I eat canned sardines all the time but you should be careful of the BPA. You can find some BPA-free canned sardines at Whole Foods, as well as some in glass jars.

As Karen mentioned, be careful of the oil they're packed in.

I get sardines canned in olive oil at Costco. I avoid fish canned in any other oil.

huh? whats the question. Sardines are great!

Fresh sardines are much better- fry them in duck fat and sweet onions. Wow.

Sardines. There's a reason they feed them to farmed Salmon...they are an unbelievably high quality source of fat and protein and due to their size and short lifespans they don't accumulate much Mercury. I buy them and and grill them when I can get to a good fish market.

That said, the canned version isn't nearly as good. The texture and flavor is off and if you're concerned about BPA you may want to avoid it.

BUT! Keep some in the cabinet. They make a great snack or meal when the fridge is empty. Spend the money on fancier brands; you're less likely to get seed oils masquerading as olive oil. Or do like I do and get the kind packed in mustard. And don't forget about Anchovies! Anchovies make a great snack. And you can chop them up and add them to a salad. Or make an awesome Caesar dressing.

I live in San Diego and have access to good local Sardines. If you live in Topeka you may want to settle for canned.

i prefer the ones packed in water and i add my own oil/fat to have it as high quality as possible. today i had sardines with a bit of tomato puree, garlicand a grated zuchinin all simmered in butter and italian seasonings.

I order sardines and mackerel from vital choice, which I believe come in BPA free cans and are shipped to you

http://www.vitalchoice.com/shop/pc/home.asp

I can't stand the taste of sardines or any other fish. However, the macros are good. Eat them. Too many people are worried about canned foods not being "paleo" enough because cavemen didn't can. Be realistic, canning is a good way to preserve food (home canned is best of course) so that it doesn't spoil. Remember, real food spoils so it needs to be refrigerated for short term storage, and frozen or canned for longer term storage.

And about hunter/gatherers preserving food. Ever heard of stinkfish? Inuits have made it forever and still do. It's not a good preservation method but it works for them. I would think something from a can is much better for you than something left buried in the ground for a year.

It's fine...eat it.

It depends on the oil they are canned in. Olive oil is fine. But if they are canned in sunflower oil or safflower oil, it defeats the whole purpose of eating sardines, no?!

Of course, canned in water is best as then you have control, but if I ever find them canned in olive oil (rare and very expensive where I am), I like to just dump the whole thing on a salad.

Heck, no! They're not out of the question! I get the ones packed in olive oil. I add some garlic, fresh ground pepper and some fresh herbs and heat them up in my toaster oven. I top them with a little hot sauce. OM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM

I eat probably 2-3 cans of sardines a day. I typically get the kind in spring water and then add relish or whatever if I'm in the mood. I buy this brand: http://www.wildplanetfoods.com/store/products

They taste great and are BPA-free.

I have this bad feeling that the omega3s are oxidized during the canning process, but I dunno if that's true or if it matters.

I love tinned sardines, if they are in virgin olive oil. A good, cheap source of protein and omega 3.

I found Crown Prince sardines in a foil pack in water. They were very tasty. I recommend them if you can't find fresh or these other brands. I'm currently operating with the belief that the foil pouches are BPA free or at least lower levels based on the Consumer Reports tests on canned foods.

I am sure there quite a bit of oxidized omegas, cause canning process uses quite high heat. Since it has to be completely pasterized.
If you cook fresh fish yourself, you only need like 42-60C heat.

you could do worse

I personally don't save the oil sardines are canned in, even if it's olive oil. Fish is canned at such high temperatures, I cannot imagine that the oils are not damaged by it. I vastly prefer fish canned in oil, though, texture-wise . . . I just drain it well and add fresh fat.

I've heard that some of the fish oil will leach into whatever the sardines are packed in, so it's a bit better to get sardines packed in water. They're only packed in oil to give them a longer shelf life anyway. My choice brands are Raincoast and Brunswick, both of which are at least widely distributed in Canada. Brunswick is especially good because the sardines seem to have more offal.

YUM!!! My brand is Matiz, from Spain, which I get at Whole Foods - packed in olive oil. DELICIOUS! Other brands don't take anywhere near as scrumptious to me. I eat them at least 3x a week as a fast perfect lunch with avocado, onion, and some parmesan cheese chunks stuffed into lettuce wraps. Droolworthy