soybean oil Archives

These Brunswick Sardines in Soybean Oil came from Walmart. A recent store reset moved the tinned fish to a different aisle. Store resets are usually when new items are slotted in, and I didn't remember seeing these there before. They may have been stocked previously, but the entire section at all three local Walmarts has been seriously neglected in recent months. This tin was the only one of its kind on the shelf. At $1.24, it was worth a try.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.5/5.

The aroma is fishy. Not in a terrible way, but a little stronger than that to which I am accustomed. I see no scales and just a few pelvic fins. The tin is non-specific as to species, and I'm not quite sure what these are. Product of Poland implies Baltic Sea, and by association would most likely mean sprats. But these don't look like sprats.

Digging In

I had already had lunch, but was eager to see what these were about. So, I instead chose to have them as a snack.

The first thing I noticed was how the flesh is pale, almost white, so no pilchards here. The first bite revealed a bit more. The meat is quite tender, with a mild flavor, so I'm now thinking herring. Usually, herring standing in for sardines is skinless boneless fillets from a much larger fish.

As I worked my way through the tin, I noted some of the individual fish differed texturally from the others. Some were a bit mushy, like overcooked catfish.

The smoke flavor is there, but it's not doing any great service to the fish. The soybean oil in this instance is also, well, just a bit meh... I also thought they could have used a bit more salt. If the nutritional information matches that of the Brunswick website, sodium is a moderate 340mg. The website also confirms the species as herring.

Overall, I don't feel too put out over spending the $1.24. At least you and I both now know what we're getting with this rather pedestrian tin of fish.

Main Takeaways

Mild, tender fish
Inconsistent texture
Smoke and salt lacking

Brand: Bumble Bee Seafoods/Brunswick
Description: Sardines in soybean oil
Species: Herring
Country of Origin: Poland
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 3.75 oz.
Price Range: $1-2

I had seen this brand, Titus Sardines, on Amazon, but didn't know what to expect, so I largely forgot about them. On a recent trip to a local international market, I just discovered they stocked tinned fish in three separate locations in the store, and there they were.

There were literally dozens of cans stacked high on the shelf, so I thought, "These must be popular." Three different types were available, but most all of the cans of one type had rusty rims. Many of another style had something leaked on (or from?) them. All of them were packed in soybean oil, which was disappointing. These with chili pepper seemed the most appealing, and since they lacked the physical flaws of the other two, I bought one can to try.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 3/5.

They were just some big pilchards, not very pretty ones at that. The upside, if there was one, was that what initially looked to be two turned out to be three. There was no fishy aroma. But overall they were kind of tasteless, no real heat, just blah.

Working through the can, there turned out to be four peppers of some type under the fish, greenish, and without much heat to them. Tasting the oil provided a little more heat, but nothing remarkable. Mostly meh... Oh, well.

They were only $2.19, but I thought the shelf price said $1.69. I won't be buying them again so, no matter. Kind of relieved I didn't overpay elsewhere. Live, learn.

Main Takeaways

Visually unappealing
Most of the heat was in the oil, didn't translate to the fish
At least they were cheap

Update: I visited the store again about 3 months later, and took a harder look at the stock. At that time the shelf price did say $2.19. The mountain of cans were still there, but I noticed the "best by" dates on all of them were less than a year away. Apparently, they had just bought a lot of them, and no, they're not that popular.

Brand: UNIMER/Titus
Description: Sardines in Olive Oil and Chili Pepper
Species: Pilchards
Country of Origin: Morocco
Source: FAO34, Eastern Central Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.37 oz.
Price Range: $2-3

Tag: soybean oil

Brunswick Sardines in Soybean Oil

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.5/5.

Digging In

Main Takeaways

Titus Sardines in Soybean Oil and Chili Pepper

Initial impression upon opening the can: 3/5.

Main Takeaways