# Prepare me for my first taste of sardines **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 2, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepare-me-for-my-first-taste-of-sardines/531009 "2010-03-02T17:34:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepare-me-for-my-first-taste-of-sardines/531009/1 "2010-03-02T17:34:39Z")
Bought a can of sardines over the weekend, intend to crack them open tonight. What should I expect, flavor-wise, texture-wise, other-aspect-I’m-too-ignorant-to-know-to-ask-about-wise? Any particularly novice-friendly recipes to share? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepare-me-for-my-first-taste-of-sardines/531009/2 "2010-03-02T17:38:59Z")
Fishy, oily, mushy texture (you can spread them easily on bread.) If you like strong-flavored fishes like mackerel, herring, or anchovies, you’ll like sardines fine. I think they’re awesome. As for recipes, I just eat them straight out of the can. I’ve used them as a substitute for anchovies in pasta sauce if I’m out but, otherwise, I think straight-up is the best way to eat them. ---
**Author:** ![HotSmoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d9b06d/32.png) [@HotSmoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HotSmoke)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepare-me-for-my-first-taste-of-sardines/531009/3 "2010-03-02T17:44:17Z")
Sardines are great. I put mine on saltines. They are strong though. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepare-me-for-my-first-taste-of-sardines/531009/4 "2010-03-02T17:44:25Z")
I’ve never cooked a recipe starring sardines in my life! If you are serious, well, they’re headless little things laid out in oil, or water (or hot sauce or mustard - read the can). The best are little tiny silvery ones. The cheaper ones are bigger. You may want to carefully lift them out with a fork, from underneath, and make a sandwich, or put on crackers. Mustard, ketchup, chili sauce, or hot sauce dabbed on are traditional condiments, and a little Maui onion is tasty. They don’t look nice mashed up, and the insides don’t look nice, either. Some people, with the care of a surgeon, extract the crunchy backbone before eating, but that’s where the calcium is! Best not to peer too deep inside. They have a smoky, chewy, oily mouth feel, not really fishy. Though some are, and you can always give them to the cat of you don’t like them. Good luck on your initial voyage to the World of Sardines! They are something you either love or loathe. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepare-me-for-my-first-taste-of-sardines/531009/5 "2010-03-02T18:09:41Z")
My older brother always insisted that you must eat sardines with a toothpick because a fork will ruin the taste. I believed that for longer than I care to admit. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepare-me-for-my-first-taste-of-sardines/531009/6 "2010-03-02T19:41:18Z")
I add them to my salads. Delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepare-me-for-my-first-taste-of-sardines/531009/7 "2010-03-02T20:01:26Z")
There’s a Mexican recipe that involves smashing the sardines with salt, pepper, lemon juice & a bit of oil. (Or they might be oily enough out of the can.) Maybe some chopped scallions? Split a ripe avocado & top each half with your avocado “salad.” The mixture of salty fishiness on rich avocado works quite well for me. ---
**Author:** ![HotSmoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d9b06d/32.png) [@HotSmoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HotSmoke)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepare-me-for-my-first-taste-of-sardines/531009/8 "2010-03-02T20:07:45Z")
I recall reading an Italian pasta recipe that used sardines in the sauce,but for the life of me I can’t remember where I saw it or what it was called. It sounded really good. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepare-me-for-my-first-taste-of-sardines/531009/9 "2010-03-02T20:17:25Z")
There’s sardines, then there’s sardines. The ones worth eating are small fish (relative to the can), the smaller the better (and more expensive). I look for at least two layers of fish, better yet cross-packed – head to tail going along the shorter side. These features will usually be bragged about on the label. They will be packed in either sild sardine oil or olive oil. It’s a smoky-fishy-salty-oily flavor that can be sublime. After years of eating the above, what I would call traditional sardines, I found to my resounding dismay that the word “sardines” covers a lot of territory. Only three (pretty big) fish in the can. _Less than one_ fish in the can – is there no sense of decency in this world? And to make it unimaginably worse, some of these are packed in mustard sauce or tomato sauce. If this is the type of “sardine” you’ve bought, may heaven help you. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepare-me-for-my-first-taste-of-sardines/531009/10 "2010-03-02T20:18:32Z")
You can eat them right from the can, but I prefer to mash them up with a bit of salt and lemon juice. I spread the mixture on Ritz crackers. Tasty. By the way, if you ever feel the urge, there’s a Spanish restaurant in town called Las Ramblas (Park Rd.) that serves fresh sardines, grilled over wood. Excellent stuff. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepare-me-for-my-first-taste-of-sardines/531009/11 "2010-03-02T20:32:34Z")
> [@HotSmoke](#): > > I recall reading an Italian pasta recipe that used sardines in the sauce,but for the life of me I can’t remember where I saw it or what it was called. It sounded really good. There’s pasta con le sarde, but that’s _usually_ made with fresh sardines, I think. That said, I’d imagine a sauce like puttanesca or even a simple basic tomato sauce would do well with canned sardines in it. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepare-me-for-my-first-taste-of-sardines/531009/12 "2010-03-02T20:49:35Z")
The texture - what’s weird is when you feel the spine crunching between your teeth. Makes me feel like… I don’t know… maybe a T Rex. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepare-me-for-my-first-taste-of-sardines/531009/13 "2010-03-02T21:22:13Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > There’s sardines, then there’s sardines. > > The ones worth eating are small fish (relative to the can), the smaller the better (and more expensive). I look for at least two layers of fish, better yet cross-packed – head to tail going along the shorter side. These features will usually be bragged about on the label. They will be packed in either sild sardine oil or olive oil. It’s a smoky-fishy-salty-oily flavor that can be sublime. > > After years of eating the above, what I would call traditional sardines, I found to my resounding dismay that the word “sardines” covers a lot of territory. Only three (pretty big) fish in the can. _Less than one_ fish in the can – is there no sense of decency in this world? And to make it unimaginably worse, some of these are packed in mustard sauce or tomato sauce. If this is the type of “sardine” you’ve bought, may heaven help you. What’s served by the street vendors in Lisbon are large enough to grill and are so full of bones only a Portuguese could love them. They call them sardines, however. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepare-me-for-my-first-taste-of-sardines/531009/14 "2010-03-02T21:25:15Z")
Oh, I’m so glad \*\*KneadToKnow \*\*started this thread. ::waves:: I just bought a can of sardines and a can of anchovies at the store on my last grocery run on a whim. Well, two whims. Never had either one, figured I should fight my own ignorance. Also, I like fish, and grew up eating Polish-style herring, so I figured this shouldn’t be too bad! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepare-me-for-my-first-taste-of-sardines/531009/15 "2010-03-02T21:25:27Z")
I love eating the small ones whole, crumbly cooked spines and all. It’s a yummy way of getting your MDR of calcium. I think they taste especially good on slightly sweet whole wheat bread, as a contrast to their salty oiliness. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepare-me-for-my-first-taste-of-sardines/531009/16 "2010-03-02T21:44:02Z")
My father used to make sardine sandwiches for me when I was a kid. Just sardines on bread, with a little squeeze of lemon juice. Yum! For some reason I practically never have it nowadays unless my dad is around. ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepare-me-for-my-first-taste-of-sardines/531009/17 "2010-03-02T23:25:02Z")
I grew up eating sardines with cream cheese, mashed together to form a “salad”, usually on Ritz crackers. Don’t know if I could eat 'em plain… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepare-me-for-my-first-taste-of-sardines/531009/18 "2010-03-02T23:50:50Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > There’s sardines, then there’s sardines. > > The ones worth eating are small fish (relative to the can), the smaller the better (and more expensive). I look for at least two layers of fish, better yet cross-packed – head to tail going along the shorter side. These features will usually be bragged about on the label. They will be packed in either sild sardine oil or olive oil. It’s a smoky-fishy-salty-oily flavor that can be sublime. Brand name, man! Sources! I can’t believe how hard it is to find small sardines. The closest thing is Riga smoked sprats. They’re tiny, and smokey. But sometimes I just want plain sardines in oil. It seems like no matter what brand I buy, there are four big fish in the tin. > [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I just bought a can… of anchovies Anchovies are very, very salty. You think Vegemite is salty? Not a patch on anchovies! Of course they are the essential ingredient in Caesar salads. Worcesterchire, too. But you may want to keep an open mind and eat them on some crusty bread or some crackers. Me, I like them right out of the tin. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepare-me-for-my-first-taste-of-sardines/531009/19 "2010-03-03T01:18:14Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Brand name, man! Sources! > > I can’t believe how hard it is to find small sardines. The closest thing is Riga smoked sprats. They’re tiny, and smokey. But sometimes I just want plain sardines in oil. It seems like no matter what brand I buy, there are four big fish in the tin. > > Anchovies are very, very salty. You think Vegemite is salty? Not a patch on anchovies! Of course they are the essential ingredient in Caesar salads. Worcesterchire, too. But you may want to keep an open mind and eat them on some crusty bread or some crackers. Me, I like them right out of the tin. Even better: a little sour cream on a Ritz + a piece of anchovy = heaven! Perfect blend of tastes. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepare-me-for-my-first-taste-of-sardines/531009/20 "2010-03-03T01:32:52Z")
Well, they weren’t what I expected, but I enjoyed them. Being short on crackers, I just ate them straight out of the can. Despite all the comments about their potency and saltiness, these were only slightly fishier tasting than tuna salad, and really not particularly salty at all. For future purchases, I’d like to second **Johnny L.A.**'s request for brand names. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepare-me-for-my-first-taste-of-sardines/531009.md?page=2)