Why This Portuguese Sardine Cannery Swears By Its 100-Year-Old Method | Regional Eats

Claudia Romeo: Olá from Portugal! We are in Matosinhos, a town nearby Porto. We are at Conservas Pinhais, which is one of the oldest preserving factories here in Portugal and one of the few that still cans sardines the traditional, artisanal way.

Today we're going to learn how this small fish got such a big cult following. We're going to see how sardines are canned here at Pinhais and taste a few to understand what sets this artisanal method apart. If you travel to Portugal, chances are you will come back home with an array of souvenirs in the shape of sardines.

And during the country's festivities in June, 13 sardines are eaten every second. The country has a long fish-canning tradition, to the point that the sardine has become a national icon. But why?

Claudia: Canning itself did not originate in Portugal. It was a French confectioner, Nicolas Appert, who first successfully preserved foods with the method. He found his way to fame in the early 1800s after presenting his inventions to French emperor Napoleon, who was looking for a new food-preserving method to feed his army.

After Appert's discovery was made public, canning quickly became popular. With Portugal's extensive coastline and an abundance of fish, it wasn't hard for the country to jump on the trend, and by 1925 it counted about 400 canneries. Claudia: An important fishing port already, Matosinhos became a hub for the canning industry.

Claudia: After the war, the industry gradually declined. In 2013, Portugal counted only 20 fish-preserving factories. Many factors contributed to this decline.

The replacement of high-quality ingredients with cheaper raw material, climate change, fishing regulations due to diminishing stock, and the automation of the canning process. Founded in 1920, Pinhais is one of Portugal's last surviving preserving factories. Claudia: Pinhais makes four types of canned sardines: sardines in olive oil, sardines in tomato sauce, spiced sardines in olive oil, and sardines in spiced tomato sauce.

We followed the making of sardines in tomato sauce and the spiced sardines in olive oil. These are the fresh sardines that have arrived this morning from Matosinhos harbor, and the canning process will take place in one day, so everything is gonna be finished by 5 p. m.

this afternoon. All the sardines are gonna be tinned. Now it's time to go and see how sardines are actually canned here at Pinhais.

After the sardines arrive at the factory, they are placed on a marble table, and the head and bowel of the fish are cut off by hand. Then they are brined for about half an hour. The sardines are placed on grids that are handmade by Senhor Albino in his workshop at the factory.

Then the sardines are rinsed to remove salt and steamed. Claudia: All the ingredients are cut during the day and added by hand, one by one. Each can of spiced sardines has one pinch of black pepper, carrot, laurel, piri-piri, clove, and cucumber.

Senhora Emilia is in charge of the tomato sauce, and she keeps her recipe secret. The fish are canned in tinplate tins, then washed and sterilized. These are the only two machines at the factory.

These two ladies are in charge of quality control. They do that by listening carefully to the sound of each tin. This is the sound of a good tin.

[tins clanking] And this is a bad one. [tins clanking] Tins are stored for at least three to six months. Whenever a customer submits an order, the cans are wrapped by hand.

Which, by the way, is not an easy job, as I had the chance to wrap a can myself. So, this one? Employee: You've got more than one there.

First on the bottom. Claudia: Oh, it's very slippery. Employee: With this hand and with this finger.

[laughing] Claudia: Too much tape. A bit big, no? Yeah, it's hard.

Obrigada. So, we have finished our tour here at Pinhais, and now it's time for tasting. We have sardines in tomato sauce and sardines in spiced olive oil.

This is actually my very, very, very first time eating sardines out of a can. Now it's sardines-in-tomato-sauce time. I'm not good at opening cans.

This particular can was made in 2015. It's four years ago. Well, let's have a sardine.

Oh, it's so good. [laughing] Wow. Wow, this is so good.

It's really amazing. It tastes as sweet as tomatoes, and the oil is incredible. Just by this one bite I can tell that it's good oil.

I have a bad memory of canned stuff because I'm really scared of, like, the strong taste of vinegar or, like, very, very bad vegetable oil. Whereas this is so fresh; it's so nice. It reminds me of just, like, my grandmother cooking tomato sauce.

She could have just, you know, done it this morning and this would be my lunch. Like, so good. [laughs] OK, well, let's try the spiced.

I'm not big fan of spices. So. [laughs] Let's see if this is going to change my mind.

It's not the spice that I was expecting. This one is a very subtle spice, and also it tastes very, like, earthy. I can taste the laurel straight away, and that is interesting because that's, like, very, very, very tiny part.

Why haven't I been eating sardines all this time? [laughs] It's so good. Canning them, I think, makes them even better.

Pinhais exports 90% of its products all over the globe, from Austria to the Caribbean.