Canned Salmon Review: The Canned Salmon Taste Test

I tried this canned salmon for the first time in 2005 and I have gushed about it in our tome about why we love canned salmon. Back in 2005, I was loading up on high omega-3 foods hoping to improve my brain health and to prepare my body for another baby. The day that the case of canned salmon arrived at my house I immediately opened a can and began to eat it. I finished the can in one sitting and several hours later finished a second can, as I mention in the video at right. I then carefully hid the remaining 22 cans in my pantry and announced that all cans were earmarked for anyone preparing to have another baby. Of course, what that really meant is that I got all of the cans to myself. I ate well.

Some years later when I was pregnant I remember doing the same thing with the salmon roe from the same company. I did share the roe with my six-year-old son, just for the record.

What makes this food worth hoarding?

The Canned Sockeye Salmon Taste Test

First, this canned salmon is sockeye salmon, not the more common pink salmon. If you have only enjoyed canned pink salmon from your grocery store, you may be stunned by the difference in quality between pink salmon and sockeye salmon. Pink salmon is very light in color and does not have the full flavor and richness of a sockeye salmon. Different species of salmon live in different areas and have different diets, contributing in part to their differences in flavor and texture. Sockeye salmon is simply a better tasting fish to start with then is pink salmon.

I did finally share the canned salmon stash with my mother for the first time recently and we caught her reaction on video. It turns out that she had never eaten canned sockeye salmon and was blown away by the difference between canned sockeye and pink salmon. If you are looking for a great tasting canned salmon, sockeye will be a step up from pink salmon. However, we also tasted this canned sockeye salmon against another brand of sockeye salmon. In our taste testing which you can watch in the video, these were some of our reactions:

“This canned salmon is brighter red then the other sockeye salmon. This other salmon actually looks a little more gray.”

“This salmon has more of the texture of fresh cooked fish rather than canned fish.”

“It is not as chewy. You can enjoy the flavor more in this canned salmon after the first bite because you are working less chewing the salmon itself.”

I had gushed to Mom about this particular canned salmon and she was easily won over, but Mom is pretty easy. It was the younger generation that concerned me.

Best Canned Salmon, A Review by the Younger Set

My son is a bit shy, rather quiet, and also a dead-ringer in some ways for the 1970s Life Cereal character “Mikey.”

Do you remember?

“Mikey hates everything!”

The cereal bowl gets slid over and Mikey begins to eat. Squeals in the background.

“He likes it! Hey Mikey!”

I did not fully appreciate the appeal of that commercial until I became the mother of a picky child.

We captured a review of our own picky Mikey on video. We are not canned salmon publicists nor are we stuck with a 30-second clip and so we offer a slightly more realistic version of a picky child trying canned salmon in the video here.

“He likes it! Hey Mikey!”

Canned Salmon Quality Assurances

Besides the flavor of this canned salmon, the quality assurances make this brand stand out from the crowd. The salmon is packed in cans free of BPA, it is wild caught, and sustainably harvested.

BPA-Free Cans

Few seafood companies on the market offer sockeye salmon in cans free of the cancer-causing chemical BPA. BPA free cans are simply more expensive for food processors.

Some years back, Consumer Reports tested canned fish for BPA, in part testing how high BPA residues actually were and in part testing whether the fish met label claims. Canned tuna from this company was labeled as BPA free but trace amounts of BPA was found in the salmon itself. The company was surprised by the findings because it had been paying for BPA free cans. Come to find out, the lids were the offenders. The company changed lid suppliers.

For this quality of salmon, we should expect a more expensive BPA-free can and this particular canned salmon delivers.

Wild Caught Canned Salmon

Wild caught salmon has two health advantages: the meat itself is lower in toxins and it also has a more healthful ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acids. Wild caught fish tends to be higher in Omega 3s and also lower in Omega 6 fatty acids then is farmed fish. You will still get Omega 3s from farmed fish, but Omega 6 fatty acids compete with Omega 3 fats in your metabolism and so you end up benefiting less from the Omega 3 fats in a farmed salmon because of the higher levels of Omega 6 fatty acids. If you are working on building your Omega 3 levels, this is an important factor.

This particular canned salmon is not only wild-caught has been third-party verified as sustainably harvested by the Marine Stewardship Council.

Canned Salmon Recipe Ideas

We have been enjoying canned salmon so much lately and try to pull out a camera and capture our enjoyment. We continue to post recipes this week on the site but offer for now:

• Salmon Dip
• Salmon Lavash Sandwich

This is such a great canned salmon, however, that you can simply open the can and eat it.

It is that good.

Where To Buy This Best Canned Salmon

This particular canned salmon is only available for purchase online. We buy the first option — the salmon with skin on and bones in. It is cheaper and actually more nutritious. I typically remove the main bone before consuming this salmon. The rest of the bones are very small and do not take away from the texture of the fish. You may disagree, however, and may want to try the boneless skinless version.

• Buy canned salmon with bones and skin
• Buy boneless, skinless canned salmon, 6 oz
• Buy boneless, skinless canned salmon, 3 oz — a perfect size for a packed lunch

(Psst. Don’t miss it — Our partner offers wild caught and sustainable seafood: 10% off for new customers (Coupon code: VCAFINT). Click here. Buy sardines while you’re there if you can get them — they are in short supply. See our sardine taste test.)