Brunswick Sardines (Hot Peppers)

A Nice Kick on a Budget!

Originally Published: Tuesday, December 20, 2022

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Specs

Brand: Brunswick

Ingredient: Sardines

Flavour: Hot Peppers

Net Weight: 106 g

Product of Canada

$2.00 CAD

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The Review

It feels fitting to start off the blog with an entry from one of the oldest and largest producers in Canada: Brunswick. They have been producing tinned seafood for over 100 years, and their products are widely available in most supermarkets. Their low cost and ubiquitousness make them a great entry point for trying multiple products without breaking the bank.

This tin cost me a whopping $2.00 CAD at my local supermarket. What a bargain!

This particular tin of sardines is preserved with soy oil and hot green peppers. Soy oil is a neutral tasting oil that imparts a smooth mouth feel, but doesn’t really add much to the flavour profile of the product. With that said, the oil acts as a good medium for the suspension of capsaicin from the chillis and helps distribute the spicy chemical evenly throughout the can.

There is not a strong scent of brine or other distinguishing flavours from the can. A light whiff of sardine is of course present, but no other components jump out.

The first bite presents with a low amount of salinity; the saltiness is slightly masked by the oil content, making it taste less sodium-laden than it actually is. A light kick from the chillis starts up a few milliseconds later and warms the tongue. A bit of mastication reveals a slight nutty, creamy note from the fish that mellows out the burn. The typical iron-y sardine note caps off the experience, although quite subtly. The chillis’ heat tingles the back of the throat after swallowing.

The peppers are definitely a dominant flavour in this product and plays pretty well with the briny, “fishy” notes of the sardine. However, some of the subtler notes are lost because of the numbing effect from the spice. There is a bit of acidity from the peppers that help to lift the palate.

The texture of the fish is well preserved in the oil, and some fillets still hold a bit of “bounce” in the flesh. They hold their shape quite well and should work well for sandwiches or salads. The bones are few and non-prickly, and of course melts-in-your-mouth edible.

The peppers are finely diced and look a bit jaundiced. Green vegetables tend to develop an ochre tinge after the canning process and it’s no different here. There is also not a large amount of the garnish in each tin. The combination of the amount and texture of the garnish betray the “budgetness” of the product. Brunswick has left the pepper seeds floating in the oil as well, which is great for imparting flavour, but does lower the presentation factor slightly.

In some products, I would recommend dipping bread in the leftover juices to mop up the goodness; I do not recommend doing that in this case. There isn’t a lot of sauce in the can and the sauce itself is not very flavourful if not paired with the fish.

Rating

This is such an inexpensive product that it’s hard not to plant it firmly in the “good value” camp. It will often be the least expensive tin of fish on your local grocery store aisle. While it isn’t the best tin of fish I’ve ever had, it is still quite enjoyable. I wish there was more overall character to the sauce since it’s rather one-dimensional if not for the gentle heat.