[shiningwizard255]

So I've seen sardines in a few health articles lately as a superfood and I would like to try to incorporate them into my diet...but I cannot work up the nerve to even try them! I do like most fish but I've always been afraid to try sardines (and anchovies, never had either). I am not sure why, but I have it in my head they are disgusting. Any suggestions, such as recipes, to help me work them into my diet? Thanks

[Anne FS]

Get the ones in mustard. And get a brand name not generic. Go out for a long, hard hike on a cold morning before you have breakfast. When you come back hours later very hungry and chilled to the bone make a mug of very hot steaming tea and try one (not a whole bunch) on toast.

Do NOT look at the disgusting bones.

This worked for me.

[sk_pacer]

If you can find Brunswick, they are the best, and come in lemon pepper, kippered, and oil or water packed. Just bought 4 tins of the lemon pepper ones. They are very good on toast.

[Bacardi1]

I love, love, LOVE sardines!!! And while I do enjoy the ones that come in "mustard sauce", "tomato sauce", "hot sauce", etc., etc., my hands-down favorite will always be the plain oil-packed ones that my mom loved to death & used to make the two of us our favorite sandwich out of while I was growing up. Not for the faint-hearted or sardine-lover-wannabee, it consists of a crusty roll, lettuce, the sardines, & thinly sliced raw red onion. Sheer heaven.

Oh, & don't fret over the bones. Good grief. Not only are they one the reasons sardines are so very good for you (all that calcium), but the cooking/processing of the sardines makes them totally & completely soft. You don't even realize they're there unless you're purposely looking for them.

Canned sardines should be a part of everyone's diet - particularly women.

[wendy]

I'll get my calcium from somewhere else, thank you very much. Those things look disgusting and smell worse.

[2DogsFarm]

LOVE them!
Try mashing with just a touch of ketchup and/or lemon juice - for some reason it mitigates the fishiness.
And DO NOT pick out the bones!
Like Bacardi1 said they are soft and moosh right into the rest.

The water-pack are less fishy than the ones in oil, although I love the oily ones : 9

[Louise]

I love them, too. I usually just break them into pieces, put them on a cracker and scarf them on down. Sooooo good.

[saje]

You can also buy skinless/boneless sardines. They really are good! I treat them like a better version of canned tuna. They're quite mild without the bones, so you can add lots of seasoning and they take it up well.

Sardines on toast w/ a little mayo, a bit of salt and pepper, and a squeeze of lemon is divine

[Coanteen]

Sardines are awesome! The ones in hot sauce or mustard or olive oil and jalapeno I can eat outright as a snack. But I also like frying them up, then adding some chopped-up tomato and pickles and some eggs to the pan and making a great sardine-scrambled agg thing. I find they really go well with the slightly sweet midget pickles.

[Anne FS]

And DO NOT pick out the bones!

Note I didn't say to pick them out, I said don't look at them.

Sometimes though I do pick out the big ones when the filet themselves so neatly.

[Janet]

If you don't like looking at them, put them in a toast sandwich.

I prefer the ones packed in water.

[sophie]

I love them right out of the can (packed in water or in tomato sauce, NOT in oil) on buttered, fresh French bread. Yum.

[Appsolute]

I like sardines – my dad used to buy the mustard and tomato packed ones as well.

But crispy grilled FRESH sardines are the way to go!

grilled-fresh-sardines-with-lemon-herbs

I bet fresh, not canned ones have just as much, if not more health benefits (and none of those nasty chemicals they line cans in).

Get the ones in mustard. And get a brand name not generic. Go out for a long, hard hike on a cold morning before you have breakfast. When you come back hours later very hungry and chilled to the bone make a mug of very hot steaming tea and try one (not a whole bunch) on toast.

Do NOT look at the disgusting bones.

This worked for me.

Hahaha yes!

Back when I was younger – and had more FREE TIME, I used to be an avid back packer – I tell you, after a long day out on the trail, just about anything will be the BEST THING EVER – friend and I had a long running joke – after scarfing down white rice, onions, butter and soy sauce one night. OMG, it was the best thing ever! – ummm back at home, and not at camp, not so delicious!

[Guin]

DELICIOUSNESS. Trader Joe's has good ones. Get the oil-packed and put them on toast with some good dijon mustard. Wonderful! Plus, your cats and dogs will be ecstatic with the leftover oil from the can.

[sk_pacer]

I like sardines – my dad used to buy the mustard and tomato packed ones as well.

But crispy grilled FRESH sardines are the way to go!

grilled-fresh-sardines-with-lemon-herbs

I bet fresh, not canned ones have just as much, if not more health benefits (and none of those nasty chemicals they line cans in).

Those sound great....unfortunately, fresh sardines in the middle of the continent are scarcer than hens' teeth. I've never even seen flash frozen, which is the norm for ocean fish here.

[Bluey]

Sardine runs gave us good food, as we would buy them off the boats in the harbor and clean and pack them in tomato sauce.
Those were about twice the size of the canned ones.
Then we would have a sardine sandwich every day for months,with two pieces of bread and a sardine in the middle.

I think sardines are an acquired taste and not for everyone, as they are very strong tasting.
I have never liked the canned in oil ones, but there are many others out there.
Now, anchovies are wonderful, the real ones, stuffed in green olives or in anchovy paste.

[Appsolute]

Those sound great....unfortunately, fresh sardines in the middle of the continent are scarcer than hens' teeth. I've never even seen flash frozen, which is the norm for ocean fish here.

Ahh that is a bummer. I am guessing that they do not freeze well. Very common fish here, we get big “sardine runs” – and sometimes, unfortunately they will wander into the harbor in such numbers that they use up all of the oxygen in the water – which results in big fish kills, and lots of stink.

[Bacardi1]

Around here (VA), fresh sardines show up OCCASIONALLY around the Xmas holidays at Whole Foods & Wegmans supermarkets, since they're an integral part of "The Feast of The Seven Fishes", that many Mediterranean/Italian families host on Xmas Eve. You "might" be able to order them ahead of time if you want to try them.

While I've never had the opportunity to enjoy them fresh, I imagine they'd be a bit on the oily side, like a white-fleshed mackerel. But again, I've never had them fresh so I can't say for sure.

[Janet]

There is a restaurant in Manassas that has fresh sardines on the menu.

[RoyalPrestige]

ICKY!!! I think they are one of the nastiest things along with raw oysters (and this is coming from a girl that LOVES seafood)...

As far as calcium goes...why not drink a large glass of milk or eat a block of cheese....or ice cream? Seems like a much better option to me.

Carry on.