The Sale Thread

Not sure if this is a good price or not. I love Ortiz but don’t buy often due to price. I usually stick with Tonnino and stock up when it’s on sale. Whole Foods Brea


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Might be an unpopular opinion (and perhaps should be in FTC confession) but I like to eat quite often canned fish for lunch and tuna (even higher priced ones) is the most boring one compared to many other options ranging from pulpo, mackerel, herring, sardines, mussels etc - never understand what people like about canned tuna (fresh one is a completely different story)

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Any brands of tinned fish that you like? We had some good tins my in laws brought back from Spain. Pulpo and mackerel. We enjoy sardines as well but haven’t found many good domestic brands.

I love tuna fish sandwiches.

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I always habe 10-20 cans at home, e.g. some japanese mackerel (nissui brand), different German herrings filets with different sauces (Ruegenfisch brand), some Croatian mackerel (Adriatic Queen brand), some smoked sprats from Latvia (Riga Gold brand), Portuguese octopus (Taste of Portugal brand), Spanish sardines (Albo brand), Spanish mussels (Bogar brand) etc.

And tuna sandwich is one of the few sandwiches I actively avoid - fresh roll with herrings salad like you get in Germany on the other side I would love to find here in the US

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Same. I love Tuna Sandwiches. Cold Tuna Pasta Salads. Tuna Tostadas. I go to great lengths for fancy tuna but honestly, not a huge fan of Ortiz. Canned tuna is processed in such a way that either would be impossible or a REAL PITA to make it home.

Meanwhile Conservas like Sardines, Mussels and Octopus, I can make at home in much tasier renditions and often for cheaper.

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A few conservas brands that I will always pick up are Espinaler, La Brujula, and Ramon Pena.

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So maybe I’m an outlier but I find conservas to be pretty meh like ok but not amazing? Or maybe I haven’t had the right ones? I had a couple in spain last year and bought a couple from la espanola about 3 weeks ago

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after shelling out for la brujula and a few other tins in the >$20 price bracket, i concluded that anything >$3 is basically the same…

still waiting for norwegian makerel in tomato sauce to make its way stateside…

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I’ve only tried conservas once or twice (here; never been to Spain) and I also was like, “It’s okay, I guess?” So you are not alone. :wink:

Are they normally served w/ bread and other accoutrements? If so, maybe it’s the whole package that’s tasty?

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Mussels in eschebeche are a favorite. After trying multiple brands, La Brujula came out on top. The flavor of the sauce, texture of the mussels, and the presentation in the can were excellent.
Totally understand that it may not be for everyone. Actually, after collecting tons of tins a few years ago, I’ve really slowed down. Picking up a tin every now and then when I come across them as opposed to ordering online and making trips to Epicurus Gourmet.

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RTG carries a few Norwegian tins of mackerel in tomato sauce. OOS at the moment though. https://rainbowtomatoesgarden.com/product-category/conservas/by-origin-country/norway/
I’ll have to try a tin if they get more!

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The fancy lights @attran99 mentioned here:

Are on sale for Prime Days for $55.19 (20% off), plus Amazon is offering me a 10% on top of that:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B09VXK6QJ6/

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Yep! There is a certain munchiness to the whole enjoyment of Conservas. Add wine and YOM! But to me, the munchiness extends to tuna salad as well. I love a great tuna salad (I’ve been really enjoying the one from Jackson Market in Culver City as of late) and Mexican Saltines makes me happier than any other type of tinned fish.

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Really? Have you had the Gueyu Mar stuff? Am I just a sucker for packaging and the grilled over wood marketing?

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Yeah, I prefer conservas paired with some kind of carb. Nice crusty bread, or mussels + potato chips. Else I use it as an ingredient in cooking, sardine salad for sandwiches or fancy italian sicilian pasta. (There’s a really nice recipe with wine, breadcrumbs, raisins, fennel, onions but it’s a little more involved)… The appeal for me is that I have a low-prep protein to use in cooking meals, or for sad desk lunches; I get squicky about preparing raw fish itself.

Pricewise with marketing they sometimes get close to the price of just normal fish though. Part of conservas must be a cultural thing, reminiscing about seaside European lunches …

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