Description
Ingredients: Sardines (Sardina pilchardus): min 70%, Olive Oil: 28%, Chili: 0.3%, Pickles (carrot and cucumber): 0.6%, Salt
The terms “spiced” and “spicy” are used pretty much interchangeably in the tinned fish world, to mean two different things: with a hot pepper (or hot pepper flavor), and with cloves/bay/carrot/hot pepper. There are many examples of both terms being used to mean both things.
We are so frustrated by how widespread this confusing inconsistent usage is that we’ve gone through our entire product line to correct the incorrect ones such that our description of “spiced” or “spicy” will always indicate which it really is, regardless of the packaging. “Spicy” = with hot pepper flavor. “Spiced” = with the cloves/bay/carrot/hot pepper flavors.
fibersides (verified owner) –
This tin might be confusing to experienced deeners. It reads like a spiced tin, but no clove and no bay leaf (laurel). That said, the cook on this tin is perfect, and the spicy oil works with the carrot and pickle so you won’t be missing anything.
I just finished off this tin, but I keep going back to see if I missed anything. The fish are tasty, perfectly salty, great texture, and frankly they may replace Nuri, Porthos, and Pinhais for my Portuguese spiced go-tos.
I think this might be a new “buy the box” tin for me, but for you, go getcha some!!
Hream McDan (verified owner) –
PICKLES. The first tin I’ve had that **actually brings an actual pickle flavor** to the party. It resembles a traditional spiced tin, but it’s brighter with a little bit of salty/sour tang that really made me smile. Texture is an ideal medium with excellent moisture. Sardinha is so consistent with these big chonkers, I don’t think there’s any other company who nails the texture every single time like they do. The spicy level here is only 1.5 or so out of 5, but it’s in perfect balance with the other flavors and I’d not want it to be very much more.
It’s a stunner that immediately ranks as my 2nd favorite spiced sardines (behind Mabuti’s perfect tin) and nothing else comes particularly close to them. Eat this at room temp, straight from the tin … you’ll want to add absolutely nothing to it.
If you love pickles, salt, and sardines then this could very well be your holy grail.
Matt (verified owner) –
This is such a well seasoned tin. Salt forward, probably because of the brightness of the pickles. There’s definitely a bit of a spicy finish from the chili. 4 large sardines in this one with great texture, not too firm or soft. Another winner from sardinha, especially for those who enjoy a bright, flavorful tin. Good value for the quality but a hair more expensive than I’d mix into the normal rotation.
TinnedFishStoner (verified owner) –
These tasted like a slightly more pickly version of your average spiced tin, very flavorful but these weren’t really spicy to me in my opinion but my spice tolerance is already high, this tin gave a moreso of a spotlight to the pickle flavor that I really appreciate. This tin was quite strong flavor wise but in all the good ways, I believe this specific tin was definitely a good introduction to the Sardinha brand for me since I already really enjoy spiced tins.
Andrew Tolston (verified owner) –
Sardinha’s spiced sardines with pickles offer a refreshing twist – the authentic pickle flavor is a standout feature, bright and tangy with just the right balance of saltiness. The sardines maintain a consistently pleasing texture – not too firm, not too soft.
I would rank it 1.5 out of 5 for spiciness, the chili kick is subtle but complements the overall profile well. Best enjoyed straight from the tin at room temperature, these sardines need no additional enhancements.
This well-seasoned tin is salt-forward due to the pickles, offering four large sardines with excellent texture. For spice lovers, the focus on pickle flavor rather than heat makes this tin a unique and enjoyable experience. As a fan of pickles, salt, and well-crafted sardines, this tin might just become my go-to option in the world of spiced tins!
Stacy Rosenfeld (verified owner) –
Opened this tin to find beautiful large silvery deens in golden spicy olive oil. They’re slightly spicy with a nice heat in the back of your throat. The sardines were firm, meaty and moist. I can’t wait to try more tins from Sardinha!
toolndie (verified owner) –
Very dark skinned sardines for Pilchard’s. There are (4) fish in this tin, and they are a bit beat up. There is a pickle, carrot and a red pepper on the bottom…the oil is reddish gold in color.
The flesh is firm and very tasty…typical sardine flavor that is on the more full flavored end of the scale…The heat though mild, is nonetheless distinct, about the level of a mild hot wing at the bar, and it lingers on the palate…I am not getting the pickle flavor here as other tasters have, just a hint in the background.
The oil has good body, and is of very good quality. Overall this tin is Very Good!
This is a good quality tin with natural tasting flavors and worth trying at this price point. That said I was a little surprised at how beat up the fish looked, maybe this was packed on a Monday :<)
shellbargo (verified owner) –
Not sure if it was just the tin I got, but I was a little disappointed with this one – though it was generally tasty, I didn’t get much pickle flavor. Not even the pickle in the tin tasted like a pickle. :'( However, the spicy olive oil was pretty good – though mild, it had a good flavor and was spicier than many of the other spiced sardines I’ve tried.
emosberger (verified owner) –
This was a very interesting and enjoyable tin! As mentioned in previous reviews the pickles bring a bit of tang that you don’t get very often. Received a total of three dark-skinned pilchards in a light amber colored olive oil. Also got a pickle, carrot and a piri-piri pepper. I placed everything on my usual sourdough toast which was a perfect complement to the ingredients. The texture was on the firm side and the seasoning was a unique experience due to the salt & sour from the pickles. Spiciness was more of a background note but then again it wasn’t supposed to be the star of the show.
In conclusion this was a wonderful tin that manages to separate itself from the legions of piri-piri and clove spiced offerings. Well worth getting again!
jacob.harris.122 (verified owner) –
They’re quite good. I enjoyed broken up over crackers, and mopped up most of the oil with the fish pieces I broke up. The pickles are on the minimal end, and have leached out basically all of their flavor as is usually the case. I’m not a seasoned connoisseur but I don’t think I could tell these apart from the Nuri with pickles — maybe except that these are a little spicier than I remember the nuris being. I would certainly get and enjoy these again. I am almost always left wanting more “pickle” flavor.