Received a gift basket for my birthday, and in it was this tin of Millionnaires boneless skinless sardines in water. I didn’t touch it for months thinking it would be bland but wtf, it’s so delicious?! Why do water-packed sardines get such a bad rap?
Admittedly the fish is crumblier than I’m used to, but it’s flaky not mushy. The fish itself is sooo light and savoury! I’ll definitely buy this again.
by cebogs
14 Comments
I’ve also had bad tins with water but I could see it being great if they fish is excellent
I don’t mind them in water. The crumbliness is from it being boneless. The bones sort of hold it together a bit more.
I don’t mind water packed. Brunswick Golden Smoked are my favorite herring that I’ve tried and they’re in water. The only water packed sardines I’ve tried are Wild Planet and they’re very fishy.
What is the other add on in the tub/ besides the hot sauce ? Thanks I’ve been wanting to try a pack of water ‘dines that I’ve had a while and had my doubts about too!
I dcan’t explain why “rat girl lunch” is so funny
The Sea Tales in water isn’t bad. Course they have salt added.
As an aside, I try to regularly get fish into my diet for their nutritional benefit. Water packed sardines are not quite as good as oil packed (we’re talking good quality EVOO here, no sunflower).
* Sardines are naturally rich in **omega-3 fatty acids (EPA & DHA)** (what I’m mainly after), vitamin D, and vitamin E.
* When canned in water or brine, some of these fat-soluble nutrients leach out into the packing liquid. If you drain them (as most people do), you lose part of that nutrition.
* Oil-packed sardines retain those nutrients within the flesh (and the oil itself becomes nutrient-rich).
* Oil preserves flavour and moisture, giving sardines a richer taste and softer texture.
* Water/brine can leave them drier and fishier — which can reduce palatability, and people may be less likely to eat them regularly.
It’s common to eat the oil with the sardines, on toast or a salad, whereas the water is usually discarded. The leaching is less with oil anyway as well.
It’s relatively minor, but a not insignificant factor for me. And I like EVOO and want it in my diet anyway. I would also much prefer they still had the bones, for similar nutritional reasons.
The reason I avoided sardines for so long is because they are depicted as nasty, too salty, stinky, etc. What I found trying sardines for the first time 2 weeks ago is that they taste like…. fish.
They don’t taste strange or different or off. They literally just taste like fish. So, someone who likes to enrich or deter that flavour might keep it in something either than water. But to us fish lovers, this shits amazing
yes – for me, with a squirt of lemon, it’s the best
I like it packed in water, because I give that fishy broth to my cats. They love it!
Looks good quality. I buy tuna fillets in water because it allows me to add superior olive oil without mixing oils. Just need to find a decent brand.
looks so good 🙂
If you got a good one that’s awesome but generally speaking the market for water is more people who were told they should be eating fish but really don’t want to and are either trying to keep the calories down or just generally have things be as bland as possible or unfishlike as possible. In context it’s a feature. They’re basically trying for chicken with omega 3s.
Water packed is my preferred.