(07-11-2025, 01:37 AM)Ksihkehe Wrote: The generation before me was brought up Catholic and were forced to eat fish every Friday and that often apparently took the form of canned tuna.

Tuna "wiggle" was basically a thick flour or corn starch milk sauce and it would be mixed with tuna and peas then put on toast. I absolutely loved it, but it didn't get made much when I was a kid. I think tuna helper, if I remember right, was basically a less thick cream sauce and it went with rice or pasta. I'm sure I'd have liked it.

I had one aunt that would get the creepy crawlies just from the mention of tuna wiggle and another aunt that wouldn't touch anything from the sea. My mother loved fish though.

I love fish in general, just about all fish.  My family was similar, always fish on Friday (most Friday's anyway).  

Tuna Helper was basically everything except the Tuna and the milk in a box.  The base was generally noodles.  Ma would often add fresh grated cheese to it also.  Overall, it was actually pretty tasty, but Mom went through this phase where the word "variety" was not in her vocabulary (at all).  Just this rut, of the same thing, over and over again.  She wasn't that good of a cook, until later in her life and she became a fabulous cook, but I had left for college and Dad basically went on a food strike over her food (pretty seriously too).  She took a cooking class at the local community college (it was actually a wine pairing and sorta' cooking class (she was there for the wine!)).  After that, she got super interested in cooking, took all these culinary classes, and then started to really enjoy creating her own stuff.

But the Tuna Helper was the straw that broke the camel's back.  Apparently, the wife's mother was the same way, and she absolutely refuses to eat the stuff.  I bought a box a while back with the intention of just giving it a try (again) after some gussying up.  The wife wouldn't even let me put the box in the cupboard!!  ...

"That stuff will NOT be inside our home...EVAR!!"    

Okay!, okay!!!  No need to yell!

(07-10-2025, 03:42 PM)FCD Wrote: I am kind of a closet sardines fan.  I mean, I don't keep it a secret or anything, but I don't go around with T-shirts announcing my taste for sardines either.

Over the past couple of years I discovered that not all sardines are the same.  Some are delicious, and some are downright awful.  Sometimes even the same brand can have either variety.  So, in light of this I've been on a search for the best sardines.  I've pretty much concluded that most of the sardines available in grocery stores are pretty much crap, at least the grocery stores around us anyway.  About a year ago I went on a search to find the best sardines, regardless of cost.  I did manage to find a couple brands which are consistently well above most other tinned sardines in both flavor and texture (mostly flavor).  Three that I've found, listed in order of best first are Santo Amano out of Portugal, Flower out of Morrocco, and Cento an Italian-American brand.  The Cento brand are notable because they are also boneless and skinless.  But overall, the Santo Amano brand seem to be consistently the best overall.  I've also had some Russian sardines too, and these are pretty dang good also, but they're usually really hard to find, and they're generally not called "Sardines" either (they're called "Rigas"), so I haven't figured out yet if these are slightly different than regular sardines. 

Now, I think most people understand that there is no such fish as a "Sardine".  The term "Sardine" is kind of a catch all phrase for small herring, originally from the Italian island of 'Sardinia", thus the name.  

Of course, with sardines, you can find them packed any number of different ways.  Packed in water (yuck!, no matter what brand), packed in pure olive oil (yum), packed in tomato sauce / spicy tomato sauce, packed in mustard, or packed in hot sauce or spices of about 25-30 different varieties.

One common trait that all 'good' tasting sardines seem to have in common is that they are much larger than most other sardines.  This is kind of counter-intuitive.  These sardines come with (3-4) fillets in a can, compared to (25) fillets or more in some cases with other brands.  The overall flavor is considerably better.  Generally, I eat sardines just by themselves, although many eat them with crackers or small toast corners.  As far as what they're packed in, as I have found better quality sardines I have gravitated more towards liking them plain and packed in olive oil the most.  My standby favorites otherwise are packed in mustard, followed by packed in some kind of tomato sauce (usually with peppers).  Some kind of vinegar based hot sauce is a good topper for the good ones packed in olive oil (i.e. Tobasco, Texas Pete's, Louisiana brand, or Frank's)  Oh, and hot sauce?  As the commercial goes..."I eat that shit on everything!"  Love me some hot sauces!!

Something kind of new I've gotten into is using sardines as an ingredient in other dishes.  For example, sardines broken up into spaghetti sauce is really good over pasta.  Sardines in a Caesar Salad is also delicious.  I've even been known to eat sardines for breakfast (fish for breakfast was a habit I picked up while living in SE Asia, but I think it has British origins).  I don't eat them every day, or even once a week, but they are really good now and then, and I generally keep a dozen tins on hand for a rainy day.

Love to hear your thoughts on sardines.  Love 'em?  Hate 'em? or other; all opinions welcome!

Love sardines, high in protein and vitamins and great to pack for bushwalks or survival packs.

In mustard sauce is my favourite, but I pretty much like them all except the 'Lime' juice variety, don't like those.