I find it to be the case, more often than not, that the promise of "lightly smoked" is rarely fulfilled, especially when natural smoke is not involved.

A Moment of Weakness
Matiz Lightly Smoked Sardines in Spanish Olive Oil over rice with Trader Joe's Crunchy Chili Onion

OK, I admit I'm a flavor junkie. These were some really nice plain sardines, lack of smoke and dearth of salt aside. But after confirming my assessment of them unadorned, I just couldn't resist adding a little kick.

I topped the remaining few fish with a dash of Trader Joe's Crunchy Chili Onion. It's very onion/garlic forward, not too salty. It has a steady heat that borders on excessive, but stops just short of discomfort. Really good, and a bargain at under $5 a jar.

Main Takeaways
  • Tender, moist fish with mild, fresh flavor
  • Lacked smoke and salt
  • Generous portion of five pilchards

Brand: Connorsa / Matiz
Description: Lightly Smoked Sardines in Spanish olive oil
Species: Pilchards
Country of Origin: Spain
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.2 oz.
Price Range: $5-6

Published on Leave a comment on Matiz Wild Caught Mackerel in EVOO

So far, I've tasted and reviewed over a dozen tins of mackerel in various forms. Fillets, chunks, whole. Spiced, smoked, sauced, plain. Sometimes, I knew what I would find before I opened the can, Other times, for better or worse, I didn't. The carton description on this Matiz Wild Caught Mackerel was kind of vague, so let's see what I got.

Matiz Wild Caught Mackerel carton
Matiz Wild Caught Mackerel open can
Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.

Nice looking fillets. I wasn't sure if I was getting fillets or whole fish. The carton didn't give as much as a hint one way or the other.

The can is packed reasonably full, although it's a little on the light side at only 3 oz. net weight. The EVOO has a nice golden/green hue. There was nothing in the way of a fish aroma I could detect. A sip of the oil was also neutral. I wasn't getting any of the notes I would have liked to from a good EVOO.

The meat was firm enough for the fillets to remain intact when gently stabbed with a fork. Yet they also flaked readily when prompted to do so.

Time To Eat

I decided to try this plain, in order to best assess the quality. I figured if I thought it needed something to help it along, I would decide that as I went.

The taste was mild with a hint of a tuna-like tang, but it wasn't a huge negative. The problem lay in the fact that it was a bit dry, even to the point of a little mealy, which I was not expecting. I also thought a little more salt would have been in order. It didn't seem to be the 310mg. the carton listed. Ultimately, I finished the can with no embellishments.

Final Thoughts
  • The carton says the fish are sourced from the Atlantic, Pacific, and Mediterranean Sea, then hand packed in Galicia. There was no indication on the carton or can as to which FAO fishing area this particular can's content was from.
  • I think the carton oversells the fish, describing it as, "a rich, fatty fish, with a firm yet tender texture and mild, buttery flavor." I could only agree with a small part of that assessment.
  • Looking back, I note there have been other mackerel fillets I apparently liked better. Several, most in fact, cost the same or less than this one. And in all cases, the net weight was at least one third higher.

Reasonably priced in lot quantities at Amazon.

Brand: Connorsa / Matiz
Description: Wild Caught Mackerel in EVOO
Species: Scomber sp.
Country of Origin: Spain
Source: FAO N/S
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 3 oz.
Price Range: $5-6

Published on Leave a comment on Matiz Wild Sardines with Natural Lemon Essence

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.

Matiz Wild Sardines with Natural Lemon Essence carton
Matiz Wild Sardines with Natural Lemon Essence open can
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