Canned sardines & other tinned seafood

[Margaret Pilgrim]

We were gifted a trio of superb Spanish tinned fish.    Cockles, octopus and sardines.   So far I have only used the cockles.    In a cerviche, a taste of the sea.   Fresh and briny.   Will rebuy.

 

I'm planning to serve the sardines before next dinner party.    With tongs like these, if I can stick my tongue that far into my cheek.   I bought them for a friend years ago but somehow never passed them on.

 

[Katie Meadow]

1 hour ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

We were gifted a trio of superb Spanish tinned fish.    Cockles, octopus and sardines.   So far I have only used the cockles.    In a cerviche, a taste of the sea.   Fresh and briny.   Will rebuy.

 

I'm planning to serve the sardines before next dinner party.    With tongs like these, if I can stick my tongue that far into my cheek.   I bought them for a friend years ago but somehow never passed them on.

 

Use the tongs at the dinner party but when the guests laugh about it tell them that it was gifted to you. Unless of course the intended recipient is at the dinner. In that case just tell them the truth.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

14 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

Use the tongs at the dinner party but when the guests laugh about it tell them that it was gifted to you. Unless of course the intended recipient is at the dinner. In that case just tell them the truth.

My group is always amused with my collection of table oddments.

[AAQuesada]

Love that the tinned fish thing is now 'in' saw this book and thought of this thread 

 

The Magic of Tinned Fish: Elevate Your Cooking with Canned Anchovies, Sardines, Mackerel, Crab, and Other Amazing Seafood (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

[liuzhou]

12 hours ago, AAQuesada said:

Love that the tinned fish thing is now 'in'

 

I'm fairly sure the majority of people in the world today have only ever eaten canned sardines or anchovies.

[AAQuesada]

I'm fairly sure the book is targeted to those parts of the world today where canned seafood is considered food their grandparents ate if it's considered at all. 

[liuzhou]

8 minutes ago, AAQuesada said:

I'm fairly sure the book is targeted to those parts of the world today where canned seafood is considered food their grandparents ate if it's considered at all. 

and my point is that those parts of the world are very much in the minority.

[Anna N]

6 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

I'm fairly sure the majority of people in the world today have only ever eaten canned sardines or anchovies.

I have no doubt you are right but there is this: “Canned salmon and herring was in high demand because it provided an inexpensive, ready to eat, high protein food that was easily transported and stored. During the Second World War, 80% of B.C.’s canned salmon pack was sent to England for Allied soldiers and civilians.”

Here.

So a lot of us ancient Brits know all too much about canned fish. 
And there is this. 

[liuzhou]

18 minutes ago, Anna N said:

I have no doubt you are right

 

...and I am in no doubt that you are correct for Canada, one of the least populous countries. However, nearly all the sardine catch worldwide is canned. Fresh sardines are unknown in China*, the world's most populous country. Same in Russia - the world's largest. Canned fish is a luxury food in Japan.

Canned sardines are still a staple in the UK. In the last hour I have asked my daughter and two granddaughters if they buy canned sardines. They all answered 'always'. None of them have eaten fresh sardines. I never ate them in the UK. Nor did I see them often. That was a treat reserved for France.

*China does have fresh fish they call 沙丁鱼 (shā dīng yú), which often gets translated as 'sardines' as the Chinese name has been chosen to be a close phonetic rendition of the English. However, they ain't sardines. They are Japanese Sardinella, a different thing altogether. I mentioned this before, in more detail, here.

[Anna N]

8 hours ago, liuzhou said:

I'm fairly sure the majority of people in the world today have only ever eaten canned sardines or anchovies.

I probably misunderstood your 

point. I read it as saying that the only canned seafood familiar to most people is sardines or anchovies. No argument there but I wanted to point out that other canned seafood is also consumed in large quantities in the western world. 

[liuzhou]

16 minutes ago, Anna N said:

No argument there but I wanted to point out that other canned seafood is also consumed in large quantities in the western world. 

 

Sure. I grew up convinced that salmon and tuna lived in cans!

[Anna N]

22 hours ago, AAQuesada said:

Love that the tinned fish thing is now 'in' saw this book and thought of this thread 

 

The Magic of Tinned Fish: Elevate Your Cooking with Canned Anchovies, Sardines, Mackerel, Crab, and Other Amazing Seafood (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

And it is by no means the only book devoted to making meals from canned seafood. 

[chromedome]

3 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

...and I am in no doubt that you are correct for Canada, one of the least populous countries. However, nearly all the sardine catch worldwide is canned. Fresh sardines are unknown in China*, the world's most populous country. Same in Russia - the world's largest. Canned fish is a luxury food in Japan.

Canned sardines are still a staple in the UK. In the last hour I have asked my daughter and two granddaughters if they buy canned sardines. They all answered 'always'. None of them have eaten fresh sardines. I never ate them in the UK. Nor did I see them often. That was a treat reserved for France.

*China does have fresh fish they call 沙丁鱼 (shā dīng yú), which often gets translated as 'sardines' as the Chinese name has been chosen to be a close phonetic rendition of the English. However, they ain't sardines. They are Japanese Sardinella, a different thing altogether. I mentioned this before, in more detail, here.

FWIW, even though I live less than an hour's drive from the world's highest-volume sardine cannery, I was unable to source fresh sardines here for my restaurant. I've seen them offered exactly once, by a well-connected local chef, but they're definitely not a readily available item.

[Katie Meadow]

I moved to CA in the mid seventies. At that time it wasn't hard to buy fresh Pacific sardines. They were cheap, and delicious grilled. Between 2006 and now the local sardine population has collapsed by 95 percent. It is hard to imagine what Monterey was like in the heyday of Cannery Row. Experts say climate change is partly to blame, but probably overfishing factored in as well. With the availability of canned Spanish and Portuguese sardines and their popularity is it possible the same fate awaits that market?

[kayb]

Interesting that most folk seem to jump to sardines and anchovies as top exemplars of canned fish. I don’t know that my pantry has ever been without canned tuna.

[heidih]

21 minutes ago, kayb said:

Interesting that most folk seem to jump to sardines and anchovies as top exemplars of canned fish. I don’t know that my pantry has ever been without canned tuna.

I think many of us grew up with tuna being "Chicken of the Sea"  And Starkist's Charlie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_the_Tuna  A huge divide between that and little oily fish. I know good tuna in excellent olive oil is around but perhaps a population majority thinks mild water-pack tuna. I do like the little oily guys. 

[Duvel]

Not to derail the thread, but I usually go for canned herring. Specifically this one, named after the German expression for a hangover breakfast. Of course being a German item it contains several disclaimer that it doesn’t cure hangovers. It’s nevertheless extra tasty: sour pickled herring in salty tomato sauce with pickled onions and gherkins. Perfect with a beer for breakfast !

 

[heidih]

15 minutes ago, Duvel said:

Not to derail the thread, but I usually go for canned herring. Specifically this one, named after the German expression for a hangover breakfast. Of course being a German item it contains several disclaimer that it doesn’t cure hangovers. It’s nevertheless extra tasty: sour pickled herring in salty tomato sauce with pickled onions and gherkins. Perfect with a beer for breakfast !

 

LOL "Male Cat Breakfast"

[Duvel]

4 minutes ago, heidih said:

LOL "Male Cat Breakfast"

Perfect translation !

 

Line below reads „Doesn’t help, but it’s tasty“

[blue_dolphin]

Out shopping today and picked up some canned sardines. Lots of options.

Matiz:

And others:

Most of the top shelf are from Spain, both brands I like.  The middle shelf are from Portugal and the bottom shelf are from France. Both of those last have entertaining labels. 
This is the other end of those 2 bottom shelves. 

Portugal above France. 
My rather small selection:

Most labels are fairly clear. The 3 French tins are sardines with:

ratatouille - lavender

chorizo - red 

pork liver - tan

That last one was purchased because I couldn’t imagine it 🤣

[gulfporter]

Grew up dirt-poor.  Sardines were cheap.  Many a lunch as a kid was an open tin of sardines (always in oil) which we partially drained then added red wine vinegar.  Eaten straight out of the can with a slice of white bread to sop up the liquid. 

 

About 5 years ago at a secondhand store here at Lake Chapala we bought this painting for 200p (about 10 bucks).  Mi esposo said he thought the woman looked like me (he is a kind soul).  I just liked the subject matter.  I realize the can is for squid but Gitana also sells canned sardines.

 

Hangs in our dining room.  

Edited June 23, 2022 by gulfporter
spelling (log)

[Joe Blowe]

2 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

Out shopping today and picked up some canned sardines. Lots of options.

Whoa, wait a sec. Are you telling me there's a store in SoCal that has this selection?! Surely you must be traveling 🤩

[blue_dolphin]

1 minute ago, Joe Blowe said:

Whoa, wait a sec. Are you telling me there's a store in SoCal that has this selection?! Surely you must be traveling 🤩

Epicurus Gourmet is in the SF Valley area of LA and is very much worth a visit if you’re in the area. All kinds of good stuff and they're very nice people, too.

If you click on “In Stock,” you can access and search an updated PDF to see what’s available. It doesn’t have prices, just sizes & quantity but is handy if there’s something in particular you're looking for. 

 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Exciting and educational thread.    I'm thinking of a dinner party starter for this weekend,  a thin pool of raw sorrel cream topped with a grilled jumbo prawn, several steamed mussels and one or two, depending on size, drained canned sardine.  It works in my head.    We'll see.   

[farcego]

I actually love sardines. It was staple/cheap fresh seafood in north Spain during the season when I was young, and latter on, I also love them canned. I've been disappointed overseas when often cans marketed as sardines reveals themselves as sprats or herrings (I both like them, specially the smoked sprats "Riga way", but not in disguise). I got very jealous when I saw some days ago @liuzhou Portuguese ones, and now with @blue_dolphin shelves. What I eat as a kid (and still when I can if back home) are what British call explicitly "pilchards", and it is what typically you get from Spanish, Portuguese or french cans (Don't know much about UK, other than some regions are famous for their Pilchards, but in my briefly time in Scotland -St Andrews- I just discovered the kippers and I focused on them). In other places, I have to explicitly search for "Portuguese" or other word in the package because some brands does not always state the species canned under the sardines name.