The Best Tasting Canned Fish

Edit: sorry the photos are missing. 

Fish are one of the best tasting, and nutritious snack foods. Canned fish are a convenient snack. It’s filling, and doesn’t feel heavy on your stomach. Many types of fish have been unfairly slandered by government agencies because of their supposedly high levels of mercury. Heavy metals are a concern in larger fish, such as sharks. It’s not a concern for small fish, which are available in most grocery stores. Smaller fish, such as sardines, mackerel, anchovies, and salmon are extremely nutrient-dense. Minerals, such as selenium and iodine, are needed to detoxify toxins such as mercury. So don’t feel ashamed to eat fish!

Many people say they don’t like fish. This is because the terrible grocery store brands of sardines or tuna.

“I don’t like fish” – Everyone who has tasted discount-store sardines.

Best fish for snacking, or camping trips

When I’m traveling and need a quick meal, I bring along a few cans of herring, mackerel, or salmon. Most grocery stores have a few different brands.

“Kippers” are a popular snack in Europe. Kipper is a boneless fillet of herring, and a favorite in England. Bar Harbor mackerel is available at most grocery stores. The herring in mustard sauce is delicious, but hard to find. Bar Harbor tastes better than the Polar brand.

Olive oil or water

Several brands claim to use extra virgin olive oil. In almost every case, this is an outright lie. Olive oil is too expensive to be used in industry. Almost every brand uses cheap seed oils, perhaps with a bit of olive oil for flavor. Even if they say, “100% extra virgin olive oil”, it’s probably not.

The Best Tuna

In my family, tuna is used to make tuna salad. I prefer Albacore tuna. Or sometimes I’ll substitute salmon. Some of the larger fish can have higher levels of mercury, and honestly, they don’t taste as good anyway. The Cento brand of Tuna tastes much better than most store brands. It’s good enough to eat right out of the can.

Even better is American Tuna. It is more expensive, but is more like a steak. It has no added water or oil. Harmon’s grocery store carries it, but it’s expensive.

The Wal-Mart brand Albacore tuna has a firm texture, and makes a good Tuna Salad.  Wild Planet is similar.

Like most $.99 per can brands, StarKist tuna tastes slightly better than dog food. Gourmet dog food, perhaps.

I love the one by Fishwife. Their Tuna, Salmon, and Sardines taste amazing. But at $9 per can, I only serve it for special occasions. Check their website for offers.

Sardines

Canned sardines have a “fishy” flavor. Except for the expensive brands. Populations of wild sardines have been decimated by Chinese fishing vessels, often operating illegally. Overfishing of sardines has even resulted in sharp declines in penguin populations.

Season, Cento, and Bela brands are relatively mild. Sardines can be put on toast, or on top of a rice bowl with veggies. King Oscar sardines available in every grocery store, but are a very small fish, with mushy texture. The taste is fair, and it’s inexpensive.

Costco and Walmart carry the Season or Cento brand of sardines. These have a mild, more bland taste. I generally don’t buy skinless/boneless fish, because the skin and bones are great sources of nutrients, such as essential fats and calcium. 

Fishwife has the most incredible tasting sardines. Even people who say, “I don’t like sardines” will love these. But if you’re going to spend $9 on a can of fish, get salmon or mackerel instead. 

How long will canned fish last in storage?

I recently opened a pack of King Oscar Sardines that I bought three years ago. The taste was unchanged, but the texture was more soggy.