Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Stuff old people like: Sardines

Take it from an old curmudgeon like me, sardines are where it's at. Little fish you eat with your fingers on crackers. I prefer the smoked sardines. Now I generally avoid seafood as a rule, due to mercury, but everyone once in a while I'll roll the dice on sardines.

I'm sure you've seen cans of sardines in old timey cartoons. Today's sardines don't have heads, and the cans have a pull tab like your soups instead of the key that rolls the lid back. But other than that, it is pretty much the same thing that it was back when your great grandpa was a hungry young man. Probably less mercury in it though.

As a footnote I should add that the last of the cannery row plants closed and the last plant in America has ceased sardines production. Which leads to another old timer pastime: nostalgia.

So enjoy sardines infrequently because of pollution. Young kids will think they are gross because old cartoons have the heads on and anchovies are horribly salty. These aren't horribly salty though. They are better than tuna in terms of mercury, and if you are into the environment they are more "sustainable" too.

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