Roland Foods Flat Anchovy Fillets Packed in Olive Oil, Wild Caught from Spain, 14 OZ Can

After doing lots of research, I chose to buy these tins of anchovies. They are delicious and well-preserved and are good value for the money. The tins are gigantic and both of them had the plastic lids mentioned by others. The "best by" date on mine is 4/13/21, about 11 months from now.I was concerned because of reviews mentioning that people had gotten cans of "mush." Thankfully, mine did not! I did some research, and discovered that canned anchovies are "semi-conserved" by use of salt and olive oil. They are not sterilized by cooking as are most other canned foods, so they must be stored at 60 degrees or lower even though the can is still unopened. If they have turned to mush or the can is "puffy" looking, that means they have not been properly stored or transported. There is a non-harmful bacteria that survives in the can that can cause this, but it is not supposed to be harmful. Heat will hasten the growth of this bacteria. So this is why the shelf-life is not so long for canned anchovies. In our home, "under 60 degrees" means they are going into the refrigerator, both unopened and opened cans.The can I opened had been refrigerated overnight. The olive oil was clear, not cloudy, even after refrigeration. Not sure why that is. Perhaps the salt has an effect of inhibiting the oil from solidifying in the same way that it lowers the temperature at which water freezes? There is a lot of olive oil inside (which makes sense so that the anchovies remain submerged in oil so as not to be exposed to air). Another reviewer commented on the 14 oz. weight including the olive oil. I don't think it's unfair to include the weight of the olive oil as it's probably more expensive than the anchovies. It is, after all, being sold as "anchovies in olive oil," but that reviewer makes a good point not to expect 14 oz. of drained anchovies as you may be getting substantially less than that.Nonetheless, this is a lot of anchovies! I plan to consume these over a period of several weeks, so I transferred the anchovies (without the oil in which they were packed) to a sealed plastic container and covered them with my own extra virgin olive oil (making sure the anchovies are fully covered by oil and were not exposed to air for very long). I chose these anchovies rather than some more expensive ones in glass jars, but will probably be tempted to try some other brands eventually. However, for now, I'm quite happy with these!

If you use a lot of anchovies, this big can is a great buy. And they do not seem to go bad after opening, even if left out of the refrigerator for months. If stored in the fridge, the oil solidifies to the consistency of soft butter (which helps prevent spills), but it melts again very fast on the counter.I have noticed a lot of mixed reviews, ranging from great to terrible - that kind of swing seems hard to explain, but may be due to multiple packing plants around the world? I ordered these first in January, 2020, and they are perfect - the cans were filled to the very top with oil, but the fish fillets were ALSO to the very top of the oil - no wasted space at all. And all the fillets were solid - as good or better than any I have ever gotten in the small cans from local markets. My original can is marked "Product of Peru" on the bottom.Note that if you select the 14 Ounce (pack of 2), the cans look EXACTLY like what I have, but if you select either of the other two options, the pictures look different, and the cans show "Product of Spain" on the front. I have not purchased those, so my review only applies to the 14 oz (pack of 2).I just ordered them again (October, 2020), and I will update this review when I see how they compare with the last order.UPDATE Oct, 2020:I just received my second order, and they are identical to the first - cans are marked Product of Peru, and the fillets are firm, flavorful, and fill the can. Although the oil is not EVOO, it is totally clear and has absolutely no off-taste at all - more like just a neutral vegetable oil. I can also confirm that this is not some old-stock, as the top is stamped "Best before 8/13/2021". Both cans also came with the tight-fitting plastic lids.So I have no idea what it means in the text to say they were caught from Morocco, nor do I have any idea why some folks are complaining about too much oil or mushy anchovies. Maybe it makes a difference where you live and what warehouse fill the order? I am in the Southwest USA. For me, both orders have been 100% 5 STAR perfect!

When I first purchased this it was a good value because it came in a 2-pack. It seems like the price is still good for 1. The anchovies can be mushy. Some are firm, but some are mushy. I use these and the oil a lot in salads, cooking, and salad dressing so it doesn't matter much for me how firm they are. Roland is a good brand. I'm not sure at this writing what country my recent purchase is from. Still better than buying a 2 oz can at the grocer. Mine came with a plastic cover to use once opened. Save the cover, because one of mine cracked and luckily I was just tossing the other can and still had the cover. I then put the can in a small rectangular plastic storage container just to collect any leaky oil. These are not gourmet anchovies, but they serve my purpose and gourmet will be double the price.