Matiz Lightly Smoked Sardines in Spanish Olive Oil (Review)
Matiz Lightly Smoked Sardines in Spanish Olive Oil (Review)
by ShaperMC
2 Comments
ShaperMC
**Review:** Matiz Lightly Smoked Sardines in Spanish Olive Oil
**Rating:** 4.5/5
**Price:** $4.99 at World Market
**TLDR:** Great mild sardine that is a step above an average pilchard, and priced appropriately for that. The flavor is subtle but fabulous, the meat is firm and well aged, and very nicely cleaned. A great mid-price sardine that rivals a lot $7-$9 ‘dines.
**Packaging:** Cute box, cute art, and a good focus on the things that make Matiz and spanish sardines unique. That said, this box was nice, but I picked up about 7 boxes of theirs and most of them were smashed, and it gives me a pretty sketchy opinion of the way their boxes can look.
**The Fish:** My first bite of this was a little shocking, as I wasn’t expecting the flavor to be that unique. I’ve eaten a few “lightly smoked” ‘dines before, and then I’ve also had “smoked” ‘dines… and these were still somehow unique. The flavor was mild and subtle, yet still special in what it offers.
I wanted to add some heavier hot sauces and flavors to this fish, but it just took away from the mildly unique flavor these ‘dines provide. Dill, pickled onion and a bit of fish on a cracker made these guys really shine, an outstanding flavor.
**Would I buy them again?:** Absolutely! I really enjoyed this tin and wish there’d been more to grab. I didn’t have to check to see if there were any gory bits left over from the canning, the oil was clean, and the flavor was unique enough to stand on it’s own. Quite a winner this tin.
SupaDupaTron
Great review, thanks for the info. I will have to give these a shot. I am a fan of the Matiz non-smoked in the blue box, so this one looks like it is right up my alley.
2 Comments
**Review:** Matiz Lightly Smoked Sardines in Spanish Olive Oil
**Rating:** 4.5/5
**Price:** $4.99 at World Market
**TLDR:** Great mild sardine that is a step above an average pilchard, and priced appropriately for that. The flavor is subtle but fabulous, the meat is firm and well aged, and very nicely cleaned. A great mid-price sardine that rivals a lot $7-$9 ‘dines.
**Packaging:** Cute box, cute art, and a good focus on the things that make Matiz and spanish sardines unique. That said, this box was nice, but I picked up about 7 boxes of theirs and most of them were smashed, and it gives me a pretty sketchy opinion of the way their boxes can look.
**The Fish:** My first bite of this was a little shocking, as I wasn’t expecting the flavor to be that unique. I’ve eaten a few “lightly smoked” ‘dines before, and then I’ve also had “smoked” ‘dines… and these were still somehow unique. The flavor was mild and subtle, yet still special in what it offers.
I wanted to add some heavier hot sauces and flavors to this fish, but it just took away from the mildly unique flavor these ‘dines provide. Dill, pickled onion and a bit of fish on a cracker made these guys really shine, an outstanding flavor.
**Would I buy them again?:** Absolutely! I really enjoyed this tin and wish there’d been more to grab. I didn’t have to check to see if there were any gory bits left over from the canning, the oil was clean, and the flavor was unique enough to stand on it’s own. Quite a winner this tin.
Great review, thanks for the info. I will have to give these a shot. I am a fan of the Matiz non-smoked in the blue box, so this one looks like it is right up my alley.