violett

Hi, I'm new to the forum, and new to the USA as well. I'm living short term (3 months) in NYC.

I used to eat Tesco tinned mackerel all the time at home, and I have found tinned mackerel here, from Trader Joe's. The first time I bought some though I thought they'd put tuna in the tin by mistake.

It doesn't taste at all like mackerel, it's just like tuna but more expensive.

Has anyone else noticed this? If so, does anyone know if you can get real tinned mackerel anywhere, or am I going to have to order online?

OnwardandUpward

I've bought it here 'chicken of the sea' or 'bumble bee' are the brands but I don't like the varieties ( of any fish ) in sauce/flavoured/oil, only brine.

robin1234

I don't know how long this has been going on, but almost all canned tuna in water in the US now includes "vegetable broth" in the ingredients. There is no breakdown in the small print as to what "vegetable broth" contains so I'd rather not buy those products.

To the OP, I don't know about US mackerel, but NYC is a Mecca for fish lovers! Look at the smoked fish counter in Zabars, for instance, or probably any number of other supermarkets and groceries...

scrubbedexpat091

I guess companies have found consumers prefer a milder more delicate taste when it comes to tuna which is why vegetable broth is used.

This company breaks down a bit what vegetables are used.

FAQs | Chicken of the Sea

Of course they don't say what else is used other then the vegetable types.



Looks like we have a choice here between just water or broth, and they market them as separate products.

scrubbedexpat091

My guess for the taste differences could boil down to a few things:

Species, there are numerous species of mackerel and several different species commonly fished for consumption, and the taste could vary a bit, the same as salmon and tuna can, may not be noticeable to all, but there could be slight differences between species.

How it's prepared will also alter the taste, the 2 brands may not process and season the same leading to a different taste.

Bob

Mackeral, can find smoked stuff in a sealed bag in Wholefoods and sometimes Trader Joes, or it's usually the canned stuff, which isn't as good but might have more luck finding a better variety in a ethnic deli section of a grocery store.