Ah come on it's not just asceticism. Anchovies, sardines, herring, mackerel and other small fish populations are currently being decimated, and 99% of the catch goes to producing... farmed meat, including salmon. Even if they've solved pollution & disease, if you're putting in 2lbs of unsustainably caught wild fish and getting out 1lb of farmed fish, you don't have a sustainable model.
It's kind of tragically ironic- those small fish are incredibly healthy food & quite inexpensive.
Mackerel in particular is far superior to salmon in my opinion, but few seem to even give it a chance. There seems to be a widespread public bias against canned fish in general, and small canned fish in particular (larger canned fish such as tuna or salmon seem to be more accepted.)
If anybody hasn't tried canned mackerel, I strongly recommend it. A can of mackerel and some crackers makes a super convenient and tasty lunch.
I don't know anything about canned mackerel, I'll give it a try the next time I'm at the grocery store. But as far as sushi goes, mackerel is one of my least favorite. I can't quite say way. I eat plenty of "fishy" fish but that one is fishy in a unique way.
My favorite Japanese restaurants in Beijing (I've never been to Japan) weren't sushi places, they were sort of barbecue places. A small roasted mackerel was often one of the best things on the menu. I'm making myself nostalgic just thinking about it...
I bought a can of mackerel the other day at the suggestion of another HN poster. It was amazing, and I bought a whole case of 12 on Amazon. I don’t know why it tastes so good but I’m happy I tried it!
I think we read the same comment. I picked up a can when I was out grocery shopping yesterday, too, realizing I had always passedtl canned mackarel up for who knows what reason. It's good, I'll be adding it to my lunch rotation for sure.
It's kind of tragically ironic- those small fish are incredibly healthy food & quite inexpensive.