Today I decided to try a different conserva! Neither with sardines nor with any type of mackerel or tuna, I chose one with garfish! Garfish is know in Portuguese as peixe-agulha or picas, and they are usually a by-catch species, often caught when fishing mackerel since they follow similar migratory patterns. Therefore, they have reduced commercial value and in addition, the colour of the fish bones tends to be a bit off-putting. They acquire a green tone due to an iron phosphate called vivianite. But worry not, as this can of garfish is perfectly safe.
The creator of this conserva, Briosa, is making a very good job in helping to change the scepticism towards this fish. Briosa is a company located in Figueira da Foz (Portugal) and they make cans of goodness not only with garfish but also with sardine, tuna and chub mackerel. They are quite young, since they started their craft in 1991, date the factory was inaugurated in the Figueira da Foz harbour. So the fish should be as fresh as it gets!
I think that made a very good choice with the packaging design. As you can observe, the design resembles hydraulic tiles, which is another antique Portuguese tradition. I find it absolutely lovely. It has the name of the product in English, Portuguese – Picas (Peixe Agulha) em Azeite Picante and in French – Petite Orphie à l’huille d’Olive piquante. The ingredients, as well as the nutritional information are also in the three aforementioned languages. For me it’s a 5 out of 5 for package presentation.
The can was very easy to open, so nothing but positive remarks there. When opening it I found five pieces of garfish: one big chunk plus four smaller ones and a chilli pepper “smiling back at me”. The smell was quite delicate, mostly olive oil scent.
If you are wondering how garfish tastes, think of atlantic horse mackerel. At least as for texture, that’s what reminded me the most. The meat is quite dry, but I noticed it more while eating the bigger piece. As for the promised spiciness, I found it quite hot.
This is a wonderful alternative to the sardine or mackerel, and I repeat what I wrote when starting this post: Briosa did a very good job!
Evaluation summary:
- Package presentation (1 very poor – 5 excellent): 5
- Easiness to open (1 very hard – 5 very easy): 5
- Quantity: 5 pieces of garfish with very different sizes
- Flavour: quite hot
- Texture: very firm, bigger pieces tend to be dry
Basic Info:
- Manufacturer: Briosa Conservas de Pescado, Lda.
- Type of Product: canned garfish
- Tasted Product: Briosa Gourmet – Small Garfish in Olive Oil with Spices
- Ingredients (as in the package): small garfish, olive oil, chilli pepper, pepper and salt.
- Nutritional Information (per 100g, as described in the package): Energy 205Kcal/857kJ, Proteins 23.5g, Carbohydrates 0g (from which sugar: 0g), Fat 11g (from which saturated: 1.5g), Salt 1g.
Sources used on this post:
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?ID=47&AT=garfish
http://www.soleshare.net/garfish/
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00217-013-1932-y#page-1
fishintin 