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I tried it and it was not bad - ingredient list is short :sardines, water and salt (for the non oil ones) or sardines, pure olive oil and salt. They claimed to be wild caught but the only thing that bugs me it's product of Morocco, even though the headquarter is here in California.

Any thoughts? or any other canned fish recommendations?

I am not planning on feasting canned fish daily as I am a little paranoid with any canned food. but sometimes it's good to have a quick omega 3 protein grab in a pinch.

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Here is a sight devoted to different sardines. mouth-full-of-sardines.blogspot.com – Drew Mar 18 2012 at 1:07

9 Answers

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Wild Planet brand is the best - see my post (and several others) here:

http://paleohacks.com/questions/19937/salmon-canned-wild-or-farmed#axzz1G7gBvFml

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Thanks for the info! – Jos Mar 9 2011 at 19:54
I had their sardines recently - totally unlike any before. More like canned tuna. Delicious! – Oranges13 Apr 7 2011 at 18:45
I love these... also love Bela-Olhao especially the lemon flavored... kinda wonder about the added smoke flavoring, thoughts on what this is exactly? – flashflood Jul 4 2011 at 18:48
yea, i don't get why everyone is recommending this brand. i initially was drawn to them. everything seems good, but they add smoke flavoring. – olivia May 31 at 12:26
update on this-- i found some that don't add the smoke flavoring and they were the best sardines i've ever had. they do taste like tuna as mentioned above – olivia Jul 1 at 12:35
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I've always wondered if the heat in the canning process damages the Omega 3 fats. I love the taste of canned sardines but they give me a stomach ache, where as fresh sardines do not.

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 Sardines are indeed cooked at high temps in the sealed can. I would guess that oxidation is limited by the unavailability of oxygen but I worry about leeching from the can... That's why most cans use BPA - to prevent corrosion of can... But then it turned out that consumers figured out that BPA itself is bad... Wild Planet (a pretty good company it seems) uses BPA free cans, using some sort of vegetable resin instead. Since I don't know what that vegetable resin is, I'm still a little nervous about eating lots of it. – Jay Mar 9 2011 at 19:38
I guess I'll stick with frozen wild caught fish for now and eat canned ones sparingly – Jos Mar 9 2011 at 19:54
Would the olive oil protect the sardines from oxidizing? Or would it be worse because of oxidized PUFA's? – rob Mar 10 2011 at 4:25
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My favorite is King Oscar sardines in EVOO. "Cross packed" (preferably) or "Two Layer" (if I can't find cross packed).

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These are my faves as well. – Adam Crafter Mar 9 2011 at 20:15
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Welcome to the Society.

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Here is the post on Chowhound that got me started on sardines:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/364987

User "rworange" ranked his favorites in this order. He also has his "sardine off" reviews:

The Great Sardine Taste-off - wild, organic, Kosher, Polish, etc http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/301342

The Great Sardine Taste-off - best canned sardines - Next 7 http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/301739

The Great Sardine Taste-off - the Sardine Saga continues (cans 31-39) http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/302204

The Great Sardine Taste-off – the Spanish Saga (cans 40-49) http://www.chowhound.com/topics/320712

  1. Angelo Parodi Sardine Portoghesi all’olio di olivo – Portugal/Italy - $1.99
  2. Roland Sardines in Olive Oil - Morocco - $2.95
  3. BELA-Olhão lightly smoked sardines in olive oil. - Portugal - $1. 75
  4. Matiz Gallego sardines in olive oil - Spain - $2. 99
  5. Idamar Portuguese Sardines in olive oil - Portugal - $2. 25
  6. Gonsalves Sardines in olive oil – Portugal - $1.99
  7. Da Morgada Sardines in Pure Olive Oil - Portugal - $3. 99
  8. Albo Sardinas en aceite de oliva virgin extra – Spain
  9. Cabo de Penas Sardinillas en aceite de oliva - Spain
  10. El Corte Ingles Sardinas en aceite de oliva - Spain
  11. Palacio de`Oriente Sardinas en aceite de oliva - Spain
  12. Garavilla Sardinillas en aceite de oliva – Spain
  13. 5 Estrellas Grandes Hoteles Sardinillas en aceite de oliva - Spain
  14. Albo Sardines in Olive oil – Spain - $4.99
  15. King Oscar Sardines Mediterranean style – Norway, packed in Poland - $2.99
  16. Yankee Clipper lightly smoked sardines in soybean oil – Morocco - $2.49
  17. King Oscar Extra Small Sardines in fish oil 2 layers – Norway - $2.99
  18. Sardinas de la Costa en aceite de oliva - Spain
  19. Cuca Sardinas en aceite de oliva - Spain
  20. Connetable Sardines entières à l’huile d’olive vierge extra - France - $2. 95 (on sale, usually $4.50 )21. BELA-Olhão lightly smoked sardines in cayenne pepper-flavored extra virgin olive oil. - Portugal - $1. 75
  21. Crown Prince One Layer Sardines in soy bean oil no Salt - Scotland - $1. 85
  22. Beach Cliff Sardines in soybean oil – USA / Canada - $.69
  23. Brunswick Sardines in Spring Water No Salt Added – Canada - $1.19
  24. Madrigal spiced sardines in vegetable oil – Morocco - $1.59
  25. Brunswick Sardines in Olive Oil – Canada - $1.19
  26. King Oscar Extra Small Brisling Sardines in purest virgin olive oil – Norway - $2.99
  27. King Oscar tiny tots Sardines in olive oil two layers – Norway - $2.99
  28. Bumble Bee sardines in tomato sauce - Mexico - $1. 29 (15 oz )30. Cracovia - Poland - $2. 55
  29. Palacio Real Small Sardines in Olive oil (slightly smoked) – Spain - $2.99
  30. BUMBLE BEE Sardines in Water – Poland - $.89
  31. King Oscar Sardines in pure spring water – Norway - $2.99
  32. BELA-Olhão lightly smoked sardines in lemon-flavored extra virgin olive oil. - Portugal - $1. 75
  33. Bumble Bee Sardines in Oil – Poland - $.99
  34. Paco Lafuente en aceite de oliva - Spain
  35. Mega Sardines in tomato sauce with chili – The Philippines - $.79
  36. Brunswick Sardines in Mustard Sauce – Canada - $1.19
  37. Bumble Bee Sardines in Mustard – Poland - $.89
  38. Yankee Clipper lightly smoked sardines in tomato sauce – Morocco - $2.49
  39. Yankee Clipper lightly smoked sardines in mustard sauce – Morocco - $2.49
  40. King Oscar Sardines in tomato – Norway - $2.99
  41. Brunswick Sardines in Mustard and Dill Sauce – Canada - $1.19
  42. King Oscar Skinless & boneless Sardines in olive oil – Morocco - $2.99
  43. Gourmet Award lightly smoked sardines in tomato sauce – Morocco - $1.89
  44. Pacific Star Lightly smoked sardines in vegetable oil - Thailand - $. 99
  45. Calmex sardines in tomato sauce - Mexico - $1. 19 (15 oz)
  46. Brunswick Sardines in tomato & basil Sauce – Canada - $1.19
  47. El Mexicano Sardinas en salsa de tomate con chile - Mexico - $1. 09 (15 oz)
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1 
 I saw this post maybe a year or so ago and went on the hunt. Most of these were impossible for me to find. I did find the Angelo Parodi and Matiz Gallego but paid much more than the prices quoted here. They are both very, very good. – Shari Bambino Mar 10 2011 at 1:37
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IMO Crown Prince is a pretty solid brand--readily available and comparatively inexpensive. It makes sense that some of their product comes from Morocco since Morocco is the biggest exporter of canned sardines in the world. Local CA sardines would be nearly impossible to find since the fish stocks have declined so significantly due to overfishing and changes in water temp that there is no longer any commercial CA sardine fishing that I know of. Additionally, the last US sardine cannery (which was in Maine) closed a couple years ago.

Canned sardines really run the gamut and I am nowhere near a big enough fan or connoisseur of them to justify seeking or shelling out for the pricey ones--they are more a utility source of cheap fish for me. My only rules are no soy or canola oil, so I tend to go for olive oil or spring water packed. I like the little Norwegian bristling ones the best, but also like the bigger herring ones, too. We usually just buy the Brunswick ones, which are caught in Atlantic Canadian waters. I also love the herring fillets and kippers from Bar Harbor Foods.

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I agree. Morocco is a good place to get sardines and Crown Prince is a great brand. – Shari Bambino Mar 10 2011 at 1:38
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I concur with the Wild Planet Brand.

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Hello ...what all of us want is sardines without the plastic coating .Why should we all get slowly poisoned by this BPA inside .They sent a man to the moon you think they could fix this health issue.. PRONTO

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Crown Prince Kippered Herring, 3.25oz cans, regular and with cracked black pepper, sourced from Canada, are BPA free.

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