The oily fish that ages best, in our collection of canned sardines

The sardine is the most universal tinned fish and probably the most underrated. In this selection of canned sardines we have gathered fish from the Galician and Portuguese coasts, packed by hand without delay after the catch. There is everything from the everyday tin to vintage sardines, by way of skinless and boneless versions for those who want the flavour without the work.

Sardine or sardinilla: not the same thing

The sardinilla is the young sardine, with imperceptible bones and delicate flesh. The adult sardine has more body, more fat and a frankly more intense flavour: it is the one that stands up to tomato, escabeche or smoking without being masked. If you are after finesse, go to the sardinillas; if you are after flavour, you are in the right place.

Vintage sardines improve with the years

It is the worst-kept secret of Portuguese and French canning. A sardine in good olive oil keeps evolving inside the tin: the flesh slowly absorbs the oil, becomes richer and the flavour rounds out. That is why there are millésimées, sardines marked with their vintage year, like the 2018 ones you will find here. The traditional advice is to turn them over every six months so the oil soaks in evenly.

Choose your preparation

• In olive oil: the classic, the one that does not interfere. From Porthos, FerroMar or Los Peperetes.
• Skinless and boneless: the one that wins over those who find sardines a chore. In tomato, or with lemon and basil, from Briosa Gourmet and Ramón Peña.
• Spicy and smoked: with chilli in the oil, or smoked in extra virgin olive oil, which adds a very different layer of flavour.
• Out of the ordinary: in teriyaki sauce, or vintage millésimées for those who want to taste what time tastes like.
• For spreading: sardine pâtés, the same fish in quick-toast format.

Before serving

Room temperature, never straight from the fridge: cold thickens the oil and shuts in the aromas. On toast, with a roasted pepper or a tomato alongside. And do not throw away the oil: it has spent months absorbing the flavour of the fish.

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