The idea of Pescavore was born of a working, surfing, and diving travel journey to the Marshall Islands in 2013. They were introduced to a delightful food tradition of artisanally produced local fish snacks. Pescavore then started out with a mission to improve education, and make domestic resources more competitive in an international marketplace. They take pride with sustainable wild caught local tuna traced directly to the vessel and fisherman. Currently, 94% of all seafood consumed in the US is foreign sourced or foreign processed, and can rack up 14,000 food miles travelling internationally from places such as Thailand or China. Co-owners Mathew and Clarice Owens worked tirelessly to get their ahi tuna jerky to market, where the Pescavore jerky brand was officially launched in September of 2018. Soon, Pescavore intends to introduce a 4 ounce bag of “tuna tidbits” for each of their flavors. This jerky is distributed by Healthy Oceans Seafood Company, Inc., and they are based out of Santa Cruz, California.
The next review on Pescavore will focus on a 1.5 ounce/42.5 gram bag of their Island Teriyaki flavored ahi tuna jerky. This flavor is described as blending pineapple and ginger with gluten free soy sauce for the perfect base, keeping it light and not too sweet. The jerky was kindly submitted for review by CTO and Co-Founder, Clarice Owens.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Yellowfin Tuna, Gluten-Free Soy Sauce (Water, Soybeans, Salt, Vinegar), Water, Pineapple Juice, Sugar, Wine, Vinegar, Spices, Natural Flavors. Allergen Warnings: Soy
The wild caught ahi yellowfin tuna used here is caught off the California coast, and processed in the USA. Tuna offers many health benefits including being high in omega 3 fatty acids, plus are heart and brain healthy. As a result, the highest ingredient rating that can be awarded is Excellent (10/10).
The liquid marinade consists of a good gluten-free soy sauce, water, pineapple juice, wine, and healthy vinegar.
The sugar level is great with 1 gram of sugar per 42.5 grams of jerky. The salt level is respectable at around 250mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky.
This jerky is confirmed as having no sodium nitrite, or any other similar unhealthy preservatives. Instead, salt is the main preservative, and vinegar to a lesser degree. Admirably, this jerky has no MSG added.
Excellent (10/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
Written by guest jerky reviewer Stéphane Leclerc
Pescavore describes their Island Teriyaki flavor as:
“This teriyaki recipe blends pineapple and ginger with gluten free soy sauce for the perfect base. We keep it light and not too sweet. Yokwe! Bula! Aloha! Say hello to this delicious island treat.”
This Island Teriyaki flavor sounded really exciting at first and much like music to my ears. I took a bite and it felt like a letdown. We were unable to pick up much on the ginger, the soy sauce, wine nor the pineapple juice. The flavor is mostly tuna, tuna and more tuna. Unfortunately, the teriyaki flavor and the Asian flair are missing in action.
These two strips are rectangular, fairly thick and well packaged in a good quality bag. The texture is very soft, tender and easy to chew. These strips are substantially oily and a few paper towels on hand will be well justified. This tuna jerky is slightly sweet, mildly salty and as expected, it is rather fragrant.
The Pescavore – Island Teriyaki Ahi Tuna Jerky flavor is tasty and it feels more like an original flavor, as it does not truly represent a real Teriyaki flavor in our own opinion.
We still enjoyed this simple flavor and beside the obvious flaws, we still managed to award a Good 8/10 taste rating.
A 3 pack of these 1.5 ounce/42.5 gram bags of jerky sells online for $14.99. That works out to $3.31 an ounce, which rates as a cheap price.
Bag Review
This non-resealable plastic bag has everything printed directly on the bag itself, including the front and back. The bag is enclosed by a cardboard insert. There is a picture on the front with a pineapple, and a bowl of soy sauce. This bag is vacuum sealed, the best way to keep jerky fresh tasting.
A slogan printed on this bag is “Wildly Responsible”. Some facts printed on this bag are “12 Grams of Protein”, “Wild Caught & Whole Cut”, “Made in the USA”, “Source of Omega-3”, “Gluten Free”, and “Nothing Artificial”.
There are specific facts printed about the tuna itself: “Our Wild Fish Is Always Caught Responsibly”, “Fish Species: Yellowfin Tuna”, “Vessel/Captain: Cape Blanco/Corbin Hanson”, “Fishing Method: Unassociated Purse Seine, Fad Free”, “Location Caught: Pacific Ocean, California Coast”, and “Meet the Captain at pescavoreseafood.com”. A stamp is displayed stating “Est. 2016 Santa Cruz Calif.”
All bag categories are covered here. There is a great blurb printed on the back about how this jerky is prepared.
Excellent (10/10) – Bag Rating
Order their jerky online: www.pescavoreseafood.com
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