You would not believe the hard time I had corralling the Food Team to have a little taste of fish balls! 

So it's not to everyone's taste, but wow, it's not THAT unusual either…Is it? Well it can't be, because some of the largest food producers such as Strub's make Gefilte Fish, and sell it jarred, ready to serve. Obviously there must be enough people that not only know it and like, but like it so much, that if they don't have the patience to mull up some Carp (that's Carp as in white fish, not as in a misspell of you-know-what), they will resort to getting it jarred off their grocery shelves. 

Brief Background
Gefilte Fish is a traditional Eastern European Jewish dish, usually served on High Holidays (i.e. Passover, Rosh Hashanah), most commonly for Passover. It involves the deboning and the mulling-up of mostly carp, other white fish, egg and some matzos meal/bread crumbs. The mixture is shaped into football-shaped patties and poached in fish broth with carrots and onions. Traditionally it's served chilled along with the boiled carrots, accompanied by red or white horseradish. Gefilte Fish can be made sweet, savoury, or peppery, and despite its loose association with Passover, can and has been made for Chanukah, or for no reason at all!

So, we - actually, I - decided that to save your curiosity, we would do a tasting lab to determine which of the jarred variety - available in many supermarkets and specialty grocery stores across Canada - we think is best.

We judged its sweet, salty, peppery, fishy and texture qualities, based on a 1-5 scale (1 being the least and 5 the most).

Our Favourite

Strub's, $6.99, 680g Jar

Sweetness: 4
Saltiness: 2
Pepper: 2
Fishy: 3
Texture: fairly soft

Comments:
Likes: Nice balance between the salt and the sugar, pleasantly mild in flavour
Dislikes: Too sweet and still too fishy for some

Fishiest

Manischewitz, $4.59, 411g Jar

Sweetness: 1
Saltiness: 4
Pepper: 4
Fishiness: 4
Texture: softer and more gelatinous

Comments:
Likes: Tastes the most like real fish.
Dislikes: That's why! Way too fishy.

Mildest

Mrs. Adler's, $7.49, 680g Jar

Sweetness: 2
Saltiness: 2
Pepper: 3
Fishiness: 3
Texture: Very soft, almost spreadable

Comments:
Likes: Mild all around.
Dislikes: Mushy and oily texture.

Bazaar's Food Product posts are featured every other Thursday.

Previously in Tasting Lab: Holiday Tasting Lab: Dare to Compare 3 Fruitcakes