MAYrathon Day 26: Canned Octopus in Garlic Sauce

My old friend Goya - we meet again. Today I'll be tasting and hopefully swallowing Goya's Octopus in Garlic Sauce. This was just something that randomly caught my eye the other day at the grocery store and I decided to give it a shot. You see, I am a huge octopus fan when it comes to sushi. Whenever I go out to get sushi, I always add a couple pieces of octopus (tako) to my order. It's firm, slightly sweet and mixed with wasabi and soy sauce, it's just about perfect. But today I'm doing the opposite of what I normally do. As I drink these sodas that imitate the flavor of crazy fruits like dewberry or grass jelly, I always wonder to myself what a fresh version of those fruits taste like. I now know what a mangosteen juice tastes like, but does the fresh fruit picked from the tree taste any different. Now with octopus, I know what a fresh piece of raw octopus tastes like, but will I like it from a can, sitting in room temperature and mixed with garlic sauce for $3.00? Only one way to find out...

Gotta love that generic cat food can with the easy-pull tab. Nothing locks in freshness better! The fact that the can is easy to open is even advertised on the box. As is an indicator that this is a product of Spain and that it is Hot/Picante. I've always associated octopus with the Japanese, but let's see what the Spanish have to offer. 

The second I open the can, the thick, viscous oil that helps preserve the octopus begins to ooze out of every crevice. The smell is strong too. Not necessarily a bad smell but one that signifies that I'll need to take the trash out as soon as I'm done with this review. If I get even one speck of this on my desk or computer, I'll probably have to move. 

The octopi are arranged into tiny piece that fall apart as I try and

stab them with my plastic fork. There's meaty chunks and tentacles all hanging out together in thick garlic oil. Well...bottoms up! If you're someone who hates mushroom or shrimp because of the texture, then this is definitely not for you. Texture is the name of the game with this product. The oil is overwhelmingly thick that the meat just kinda floats in there like jello. The octopus itself stats out chewy, then moves to crunchy and finally rests on salty. As on advocate of "I'll try anything once," I'm glad I tried it. That being said, I'll probably never try it again. Definitely getting sushi for lunch tomorrow...