Description
Ingredients: sardines, peanut oil, salt.
Les Mouettes d’Arvor Sardines in Peanut Oil
$11.00
The words “classic” and “iconic” get thrown around a lot in ways that are less than accurate, but the red box of sardines in peanut oil is both classic and iconic to the Bretons. They have very strong opinions about sardines and how to eat them, and while they’ll package your sardines in any oil you like, they know better, and it’s sardines in peanut oil for them.
115g (4 oz) tin
Pictured on crostini with chive cream cheese and pickled red onion.
In stock
Reviews
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zach.bauman (verified owner) –
If Degas, Renoir, and Matisse all got together and decided they were going to combine their monstrous artistic talents into making a sardine, it’d be this tin.
Like, not the tin itself. The tin itself looks fine — in fact, the red is a pretty great red — but it’s the sardines inside that are the work of art.
And I say that as someone who’s generally a bigger fan of smaller ‘dines. These boys are hefty. Weighty. But they’re pretty great in terms of texture; tender, but still with enough density that they aren’t falling apart the moment you try to get one out of the can. Chewy enough that you know you’re eating fish, not rolling a raw oyster around and down the hatch.
Did it take me a second to figure out that “arachide” (or “arachid” on the nutrition label — make up your minds!) must mean “peanut” in French and didn’t say “arachnid?” Yes, yes it did. But aside from being surprisingly dark oil when you pop that tin open, the difference in the oil is pretty subtle. The peanut flavor is noticeable, particularly if you pop a sardine in your mouth and kind of suck some of the oil out of it, but not overwhelming.
10/10, cinque stars, oui oui, would buy again, would eat every day.
twa101 (verified owner) –
I believe that this was the first peanut oil tin that I have (knowingly) tried and apparently it was one of the more traditional oils before olive oil took over. A very mild sardine scent upon opening and there were five fish inside, two fat ones and three swimmers of the more svelte variety. While the skin was a bit dinged up but there were still beautiful, iridescent fish that came out easily and intact with big tails. They were all firm, yet moist and amply seasoned with salt. The bones were quite soft, barely noticeable but easy enough to remove if you really wanted to. The oil was very mild & light yet silky. Clean. Quite nice. Overall, a very, very fine can of fish. I had forgotten how much I enjoy Mouettes sardines.
Cody Edwards (verified owner) –
Very enjoyable tin. Flavorful fish, fairly dense, a couple on the dryer side. Nice tail fin action. No complaints but perhaps not my personal first choice at this price point.