The Tinned Fish Saga- Pt. 1

Once again, I have been neglecting my blogs! What’s really dumb is that I have one unfinished entry for this blog, three brainstorming pages for different entries, and another convention I JUST attended that I fully  intend to write about (probably next entry). BUT FIRST, tinned fish. 

Now, some months ago I started following an account on Instagram called tinned_fish_reviews and it is exactly as it says. A man (and his dog) try different types of tinned fish and give their review about them. Prior to this channel, my experience with tinned fish was just the regular Starkist canned tuna you get at the store. A versatile canned meat for sure, but not really anything to inspire an interest in trying other types of canned fish. In fact, the idea of other canned fish and meats was always kind of gross to me… Until I found this IG account. 

I don’t even remember what the first video I saw from him was but I was instantly hooked. At first it was just a mild fascination, like “why am I so entranced by this guy eating tinned fish?” and it quickly became “Oh, that actually looks really good.” and then it snow-balled into “Maybe I should try some of these.” and “I’m going to order a few!” and now here I am, being part of the problem and spreading my obsession like a plague to others! Already, I have enticed a couple people on discord forums to join me in this new obsession. 

As it turns out, this world of tinned fish is actually like… a WHOLE thing. There are so many different types ranging from simple to extremely fancy (with prices to match), there’s complimentary snacks such as crackers and breads, there’s even special forks! I don’t really know the purpose of the special forks yet, as in, why they are shaped as they are, but they exist!

Originally I had looked into some subscription boxes that send you a few to try every month but I wasn’t really thrilled with the price point and extras included in most of them. As I limit carbs in my diet, any crackers or bread or whatever other carby fillers included in these boxes are a waste of money for me so I decided to go with a non-subscription option. After consulting Reddit for answers, I landed on Rainbow Tomatoes Garden (RTG) as my supplier. They had an option to order a “surprise me” box at your chosen price point and that’s how it all started! 

So here it is. My first taste of tinned fish (excluding grocery store shredded tuna).

I will be using a 1–10 scale to rate my experiences with these tins.

• 1– disgusting, would not try again.
• 2-gross, maybe would try again as part of a recipe but it is unlikely.
• 3-not great on its own but might be good as part of a recipe (grocery store tuna falls here.)
• 4-would probably eat again but not if I have other options.
• 5-middle of the road, no strong feelings, would probably eat again. 6-A nice snack, would eat again.
• 7-pretty good, would eat again and would like to eat more often.
• 8– This is really good and I definitely want more!
• 9– This may need to become a staple part of my diet, is delicious and will eat again!
• 10-fucking amazing, will eat at every possible chance! 

My “surprise me” box from RTG consisted of five tins. I was a little concerned when I saw three out of the five were all sardines but upon closer inspection, they were all wildly different sardines! I decided to start with one of these as sardines are typically considered beginner friendly. 

Nuri Spiced Sardines in Olive Oil. When I first opened these, I had misread the label and thought they were just sardines in olive oil, so I was pleasantly surprised to see -and smell- the spices.

Unfortunately, as these were my first victims of this new addiction, I didn’t think to take pictures of the whole process, although there is a hilarious video of my cats interest in this project that was posted to my insta!

These sardines had a lovely sweet and mildly spicy flavor to them that built a bit over time. I am  not the biggest fan of spice so these weren’t my favorite but they also weren’t bad. 5/10 Would eat again but maybe with something to cut the spice between bites.

Next up, I tried the Minerva Sardines in Olive Oil with Lemon. I wasn’t expecting to open up a can to a whole lemon slice but here we are. The lemon was really mild and almost sweet rather than sour and acidic. I was able to eat bits of the lemon slice with the fish themselves and it was a nice fresh and light taste with the sardines that are a pretty mild fish over all. I struggle to describe sardines themselves as… well, they taste like sardines.

They don’t really resemble other fish to me. They’re savory, I suppose? They are not very fishy (like I would say mackerel is) but they are still definitely a fish. I have heard others describe them as meaty but that, to me, means beefy, which they are not. I don’t know, they taste like sardines! And in this case, they taste like very nice sardines with a nice mild and summery lemon. 7/10 would eat again, these are a really nice treat. 

The third entry! Just to be clear, I did not eat all of these in one day. I spread them out over a few weeks. As these are all packaged in oil they have a decent fat content per tin and they basically replace an entire meal for me in a day.

Alright, third entry. Patagonia Lemon Herb Mussels in Olive Oil. This tin had a divine smell when I opened it! I am a fan of mussels already so I was looking forward to this one. The lemon garlicky smell that was immediately apparent made my mouth water, and they were visibly quite appealing too! I don’t know what it is about a few green herby flecks in my food but it is always an attractive quality for me. 

So, it was really at this point where I decided Zodiac should probably be my little mascot for this ongoing project. He is VERY interested in every single tin I have opened and sometimes he gets a little bit as a treat.

So back to these mussels! They were really good! I love mussels and I love garlic and lemon and herb flavors. They did have an acidicity to them that does build up over time so I wouldn’t really eat these daily or a lot in one setting but 7/10 would definitely eat again. 

Three down, two to go! Fangst Faroe Island Salmon Smoked over Beech Wood. Since moving to Seattle, I have become a major fan of smoked salmon, and really just anything salmon related- salmon eggs are still on my list to try. As soon as I opened this tin the nice smokey scent came flowing out! Zodiac was also very into the smokeyness and was a lot more demanding about getting a taste of this particular tin than any of the others!

While it wasn’t as delicious as the fresh smoked salmon I can get around here, it was still a tasty treat that I would be happy to have again, 6/10.

And now, the final tin from my first adventure into tinned fish.

Fangst Nordic Sardine Smoked with Heather and Chamomile. This might have been my favorite tin from this batch? It is definitely up there! The sardines were buttery smooth and didn’t have any crunch from the spine like other sardines have had. The flavor was so mild and savory but with a hint of… maybe floral? I am not sure if that is the correct term for this, but they were good! I would recommend these as a starter for anyone interested in trying some tinned fish! 9/10 definitely want again! 

All in all, a successful first few steps into a new world of foodie joy! My next box of tins should be here within a week and I will try a few over the month before writing another post about them. Expect this saga to continue on for as long as I can keep it going!