The Best Canned Sardines To Buy If You're A Beginner

Gareth Maccubbin, founder of New York bar Maiden Lane, shared his main suggestion for learning how to embrace canned sardines: start small and be fastidious about sourcing.

To avoid an overly fishy flavor, Maccubbin suggests "finding small sardines in oil from Spain or Portugal and trying them from the tin with an assortment of accompaniments."

Most sardines are canned in soybean oil, which has barely any flavor to balance the fishiness. Instead, look for a brand canned in olive oil, which will provide a familiar flavor.

Complementary ingredients can also help mask the fish's natural taste. For example, Maiden Lane sells sardines canned in olive oil flavored with everything from lemon to tomato.

You can even find sardines that have been fried in flour and stewed with onions and sweet red peppers before being canned in the olive oil. You can also use various accompaniments.

Crusty bread or crackers alongside other preserved goods, like pickles and olives, go well with small sardines. As for larger ones, Maccubbin suggests adding them to other dishes.