Wild Planet Archives

Wild Planet Wild Sardines in Water

These Wild Planet Wild Sardines in Water came in a 3-pack from Whole Foods. They were inexpensive enough, about $3 per can when not on sale. I figured little to lose at the just under $7 sale price.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 3/5.

I really need to start paying better attention to labeling on the package, and less to just the price. I again overlooked the fact that these are not Eastern Atlantic pilchards, but instead Northern Pacific Sardinops sp. There are four in the can.

The aroma from the can is underwhelming, kind of aquarium fishy. I tasted a sip of the water apprehensively. Blah... They do have a reasonably nice appearance, though, for what they are.

Forging Ahead

They are tender, and fall apart somewhat readily when trying to lift them from the can. Not quite the "firm meaty texture". A taste of the fish is also underwhelming, bland. The package calls it "rich mild flavor". I note I also overlooked (or ignored) the "no salt added" on the carton. It should just say "no salt", even if the sodium is 70mg. It really tasted like no salt at all. On the upside, there are no scales, as the package proudly notes.

A little dash of hot sauce didn't help. Putting them on a saltine cracker only made them taste like cracker. Sigh... Now I have two more cans I don't know what to do with. I suppose I'll need to come up with something to hide these in so that I can at least benefit from the protein and Omega-3 content.

Main Takeaways

Inexpensive
Why can't these be pilchards?
Needed salt, badly
Note to self: Stop buying sardines in water

It's a shame these were so disappointing. Some Wild Planet selections I've found quite pleasant, others not so much.

I noted an observation made in a recent review by Canned Fish Files, one with which I concur. Plain Pacific sardines just don't taste as good as the pilchards from the Eastern Atlantic. At least not to those whose palate is accustomed or attuned to the latter. Perhaps it's telling, though, that you rarely if ever see Asian brands packing sardines from that region without some sauce or cooking technique, like miso paste or kabayaki.

Follow Up

I ended up putting the content of both the remaining cans, sans the water, over rice, and liberally dousing them with some Lao Gan Ma Fried Chili in Oil. Its heat, umami and salt made up for the blandness of the fish. So not all was lost.

Brand: Wild Planet
Description: Sardines in Water
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

Wild Planet Skinless & Boneless Sardines

DeenLeave a comment

Trying these to round out my recent tastings of several Wild Planet cans. Officially described as Wild Planet Sardines Skinless & Boneless Fillets in EVOO. These are priced competitively with the King Oscar.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.5/5.

We have four substantial pilchards in EVOO. There is no overt aroma of anything. Digging in, they are packed tight enough to make extracting a whole fillet impossible. The flavor is mild, kind of bland, and a bit on the dry side.

The taste of the oil is neutral, maybe a little bit peppery. I had hoped, being listed as organic EVOO, it might have brought more to the table. It also could have benefited by a pinch more salt.

To be honest, I have become reluctant to try to solve the shortcomings of bland fish by recurrently hitting them with dashes of Salsa Espinaler. In such cases, it often becomes all you can taste, sort of like putting cranberry sauce on white meat turkey.

Anyway, at $3 a can, these are decent enough. They might fare better included as a protein in a salad, where the fish, a dressing and other components can complement each other.

I am curious as to why, when Wild Planet can source these pilchards from Morocco, they choose to source their sardines with lemon as a Northwest Pacific species from Thailand.

Main Takeaways

Not our favorite boneless skinless pilchard
Unexpectedly bland
Cheap enough to consider using as an ingredient, rather than for consumption alone

See Wild Planet at Amazon.

Brand: Wild Planet
Description: Sardines skinless & boneless in EVOO
Species: Sardina pilchardus
Country of Origin: Morocco
Source: FAO34, Eastern Central Atlantic
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 4.25 oz.
Price Range: $3

Wild Planet Wild Mackerel in EVOO

DeenLeave a comment

I bought this Wild Planet Wild Mackerel Skinless & Boneless Fillets in Extra Virgin Olive Oil on sale for under $4 at Whole Foods, with an eye toward comparing it to their smoked mackerel.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.8/5.

Reasonably full packing of fish. Neutral aroma, not fishy. The EVOO is also neutral in flavor. As with most tinned mackerel, the meat is pale in color, firm in texture, but flakes readily.

The flavor of the fish is mild and pleasant enough to stand on its own. But, I'm always looking for different ways to spice things up, so a few dashes of Valentina added some mild heat.

A blurb on the carton calls mackerel a "plentiful, underutilized species', and I'd have to agree. I'm more satisfied with most of the cans of mackerel I try vs. half of the cans of tuna.

Main Takeaways

Generous portion
Mild flavor, maybe too mild
Priced well, better if on sale

See it at Amazon.

Brand: Wild Planet
Description: Wild Mackerel Skinless & Boneless Fillets in EVOO
Species: Scomber colias
Country of Origin: Morocco
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 4.4 oz.
Price Range: $5

Wild Planet Wild Yellowtail in EVOO

DeenLeave a comment

I found this Wild Planet Wild Yellowtail in EVOO at my local supermarket, where it seemed oddly out of place among the rest of the typical grocery store tinned fish offerings. Yellowtail, not to be confused with yellowfin tuna, is commonly called amberjack. I wanted to compare this to their smoked salmon and smoked mackerel.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.8/5.

A pleasant fish aroma. Chunks of white meat fish. A sip of the olive oil revealed a neutral flavor lightly infused with the taste of the fish. Ingredients include salt, and it might have benefited by a little more. Described as fillets, there were a couple of nice hunks on top, but under that were more or less small pieces. Not a big deal.

The texture was a little firmer than tuna, more like mackerel. The taste leaned more toward very mild and better quality tuna-like. Recommended.

Disappointing that Whole Foods doesn't regularly stock this although they carry an otherwise full selection of Wild Planet. Being able to catch it on sale as an Amazon Prime member would be most welcome.

Main Takeaways

Nice filets on top, not so much underneath
Generous portion, though
Needs better distribution in the marketplace

Brand: Wild Planet
Description: Wild Yellowtail in EVOO
Species: Seriola quinqueradiata
Country of Origin: Viet Nam
Source: FAO61, Northwest Pacific
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 4.4 oz.
Price Range: $5-6

Wild Planet Wild Smoked Pink Salmon

DeenLeave a comment

Officially described as Wild Planet Wild Smoked Pink Salmon in Extra Virgin Olive Oil. First foray into tinned salmon. I remember the tall round cans years ago from which my mother made salmon salad. It had the little cylindrical vertebrae bones in it that would just pulverize on contact, the only fish bones I wasn't afraid of getting stuck in my throat as a child. While boneless, this salmon is quite different from that in all other respects.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4/5.

I guess I was expecting more than I should have. I've seen those cans of really premium smoked salmon reviewed, and that stuff is amazing-looking. Of course, it also costs twice to three times as much.

This is boneless, but not skinless. It ended up being mostly skinless because most of the skin stuck to the bottom of the can when I pried it out.

The flavor is very smoke forward, almost to the point of overpowering the fish flavor. The package doesn't say if the fish is naturally wood smoked or artificially flavored. Ads claim it is wood-fire smoked.

We eat fresh, broiled salmon regularly, so the tougher texture of this was also comparatively surprising. I think I'll chalk this one up to experience, and maybe check into that more spendy one I've seen that I thought looked so appealing.

Main Takeaways

Smoke stronger than necessary
Superior to most supermarket varieties
Better versions far more costly

See it at Amazon.

Brand: Wild Planet
Description: Wild Smoked Pink Salmon in EVOO
Species: Oncorhynchus gorbuscha
Country of Origin: Latvia
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/No
Net Wt: 3.9 oz.
Price Range: $5

Wild Planet Smoked Mackerel in EVOO

DeenLeave a comment

I found this Wild Planet Smoked Mackerel in Extra Virgin Olive Oil intriguing because it emphasized the "smoked" aspect. Not so many other tinned mackerels do, even though they might list smoke flavor on the container. Unsmoked, mackerel can be a buttery, rich, tender bite of fish. I wondered what a truly smoked iteration might taste like.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4/5.

What it lacks in visual appeal, however, it more than makes up for in taste. The contents are two fillets stacked, skin side down. A bit firmer than other mackerel tasted to date, but it's still acceptably tender.

The smoke flavor, naturally achieved, is forward, but not overpowering. I tried a couple of bites with just a few drops of Valentina hot sauce, and it made for an interesting flavor combination.

Recommended. I paid $5 at WF, but I see it's currently under $4 on sale for Amazon Prime members there.

The packaging lacks source information, other than to say "product of Latvia".

Main Takeaways

Good balance on the smoke
Firm but still tender enough
Good value, especially if on sale

Brand: Wild Planet
Description: Wild Smoked Mackerel in EVOO
Species: Scomber japonicus or Scomber colias
Country of Origin: Latvia
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/No
Net Wt: 3.9 oz.
Price Range: $5

Wild Planet Sardines in Olive Oil with Lemon

DeenLeave a comment

Another installment in the quest to find a really good sardine with lemon that the lemon actually shows up. Wild Planet Sardines in Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Lemon - Lightly Smoked. I do realize that the process of cooking and canning is necessarily going to subdue a good deal of the bright acidity that fresh-squeezed lemon possesses.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 3.5/5.

Three medium-to-large sardines of the Northwest Pacific variety. Initially, I wasn't sure exactly what constituted the lemon in this one until I found an extremely thin slice in the murk at the bottom of the can. In the hope that it would improve things, I tried bites with a little of it added on top, but was not impressed. Even any lemon oil flavor that might have been in the zest was absent.

Unfortunately, I really didn't get any of the smoked notes promised, either. Oh, well... The $3 price made them worth a try.

These are Northwest Pacific Sardines sourced from Thailand and are therefore not sardina pilchardus. The can touts them as "scale free", which they apparently were.

It seems like, for many producers, "in olive oil" only means a little squirt in the can. Once the fish are gone, what appears to remain is just juice with small droplets of oil on the surface. More seems to sploosh out onto the rim of can when you first open it.

Brand: Wild Planet
Description: Sardines in 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