Canned sardines & other tinned seafood

[rotuts]

@KennethT 

 

I(d eat them after opening the can

 

the sardines will let you know what to do with them. 

[Duvel]

51 minutes ago, rotuts said:

after opening the can the sardines will let you know what to do with them. 

I love this !

[blue_dolphin]

1 hour ago, KennethT said:

Other than the obvious (est straight from the can) what should I do with them?

 

Probably try at least one on its own but I love all sorts of sardine crostini.  Here's one:

 

[rotuts]

@Duvel   @KennethT 

 

what I had hope to say was :

 

The Sardines will speak to you , when you open that can 

 

( and not yet yet :  )

 

is the same thing , when shopping , going down your list or

 

iList :  you see something , and your plans change  a bit.

 

its the same thing here :

 

the only issue , if you only have one can , pay attention !

 

 

if you have two cans ( 3 cans are always better )

 

you can always pretend you were not paying attention

 

when you screwed up that can  !

 

no excuse w the 3d can 

[cdh]

Was making a trip to Aldi the other day and they had tins of herring in various sauces.  So far, the mango pepper herring was surprisingly delicious.  The tomato sauce was sort of dull.  There's a third can on the shelf that I forget the sauce... I'll eat it some other day and report back.  For $1.75 a tin, they are a fantastic deal. 

[Kerala]

On 9/18/2022 at 4:20 PM, weinoo said:

John West is, I believe, a Thai product. And boy, does the parent company Thai Union have a lot to say about how great they are. Caveat emptor.

 

 

Well I did not know that!

[Kerala]

@weinoo

The page you linked for John West states the sardines are caught in UK, Portuguese, Spanish and Moroccan coastal waters, and JW appears to be a UK based company now under Thai ownership. Anyway, the fish was fine, perfectly servicable but not memorable.

[liuzhou]

1 hour ago, Kerala said:

@weinoo

The page you linked for John West states the sardines are caught in UK, Portuguese, Spanish and Moroccan coastal waters, and JW appears to be a UK based company now under Thai ownership. Anyway, the fish was fine, perfectly servicable but not memorable.

 

 

Thai Union have a dreadful reputation for making statements later shown to be false. They have been named and investigated in connection with the slave trade and using child labour in the sardine industry. Studies have shown them to use harmful fishing methods. They promised full traceability for every fish in the John West line, but failed to provide that. All of this information is fully documented and freely available.

Don't just trust their website.

Edited September 26, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[Kerala]

Really interesting. As you know , @liuzhou

they are a huge presence on British supermarket shelves. I wasn't aware of any controversy around them (other than the global problem of over-fishing.)

Edited September 26, 2022 by Kerala
Overfishing (log)

[liuzhou]

27 minutes ago, Kerala said:

Really interesting. As you know , @liuzhou

they are a huge presence on British supermarket shelves. I wasn't aware of any controversy around them (other than the global problem of over-fishing.)

 

Yes, indeed. I was brought up on John West sardines and tuna. The over-100 year-old company built up a solid reputation in less questioning days. In 2010 it was acquired by Thai Union and went down quickly with many serious problems coming to light.

Edited September 26, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[cdh]

On 9/25/2022 at 1:08 PM, cdh said:

Was making a trip to Aldi the other day and they had tins of herring in various sauces.  So far, the mango pepper herring was surprisingly delicious.  The tomato sauce was sort of dull.  There's a third can on the shelf that I forget the sauce... I'll eat it some other day and report back.  For $1.75 a tin, they are a fantastic deal. 

Update on that third can- pineapple curry sauce.  Also delicious.  The german herring plays remarkably well with the tropical sauces... Don't be afraid of them if you happen to run across them in an Aldi.  

[weinoo]

On our drive home from Provincetown yesterday, I took a tiny detour (it's like 5 minutes from an exit off I195) to this place:

 

 

Portugalia Marketplace.

 

Quote

 

Visit Us

If you're in the New England area, we invite you to visit our bricks and mortar store in Fall River, MA. Once the site of a sprawling textile mill, the space has been lovingly restored to offer a one-of-a-kind shopping experience.In addition to fresh fruit and produce, specialty groceries and various meats, cheese and seafood, Portugalia Marketplace is the home of...

 

Castas & Trigo, our beer, wine, and spirits shop stocked with over 800 varieties of Portuguese wines, the largest selection in the United States!

Ponto de Encontro, offering espresso, cappuccino, pastries and a variety of fresh sandwiches.

O Fiel Amigo, a temperature controlled room offering a large variety of the finest salt cod available

 

 

 

 

 

It's awesome. We didn't have a lot of time (or should I say, it's hard to go food shopping with another person (if you're me), unless you enjoy spending hours browsing at tins of fish), but I still did some damage.

 

First - this is a room with something they also can, but in it's salted state...

 

 

Yes, a giant walk-in with nothing but bacalhau from various places and grades and whatever you wanted. A giant walk-in.

 

Then a quick stroll through the aisles...

 

 

And displays...

 

 

I've never seen anything like it...wow.  And after 4 more hours, home...

 

 

We tried one of the patés last night. Let's just say it's the most cat-food looking thing I've ever eaten. But it was damn good!

Edited September 29, 2022 by weinoo (log)

[Katie Meadow]

Looking good, @weinoo.  Matiz peppers, my fave. At first I read "Castrato" and thought oh, a new Tarot card. But no. It's just a person with a fish. Amazing displays.

[btbyrd]

Hell yeah! I've ordered from Portugalia Marketplace several times, and I definitely plan to drop in if I'm ever in the area. I think I have that exact tin of Minerva mackerel pate somewhere in my stash.  +1 on your thoughts about pate... even the fancy stuff just feels cat foody. It can be pretty good, but I'd just rather have the sardines or mackerel or tuna or whatever and not the pureed form.

 

And those Matiz peppers are tasty business. Get some anchovies (Ortiz in a jar perhaps?) and make some Gildas.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

What is their website?

 

[btbyrd]

https://portugaliamarketplace.com/

[donk79]

On 9/27/2022 at 9:44 PM, cdh said:

Update on that third can- pineapple curry sauce.  Also delicious.  The german herring plays remarkably well with the tropical sauces... Don't be afraid of them if you happen to run across them in an Aldi.  

Your persuaded me to go looking for them in Aldi yesterday.  No luck!  Can you give us a brand name?  I did see some sardines (Northern Sea).

Edited September 30, 2022 by donk79 (log)

[cdh]

It is Aldi's German private label "Deutsche Kuche".  It would be in the German week specials aisle, not the ordinary canned stuff aisle.  

[farcego]

22 hours ago, weinoo said:

On our drive home from Provincetown yesterday, I took a tiny detour (it's like 5 minutes from an exit off I195) to this place:

 

 

Portugalia Marketplace.

 

 

It's awesome. We didn't have a lot of time (or should I say, it's hard to go food shopping with another person (if you're me), unless you enjoy spending hours browsing at tins of fish), but I still did some damage.

 

First - this is a room with something they also can, but in it's salted state...

 

 

Yes, a giant walk-in with nothing but bacalhau from various places and grades and whatever you wanted. A giant walk-in.

 

Then a quick stroll through the aisles...

 

 

And displays...

 

 

I've never seen anything like it...wow.  And after 4 more hours, home...

 

 

We tried one of the patés last night. Let's just say it's the most cat-food looking thing I've ever eaten. But it was damn good!

 

Kind of have the same feeling. Actually, I have seen a few Pates for cats looking (and smelling)  better than some manufactured and sold for humans. Didn't try at that time, But I would try the cat stuff if any chance in the future. Nice score the piparras BTW, they are often refereed as land "shrimps" (langostinos de ibarra)

[Katie Meadow]

I'm pretty happy with the Matiz sardines, but haven't tried Nuri. Can anyone weigh in on a comparison or at least speak for the Nuri?

 

And now let's talk about mackerel. I just tried the Nuri spiced mackerel and it is pretty interesting. A little on the dry side and very salty. How I ate them: my husband and I split one can and topped short-grain Japanese rice w the fish and the spicy oil. The level of spice is just right, at least for me. Since the salt factor was high we didn't feel like we needed more fish. Next time I might try a sprinkle or rice vinegar on the rice as well.

 

Does anyone have recommendations for other Portuguese or Spanish tinned mackerel? Spicy or not. Maybe more tender or maybe less salty? Before I start randomly ordering on line, any suggestions would be appreciated. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

6 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

I'm pretty happy with the Matiz sardines, but haven't tried Nuri. Can anyone weigh in on a comparison or at least speak for the Nuri?

 

And now let's talk about mackerel. I just tried the Nuri spiced mackerel and it is pretty interesting. A little on the dry side and very salty. How I ate them: my husband and I split one can and topped short-grain Japanese rice w the fish and the spicy oil. The level of spice is just right, at least for me. Since the salt factor was high we didn't feel like we needed more fish. Next time I might try a sprinkle or rice vinegar on the rice as well.

 

Does anyone have recommendations for other Portuguese or Spanish tinned mackerel? Spicy or not. Maybe more tender or maybe less salty? Before I start randomly ordering on line, any suggestions would be appreciated. 

 

From what I've read Nuri sardines are exactly the same as Pinhais sardines (although the Pinhais labels are prettier).  I have a can of Matiz sardines in the living room but have yet to make a comparison.  I love Pinhais but I've had nothing bad from Matiz either.

 

[Kerala]

Pinhais 90g cans for €3.99 at the local supermarket. Will they allow this as carry-on luggage on Ryanair? The important questions.

[Kerala]

Playing the game.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

11 minutes ago, Kerala said:

Playing the game.

 

The wrappers are so attractive I keep an orange one on my desk by the computer.

 

[Kerala]

Well that sucks!

I'm flying back to the UK tomorrow. I picked up the Petingas tin, which is 90g, and without too much thought picked up the 2 tins of Cavala. The mackerel tins turned out to be 125g, drained weight 90g. The tins are subtly different in size.

Airport security will not allow >100mls liquid, so the two mackerel tins would be chucked. I'll have to leave them with a friend who, much as I love him, doesn't really care a great deal about the subtleties of taste.

Ah well, he does like fish.