Consistently, in my thirst for nutritional knowledge, I kept coming across the topic of sardines. Sardines this, sardines that, sardines and Omega 3's (the importance and name-origins of which I will likely tackle in an upcoming post), sardines and calcium.. yadda yadda yadda. So, hoping as ever to find the next esoteric 'staple' of my healthy daily plate, I decided to emrace my open-mindedness and give them a whirl.
Sidenote with me for a minute here.. Ed and I were on vacation in Virginia Beach a couple of years ago. Being two 20-somethings happily coupled together, we are not so much into the nightclub bar scene anymore. Which means that at 3 am we were proceeding to drink our faces off in our hotel room, making fun of people on TV. Actually much more fun than it sounds, I swear. Anyway, we ended up watching a mini-marathon of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. Now THAT guy has an open mind when it comes to food. I definitely hate that he chews with his mouth open, but you have to be a little awe-struck by the revolting (ethnocentrically-speaking) foods he tries. The episode that comes to mind most vividly is the one in which he eats a slab of shark fat that had been left for weeks to rot and fester in a shack in the middle of Iceland, or Poland, or somewhere. If I have the patience to locate a YouTube video clip soon I will absolutely post it here asap - it must be seen to be believed. And then to have nightmares about.
Edit: Found it! Click here for a video.. and I beg your pardon, it is putrefied shark meat, not fat. Muuuch better. Bleh.
Sardines are readily found near the canned tuna and salmon at grocery store. They have about 25 calories per fish, 1 gram of heart-healthy fat each, and 3 grams of protein each. Before when I said 'to my recollection,' I was referencing my Dad, who when I was little would pop open a can of sardines like it was a bag of chips and down the whole thing. I'm pretty sure he made me taste them once or twice but I don't remember my reaction before or after. Perhaps I have selective amnesia of the event. My Dad prefers the canned sardines smothered in spicy mustard, which is a way you can purchase them. I can easily see why anyone would prefer this variety - sardines are teeny fishes, packaged, full bodies, (usually) with their little heads lopped off. (Anchovies are much the same, except very salty and apparently of a fishier flavor. Haven't tried them except in Caesar dressing, and they really create a tasty flavor there. hmm.. next experiment? Unlikely.) You can also get sardines packed in olive oil, sauces, or in water (least salty and retains most omega-3's), or get them uncooked. And you can get them with or without their little skeletons included.
Yes, you want the skeletons. Gross. But the little bones are what gives the food most of its calcium-rich content, and according to a manufacturer, they add 'nothing but a delicate crunch' to the mouthfeel, and sometimes people don't even notice that they're in there. 3 ounces of sardines, with bones, has about 325 mg of calcium. (Most people need at least 1000mg/day.)
So, I went to the store and I analyzed tins of fish. Holding the tins, I was already pre-grossed out knowing what hid beneath the pull-back metal top. But I'd be damned, I said I was going to try them and I would. I waited until I was very hungry for lunch (I think most of us would agree that food tastes better when we're hungry), and toasted two pieces of rye bread. I spread the bread with spicy mustard.. and opened the tin. I love sushi, I love canned tuna, salmon, crab.. but when I saw those little guys crammed in there? Yuck to the MAX. Shiny fish scales with not-so-cleanly rips where the heads used to be. I tentatively pushed a butter knife into the side of one of the crammed-in fish and it gave way to a firm smoothness. I loaded the knife with hunk after hunk of shiny, greasy, fish mass and plopped it onto my toasted bread. Orange juice at the ready, like a chaser to a Vodka shot, I slammed the other piece of bread on top and took a massive bite.
I definitely felt the spine of the little fish on my tongue, I definitely whiffed fish-aroma as it went up the back of my throat to the olfactories. But all in all, taste-wise, it was doable, similar to tuna but not quite on par. It was a little mental don't-gag battle as I slugged the rest down, where hopefully, my body greatly benefitted from my willingness to experiment and gave super sardine powers for the reaminder of the day. Because I doubt I'll ever eat sardines again. As much as I am not a fan of supplements over food-based nutrients, I think I'll stick to my fish oil pills. Hell, they even make them for kids - chewable strawberry flavor capsules, coming my way!
But I will ask, did I go in too balls to the walls with the straight up outta-the-can sandwich style? Anyone have a healthy sardine sandwich or other sardine recipe that might sway me? I am, as always, open to suggestions and accompanying repentance.
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