Fun facts about canned fish

Canned fish is growing in popularity and so is the interest in gourmet cans. We have compiled a list with fun facts about canned fish.

• 1. Canning is an old preserving technique which usually gives products with long shelf-life, ranging from 1-5 years.
• 2. Fish has been successfully canned commercially for more than 100 years and Europe’s oldest cannery opened 1853 in Setúbal, Portugal.
• 3. In the early 1900’s the canning industry changed drastically due to new technology. Also the preserving technique changed from frying the fish before canning to instead boiling it. This made the fish much more juicy and nutritious.
• 4. The canning process is cooking the fish in a very high temperature (120°C) to sterilize it. This is done by a pressurized cooking method and results in a fully cooked product which is ready to eat directly from the can.
• 5. During war time (especially during WW1 and WW2), canned fish became one of the most important food stables due to its nutrients and long shelf-life.
• 6. Sardines can be canned in many ways with different seasoning, for example in olive oil, vegetable oil, tomato sauce, lemon and many more. The traditional way is to eat the sardines with bones (the heads and guts are removed before the canning process), but it has also been increasingly popular to eat canned sardine fillets (boneless and skinless).